Walking in the Old Port

Walking in the Old Port
I watched videos in an app
Telling stories of the port
From past to present




Looking through the layers
of history
Seeing the changes
Imagining




Traces of the past
Words on a building
New uses for old places
Constant change



Former glory now tarnished
Once a major hub
When ships were king
Now rust sets in




Still a port
Ships sail into the seaway
Then far into the great lakes
It still connects to other lands




Now too a place for walking
cycling skating learning
fishing boating
New uses for old places

It lives again

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Photos:
1: Looking towards the clock tower and the Jacques Cartier Bridge
2. Marché Bonsecours - once an actual market, now filled with shops with Quebec merchandise
3. Once warehouses for the goods that arrived in the port. Shop fronts were on the street behind
4. Grain elevators - no longer in use. With the opening of the seaway in the early 1950s the loading of grain onto ships moved further inland closer to where the grain was grown.
5. Harbour Commision Building built 1874-78
6. Ship in the harbour

Old Port app

Old Port Wintering app

Old Port site

Semele

Sunday afternoon at the opera
a local performance
in Semele
young musicians playing, singing

Even on a sunny afternoon
music lovers convene
time to enjoy
the sweet sounds of Handel

I happen upon the grandfather
Reading the synopsis of Semele
Oh, he says,
My grand-daughter is going to die

Bursting with pride
That she plays that role
Mid aria he pokes me
to give a thumbs up

An afternoon well spent
with music
conversations
connecting




 Note: This is the lid of the harpsichord - taken off for the production. Harpsichords are often highly decorated. The inscription: Dum vixi tacui. Mortua dule cano means While living I was silent: dead, I sing sweetly. You can find out more about harpsichords and inscriptions here.

In the Conservatory

Outside the snow slowly recedes
A winter’s worth of dirt
Revealed
Newly uncovered grass
Is soppy sepia
Colours still stripped
From the city


   

I step inside the conservatory
Into spring
A riot of colour
Shocks my winter weary eyes
Tulips in every shade
The lush yellows of the daffodils
Exude the warmth of sun.

   

I wander through this oasis
Each bloom beckoning
Begging to be admired
Focus my camera
Catch their beauty
For all to enjoy



Slowly meandering
Not ready to go back
To the lingering winter
A delightful respite
To be savoured

There are signs outside
That once again
This display of colour
Will spill outdoors
And spring will take hold.

Dinner with Family

Family
Close cousins
Distant by blood
But closeness forged
Long ago

My mother and family
And her mother
Came over on the boat together
Immigrants to a new life




The stepping stones of generations
Off kilter age-wise
Maintain that close bond
Both up and down the family lines

Continuing through our children

Who knew when those boat travellers
Stepped out in Canada
Their intertwined lives
Would keep us tied together

And now
We dine together
Family based on friendship
No better kind

Detours

Go around
Find a new route
Pylons dot the city
Springing up in new places
On a daily basis
Growing faster
Than spring flowers

Life, too
Has its detours
Leading over rocky roads
Past unexpected events
No road map to prepare
For the sudden changes

Detours can lead
to unvisited side roads
Unanticipated explorations
Off the beaten path
New ideas grow
New adventures

I've had my share of detours
Times of growth
Learning strength
Then setting a new course
Travelling through life
Until the next detour
Never knowing where it will lead

First Signs

It's Starting

In sheltered spots

Heat radiates

Shoots poke from the ground

It's coming

Snow still covers

Most of the ground

But mud is emerging

The smell of spring

It's coming

My eyes search  out each tiny sign

No robin yet

But the cardinals have begun

their springtime songs

It's coming

A winter's worth of dirt

Still lingers in the snowbanks

Some see only crud

I see signs of spring

It's coming

Looking Back

I'm looking back at history
Preserved by others
Sunday we went to celebrate
One hundred years of a life
A relative of my spouse
Looking back

My mother would have turned that number
Last year
I explore her history through artifacts
This picture comes from a book of postcards
Dating from the 1920s
Around the time she left Eastern Europe
And came to Canada
Looking back



Grodno the city of her birth
Once Russia, Poland now Belarus
What else has changed?
So many stories never shared
So much not recorded.
Lives before Facebook and selfies
Looking back



Life pictured through idyllic images
Idealized,
Who knows the truth behind the scenes
Much to reconstruct
To decipher
Looking back

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My personal challenge - to write a poem every day (or post one that I love) for April - poetry month