Living on a Canal Boat in Amsterdam

Can you imagine living on an old boat

along a well traveled canal in Amsterdam?

Watching the days come and go as cruisers float by

Staring into your windows // taking pictures of you

Tired of waving // you just ignore them all…

like a passing freight train in your backyard.

Perhaps it’s the mystique or the novelty of it all

Winter, Spring. Summer. and Fall

The old boat sees it all…

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Click on the photos to see them enlarged.

Today at d’verse, Sarah asked us to write a poem related to boats.  I thought of our trip last summer, which I have mentioned before, and our canal cruise in Amsterdam. I was amazed at how many people lived in old boats tied up along the canal. This is just a glimpse of what we saw that day.

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Summer Harvest

Spring garden planted // anticipating new growth

Tomatoes, beans, and a grape vines on posts

Sunshine and summer rains // sitting in extreme heat

Produce fruits and vegetables with Zinnias so neat

Now bees and butterflies share the bounty

Beauty worth waiting for, seldom comes quickly

Photos: Dwight L.  Roth

Today at d’Verse, Victoria Sloto ask us to write a Quadrille of exactly 44 words using the word Garden. My little terraced  garden is one thing that has kept me inspired during this time. So much beauty and nature is all around us. It brings me joy and a few tomatoes and green beans as well.

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Seems Like Yesterday

Seems like only yesterday that he played with this little red wagon  Now he’s moved on to other more interesting things. Today, he is over six feet tall and moving on again to other new and interesting things. He’s my grandson, and I am very proud of him!

How fast he grew up

leaving his wagon behind

Summer interests change

***

Now he’s one to look up to

Standing about six-foot three

******

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Seeing Clearly

Looking in mind’s mirror of cracked broken glass

I see myself as cracked and broken as well

Peering through hammered glass, I see

images and shapes through cataracts clouded

Looking out through tinted windows, I see

The world around me clearly // unglaring

“Carrying on” as usual, as it cycles on and on

As though looking in a mirror of clear glass

reflecting my image in true perspective…

Whole // an eternal soul in an aging body

Created in the image of God!

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Miniature Tourists

While traveling in  France, last summer, we enjoyed watching the children as they mingled with the tourists taking in the views. You can see their energy and enthusiasm in their actions and faces. We were like that once upon a time!

Old Medieval Colmar

Excited children wander/wonder

Cute little tourists

Colorful umbrellas added a touch of sparkle to the town.

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Winter of my Mind (in this summer of my life)

I am in the winter of my mind, where shadows creep

and darkness comes early // seeming never to sleep…

closing in and overshadowing my thoughts.

 

Creativity remains with each bright new day

bringing a spot of sunshine from friends far away

of like minded bloggers and a few online friends.

 

I must close off the darkness // of  “hurricane News”

and “tornadoes of fear” // with darkness infused

leaving my mind destroyed by what I hear.

 

I’ll go back to my writing and pretend not to see

the streets in upheaval and the mothers who plea

for children caught in the crossfire // each day, it seems.

 

For truth these days seem more one’s perception

with marching politicians and Covid physicians

and dissent is met with racial accusations.

Photo; Dwight L. Roth

I am sharing this on open link night at d”Verse poets night.  With all that has been going on the past five months, I feel a little stir-crazy at times. Seems a lot of others feel the same way from all chaos I  see happening across the country, on the evening news. It pains me to see children shot, and no one seems to raise a voice or carry a sign for them. Very sad indeed! These are some of my thoughts as I stay in my cocoon!

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I got my inspiration for this poem today, after reading Lynn’s Poem this morning:

window to writer’s world

What is Normal

Our free range playgrounds of childhood have died.

We no longer live connected, but rather side by side

We know each other by first name only

Some live isolated and feel quite lonely

Gone are the days of front porch swings

Where friends may gather as evening begins

And lovers sit swinging hand in hand

It was wonderful // Life was grand

Our doors never locked and curtains seldom pulled

Kids ran free and no threat while at school

Played in the woods // climbed trees without nets

Disappeared all day and played with their pets

And if we ever needed help from a friend

We knew who to call // that neighbor round the bend

Seems the new normal arrived long before Covid

As life had already changed  // no matter what we did

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

This poem came to me after reading Reena Sexons poem:

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/08/05/target-markets/#comment-101335

A View From My Window

Perspective is everything when it comes to a buying a home.

We said we wanted a house with trees // but there was only one on our lot

When we walked in,  it was the window view out the back that sold us

A woods filled with trees reaching for the sky joined our barren lot

Since then, much was added to the ever changing seen.

Two wild willows,  now thirty feet tall,  shade our Shangri-La

There’s a lilac and a crape myrtle,  and a garden lush and green

The bird feeder entertains me all day long it seems

and not just the birds, but squirrels and chipmunks too

So when I look out the window my heart thrills with the view

Now in this summer heat, I’ll go back to my reclining chair 

Drink some ice tea, prop up my feet, and enjoy the view from there!

The view of our back yard in February 2011 when we saw it for the first time. We knew it had potential to become something more than this!!

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Peter asked to to take a photo from our window and then write a poem about it. When I look at the early photos of our back yard, and then at the ones I took this evening, It is amazing how much the view changed. Vision and perspective change everything.

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Celebrating Moments in Time

My father-in-law turned 90 a few years ago and his family and long time friends gathered in his care facility to celebrate. He enjoyed it all very much, especially the cake and ice cream.  It was a wonderful time that we will long remember, although he only remembered for the moment.  Some might wonder why go all out if he won’t remember that it happened.  I believe that although he was not able to remember, the effects on his well being lasted much longer.  The goal for someone in Alzheimer’s is to create moments that make them feel alive now, and tomorrow they will still feel better, even if they do not know why. Time with loved ones is never wasted.

We celebrated

Ninety years of connections

Winter closing in

Chocolate cake enjoyed

A very special moment

Birch trees pushing buds

Photos; Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse we are celebrating birthdays. Kim asked write about a special birthday we remembered. I don’t remember any special birthday parties that I had as a child.  I decided to write about our last birthday party for my father-in-law who lived at Lifestyles Care Facility in Edmonton, AB. It was a great day for all.

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Kinderjik Girl on the Windmill

Who is that girl perched high on the wall

Peeking at us // she knows she won’t fall

Kinderjik girl lives in a windmill // right along the canal near by

Dreams her summer days away    watching tourists floating by

Doesn’t think it unusual to live in such a place

All her neighbors live in the same kind of space

As her mom hangs the family’s wash on the line

 She watches clouds floating and passes the time

Not much to do on a warm summer day

But dream of boys and while the time away

 

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

On our trip up the Rhine River last summer, we stopped at Kinderjik to see the windmills. It was a fascinating place to visit. They took us to a working windmill and showed us all around. On the way we passed several others, but the one with the little girl caught my camera’s eye!  All of the windmills have families living in them. We were told there is a waiting list for people wanting to live there.