Good. And Thoughtful.

Thank you so much, my friends, for your kind wishes this Christmas. I have had a good, thoughtful Christmas. It continues to be so.
Good.
And thoughtful.
Not to be too somber at such a festive time, but I am big on commemoration.
I think most of you have noticed this about me, by now.
I have a very reflective nature. I'm always remembering things.
Today, Boxing Day, is exactly one year since I sat and talked with my mother for the last time. I was visiting her in the hospital and then the very next day I flew back here to Ottawa. She passed away, days later, in the first moments of New Year's Day.
Also, a couple weeks ago was the tenth anniversary of my father's passing.
So I have had a pensive Christmas, in many ways. Have caught myself several times talking aloud to the both of them.
No, I'm not going loony[er] at all.
Just remembering.
I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas.

The Gentle Hug

Ten years on Dad, I feel again the strength.
The weakness around my neck. Power of
the gentle hug. The water in the corner of
your eye. What I would give now to see it
reflect
the bales of hay, or the perch caught.
The spoon in the tea, the oil changed,
the ghost seen, the garden gardened,
or Helen discovered.

The phone answered. The clink of you
dropping screws into a jar labelled "screws".
Re-aligning that pendulum. Once I awoke
in the night. At the end of the hallway
I saw you cracking hazelnuts as though
only the snow falling outside knew
neither of us were sleeping.

c. Ciprianowords, Inc. 2009