Hundreds of you visit this blog every week. Finola’s story breaks my heart. Could anyone going through the Toronto Island Airport this week please just do a sweep of it and look for her engagement ring diamond? I know it’s slightly crazy to hold out hope here, but ‘hope is the thing with feathers/ that perches in the soul/ and sings the tune without the words/ and never stops, at all. ~ Emily Dickinson
you feed me
on raw fish
when our world’s
upside down,
chaos around,
people drown, small
as bugs in the
sink
while forces of
nature
grow tall and
blossoming cherries bleed,
spilling red, white –
hopes like vomit on
shaking ropes,
will they hold? sing, sing sakura ‘cos
spring
is just ‘round
the corner miwatasu kagiri – as far as i can see
destruction kasumi ka kuma ka – like fog, like clouds
descending, tears
blind my eyes,
close to the coast
the giants crack loose
and still nioi zo izuru – the scent, the colors
of strength in the air
raining rosy,
holding my fear izaya izaya – let’s go,
let – go,
bow low and pray
for the melting to stop and
you feed me on
sushi
‘til I’m silent, ‘til
I know, hana zakari – blossoming time
is close
Sakura: the japanese cherry blossom is one of the most important symbols in japanese culture. It’s an omen of good fortune, new beginnings, beauty and also a metaphor for the fleeting nature of life.
The music of children playing
A smile warms my face
Vibrant blues stretch for
Deepening reds on arms
Cardinal hiding in a bush
Flew there ‘pon approach
Crows circling high above
Lazing through the summer sky
Cool of the evening
Ending a summers day
Mark Stratton is the editor of Cats With Thumbs literary blogzine. He lives in Columbia, MO, USA with his wife and three cats, and says he ‘scribbles on occasion.’
Just when I thought this contest couldn’t be any more fun or get any better–it just did.
Two more entries arrived in my inbox this weekend, and they’re from a friend I’ve never met in my home town of Ottawa, Ontario! Yay, Ottawa!
Writes artist Ieneke Jansen, “I am a self-taught artist who was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. I absolutely adore the capital, and wanted to “Canadian-ize” my entries for Leap.”
Eternal Flame at Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada, by Ieneke Jansen
'Leap in Peace'--Peace Tower, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada--by Ieneke Jansen
Thanks for entering and for being such a proud Canadian, eh? Ieneke!
Readers, don’t forget to vote for your favourite photo contest entries on my Facebook page here. Rules for this contest are posted here.
Again, thanks for all the fun everyone! I’m thrilled with all the leaps you’ve taken with this contest. It means so much to me that you’d all jump in like this, be a little nutty, and have such fun with this! Keep the fun, creative photos coming!
Cheers
Heather
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