In a Café

In a café
secluded and warm
time curls slowly
like smoke circles
and dances in the amber rays
of Tiffany lamps
lit mystically low
while sounds dim to a murmur
inviting faces at the window.

Outside beneath the frosted streetlamps
snowflakes hang in lonely sheets
and scurry from the fierce white light
while traffic roars and people rush
to get to where ever
they don’t want to go.

In a café
in the space before a painting
muffled voices chattering dishes
conversations I half hear
but the aromatics of this place:
coffee beans freshly ground
newsprint danishes perfume
and the after sense of you—
these stay with me.

Java Romance by Heather Grace Stewart

Thoughts from a Gratitude Journal

So much seems trivial
studying the sun-kissed tulip
blossoming in the clear glass jar
at my bedside:
be beautiful
stretch toward the light.

Sun-Kissed by Heather Grace Stewart

Instinct

Golden sunshine shimmers
on this lazy lake
like sequins. A lone cormorant
flaps its wings incessantly,
as if in defiance
of the coming cold.
Oblivious couples walk
arm in arm beneath
the weeping willows,
kicking up dead leaves like
forgotten arguments.
They sport only t-shirts—
the joggers, shorts—
as if wearing them
will impede the inevitable:
snow, sleet, heavy traffic,
Christmas crowds,
cell-phones ringing
in the middle of a movie.

The cormorant spreads his wings
and praises the sun;
preening on his rightful throne,
unaware that winter is late this year—
going by instinct because
that is all he knows.

The Pilot

Little girl,
golden curls bouncing,
tries to run in
lime green rain boots.

“Hi Daddy! Look! It’s
Daddy!” she shrieks,
quickens her pace to greet him.
Arms up high.
Full speed ahead.
Lips pursed in concentration,
she jumps, groans, tries to
touch the sun.
We laugh, but
stop ourselves from
saying, “you can’t.”

Little girl,
golden curls bouncing,
runs home in rain boots,
dreaming of jet planes.

Promise

Today the lilacs opened;
and I almost missed it.

My spring tradition since childhood:
reaching up on my tippy toes,
plucking down a fresh bloom;
closing my eyes, memorizing that scent,
taking out the inner core, sucking
on the sweet nectar.

And I almost missed it.
I was distracted; glued to my computer screen,
stuck on my cell phone, head in the dirty laundry;
Caught up in things that just won’t matter
100 years from now.

Then you came home,
scooped up our busy
one-year-old, took us to a little lilac tree
you’d planted in our barren backyard.

The scent was so familiar, a reminder
strong and insistent like your
stubborn side,
damp petals poignant
grazing against my face.

So for a moment it was just the three of us,
carefree and content;
Surrounded by that powerful scent
and the promise of renewal:
The promise of purple.

'Promise' by Heather Grace Stewart

April Snow

The evening news
left us sleepless
with images of protests
in the holy city, terrorist
bombings, drive-by shootings
in our own town.

Yet on Easter morning
we awoke to snow sheets on
a wishing-well roof,
unexpected purple buds
bursting through the frost,
a silver steeple glistening
against the cerulean sky,

and our little girl toddling outside
to find golden eggs in the snow;
barefoot on icing-sugar-steps,
laughing and dancing
with her sister-cousins.

Driving west at sunset,
morning snow a memory,
the returning geese
called out to us
like old friends,
leading us home.

Ten Simple Cures for the Summertime Blues

Looking for fun yet simple things to do with young children this summer that won’t break the bank? Move over, Martha Stewart…Heather Grace Stewart thinks simple and shoestring-budget can go together!

Whether you live in the heart of the city, a small rural town, or true cow-patty country, a lot of summer fun can be had for next to nothing and in your own back yard. Here are a few creative ideas to get you started:

1- Make a list like this with your children. I compiled this one with the help of our three year old, and it ended up being a fun hour-long activity for us. You can simply ask them “What do you love the most about summer/ want to do this summer? The list might end up becoming a memento for the family scrapbook, as mine did. Just be sure to follow through on any reasonable ideas they come up with.
2- Fly a kite on a blue-sky day beside a local lake, or if you’re lucky enough to live near one, the ocean.
3- Buy Dollar Store wind chimes, patio lanterns and decorative creatures – we love fabric butterflies and butterfly decals – and hang them on your deck, patio torches, and windows together. You can control the tackiness quotient by how much you buy and where you hang items.
4-Make a pitcher of iced tea or fresh lemonade together every few days, so there will always be plenty chilling in the fridge whenever friends drop by.
5- Collect shells and sand dollars at the beach; use unique ones to make necklaces. No cool shells in your area? Even small snails, pine cones, and small craft/ dollar store pom-pom’s can be glued together to create silly sea creatures.
6-Find a sprinkler/ splash park you’ve never been to before and go splash around with your inner child. Many in city parks and completely free, and for those in the country, there’s always that not-so-secret swimming hole every kid knows about.
7- Plant lettuce and strawberry plants in May before the frost, then pick the lettuce and berries together and make strawberry salads for your evening meals. Give young ones a salad spinner to wash the lettuce —that will occupy the under-four crowd for a while, and help you out at the same time.
8-Find a lush patch of green grass and lie in it together. Ask your children to find cloud pictures and tell you about them.
9-Go for a long walk to pick wildflowers and arrange them together in an old glass milk bottle or wine carafe. Tall glass jars like these make perfect vases and are easy to find at your local flea market.
10-Pick garden flowers – we liked yellow pansies and pink roses for the colour combination and because they float well– and place them in a square or rectangular glass vase (Superstore type grocery stores carry them for under $10) To make your arrangement a beautiful patio lantern for summer evenings, try adding floating candles to the water (a bag of 25 is usually no more than $5).

Article and photos copyright 2008, Heather Grace Stewart, hgrace.com