Ever the darkness, every night or
early morn, a moment for chance,
the time to begin.
Still, we wait.
Incessantly.
We do it again and again, enough
or a lot or as much as we can
if we care to admit it.
Why?
Can’t a shade of mystery simply
take hold, whether we like it
or not?
Must we always seek familiarity?
10/21/2024 j.g.l.
The Moon hangs low,
yet the Sun still rises.
Each day
we have another chance
to shine a little brighter.
Rise up.
Be radiant.
© 2019 j.g. lewis
Today might not be what it is
without yesterday being all
that it was.
In a succession of events,
unplanned or programmed,
rarely do we consider
what has happened,
as it happens.
Sometimes we speak less
about things that matter
as we think we have
more time, as such.
Oftentimes
we do not speak of
things we should
as they are happening,
in the time that remains.
In the time we are given,
the present persists.
10/15/2024 j.g.l.
I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
I’m currently fascinated with the book Contrasts: In The Ward – A Book of Poetry and Paintings by Lawren Harris from the period before the emergence of The Group of Seven.
The book provides a contrast to the magnificent modernist images of the Canadian landscapes Harris was known for, with the paintings and the poetry offering a historical look at urban Toronto heading into the 1920s. The poetry was previously published in 1922 in text only.
I purchased the book at the Art Gallery of Ontario, during one of my weekly AGO visits over the summer. The gallery offered me solace in these troubling times, a break from the news of the world in these pandemic days. Often my gallery visits would begin, or end, with time studying the brilliance of The Group of Seven work contained in the permanent collection. Each week the art of a different group artist would resonate with me, but most often it was that of Lawren Harris.
As I walk through downtown, and into sections of Toronto previously known as ‘the Ward’, Harris’ world comes to life though his words as much as his artwork. It is breathtaking, the poetry going deeper into the artist’s societal observations.
Wandering through downtown, I would stop and picture what was then versus what is now; what remains and what has been changed.
I keep a notebook with me to write my own reflections on a city I am only coming to know. This book is very much a guided journey through my new hometown with narration provided by Harris; he walked the same streets of the same city.
10/11/2020 j.g.l.
I’m like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.