↑

Archive of ‘ocean’ category

ocean, poem, wheelchair | 0 comment

Aegri Somnia Vana*

to the land beyond the sea

Always,
the fragrance of the earthen potpourri
    walking down the hint of a path,
    erased by impatient feet,
                      to the sea.
The forest marched down
to the waters edge
    clung to slivers in the severe wrinkled face of the cliff, and
    on islands the tide shaped;
Yet couldn’t,
   wouldn’t press,
   even a gnarled toe
into the rocky sand-shore,
    to feel a shy wave
    glide forward,
    reach around toes to heals, and
    tug you in closer to play.
How lonely!-
    to only drink
    the windward rains;
only feel briny breezes run wild fingers
    through needle-tresses,
only smell the suns reflection, scattered from every
    glistening pebble
    bull kelp, fallen feather;
To watch, and wait, at the precipice of a wonder;
To be rooted to this rugged, cumbersome land
    and never to touch, taste,
    one teardrop
                       of the Pacific’s compassion.

May your tears always find a path home to the sea. ~

Olympic Mountains

Written on November 5th, 2012

*Translation: A sick man’s empty dreams, a line of Horace’s

carpe diem, changes, family, inner harbour, ocean, sewing, skirt, Solstice Cafe, sun, tired, trips out, vegan, write on camera | 0 comment

Reflections in a looking-glass pool

Underwater life animated on a historic building

I thought that the days of summer were truly over, but today the sky was an exhilarating riot of vivid blues, stormy grays and white. A mix of sun and clouds, with a touch of rain, and the occasional brilliant-eye-squinting ray of sunshine. Dad and I went down to the Inner Harbour, walking along one of the few paved paths in Victoria that is in a moderately tranquil location.

Regal Parliament, resting on borrowed lands

We walked along the smooth path, taking in the sights like any good tourist. It is noisy in the Inner Harbour, with the sea planes taking off towards the distant mountain, motor boats tootling around, people laughing and skateboarding, biking, dogs.

no school like zee old school

The one thing that you must listen hard to find, to separate it from the roars of city life, is the sound of the ocean, persistently lapping against the raised concrete path. I wonder what this place looked like before the shoreline was smoothed out and raised up. Were there beaches paved over, and did they use the smooth pebbles littering those ancient beaches to decorate the gray cement? A small piece of the bay is still intact, where you can see the remnants of crystal pools of green water, which carve holes in the rock-face. There are no big waves that rock into the Inner harbour any more. Not since the extension and creation of the breakwater, a few kilometers away. The water feels almost stagnant, until some boat or plane disturbs its’ surface. Just remember that this water is also full of raw sewage, one of Victoria’s very dirty secrets. Yes, that’s right, in the historic capital of this great province, our toilets flush right into the once pristine coastal waters. Pollutants don’t belong here. Not anywhere.

looking-glass pool
We strolled across the Blue Bridge, a first for me. I’ve never crossed from Esquimault to Victoria on foot or wheels. From there, Solstice Cafe, a haven of organic and homemade (many vegan!) delights, is just a few stoplights and a hill away. Steaming cups of rich cocoa, and a granola bar. Isn’t that the definition of culinary heaven? 
history unknown
I have always been fascinated by this building front on Pandora. Only the historic front remains, an eerie skeleton, a face with no body, a lid without a box. Ironically someone painted a few blue pacman on the front.  In the good old days of my freedom with strong legs and a healthy sense of adventure and liberty (always willingly accepting serendipitous situations as they arrive), I used to think to myself that the bodiless building would make an incredible picture, or a sweet backdrop for a photo-shoot. Finally, camera in hand and blue sky to boot, I captured the haunting beauty of the place on film a plastic memory card. 
I was so exhausted when we came home, although I am trying not to show it. We started my IV antibiotics a few days ago, after almost half a year without them. The medicine is caustic, and burns my heart and veins as it enters my blood stream. I feel weighed down with sickness, as though my bones are suddenly filled with lead instead of 900 mg Clindamycin.
When in sickness or pain, try chanelling your frusteration into a creative outlet. 
Don’t speak the anger in your mind and body, but instead try to look at the flipside, turn everything terrible into something good. 
An example? Today I am really suffering, and I feel like crying with the pain of the medicine going into my heart and neck. 
But someday, when I’m a doctor, and I decide to put a patient on a drug with a biting, bitter, derisive and acerbic personality, I will be able to understand their suffering. 
I am being given the power to heal, through the knowledge of suffering I am receiving. 
A further plus side is my extension tubing is 14 inches long, leaving me plenty of room to knit!
Once you start moving in a postive frame of mind, everything become lighter and warmer in my mind. I hope it can do the same for you.
I channeled my pain in sewing this afternoon. I have many incredible animal-print tees from the Sierra Club, that Dad used to bring home for me, some of which I have had since kindergarten. The sky blue and navy octopus shirt, which is too small for me and a bit faded, has just been recycled into a trendy skirt. Cut off the sleeves and neck, added a bit of denim on the sides from a pair of pants I cut off into shorts, and created a waist band from a faded black stretch shirt. I will post pictures when I have it fitted and on ma body! Should be pretty sweet once it’s done…and all recycled…how cool is that? 
<3
consumerism, ocean, taco loco | 0 comment

Infinity out to Sea

picking between better and be

A few nights ago we happened upon the best little taqueira in Laguna beach, possibly that I’ve ever eaten. I had a salad last time, which was amazing, but didn’t quite showcase ‘Taco Loco’s’ specialties as much as…well…their tacos. It was a vegan paradise, with blackened tofu, potato, or mushroom, and phish tacos. Don’t worry, I plan on trying them all, and I made a decent effort of it today. Fresh, chunky guacamole and salsa, blue-corn tacos. It was pure bliss. The best taco I have ever had. No question.

After that deliciousness, nothing could be better than eating Taco Loco’s vegan desserts (oh you heard me) at the beach. Chocolate chip cookies and hemp brownies. They were okay, but the fact that they made the effort to serve all vegan desserts is pretty rad.

Mother nature planned an even more awesome finale to the day; the sunset. Have you ever seen an ugly sunset? Each sunset reminds me of the importance of nature, and that every and any sacrifice is worth it to protect it. I miss all of the forests of home, the lush greens, the crystal clear skies and waters. When the half-light glances off of a bare California Coastal beach, you can almost forget that this state has way more licensed drivers than the population of Canada. Or that the orange glow of the dying sun is masking the smudge of taupe pollution just at the edge of the cloud cover. Gone are the 16 lane freeways and cities of strip-malls. Nature isn’t fighting for its place in the concrete desert. All that exists is the coastline, and you when you look straight out to sea, you can’t see a damn thing. It’s beautiful. With this view as my inspiration, I feel as though I can reconstruct in my mind this continent, 350 years ago.

Combining my love of the dreamy music of Satie and the enchanted sunset, I put together this little slideshow, complete with authentic movies of a wave on a beach in California!

cold, feel weird, inner harbour, light, ocean, sun | 0 comment

City Lights and Harbour Sunset

I have been healing nicely all week. Already the incision wound doesn’t hurt as much. It mostly pains me when I try to move my shoulder, pulling at the stitches, which gives me an odd pinching sensation. Its hard still to roll over in bed, or to pull myself up from the chair, but I know I will be back to my old self before long. I didn’t leave the house all week, but instead caught up on two seasons of Halifax Comedy Fest (best show ever, if you haven’t watched it! Atlantic comedy is where its at!) and the Winnipeg comedy Fest. Laughing hurts sometimes, as my ribs are very painful and tight, but it feels better. A nice ab workout, that how I like to think of it. Yesterday, I made a pilgrimage to the library, but it was a very brief one, as I could barely reach things off the shelves, which was very annoying. Its like being in a museum of soft toys and not being able to touch them! Alas.

The light today was of a pure, clear kind, with dark blue clouds against a pure baby blue sky. It is magically at sunset, at the Inner Harbour. I can see why it is such a popular tourist stop! It is perfectly situated to catch the final rays of the sun and it sinks below a treeline dotted with condos. If you squint your eyes, so the buildings all blur together, you can almost imagine what the virgin landscape looked like, before man’s machines shaped and twisted the land. I believe I read somewhere that the native Songhees called the area something like ‘cradle harbour’, and would put a baby’s cradle in the waters as a blessing of long life or wellness. I forget the details, but if any place I have seen had a more fitting name, I cannot recollect one.

The path is very nicely paved, and relatively flat. The odd thing about that area is the sheer amount of condos surrounding you, towers of glass and steel stretching up up up to the blue ceiling. And yet, there are never any people around. The streets nearly deserted, the only sounds from boats and planes touching down on the water nearby. Its like a background hum, which you can hear over the water lapping on the shore.

It is very relaxing being by the sea. I feel certain that there really is something to that old adage about going to the ocean for your health. The minerals in the air the are beaten off the rocks, the soothing sounds of water moving, the relaxing blue-grays. Peaceful. It was very cold, but just what I needed. Really cheered me up. I haven’t been feeling well these past few days.

%d bloggers like this: