Over The Water
I submit this poem as part of my own journey here in the Yukon. Thankful for living on the traditional territories…
Ritual and Ceremony
In my world, ceremonies are a regular thing. I have the honour of leading the people of Whitehorse United Church in worship.
Long Live the Dandelion
I saw my first dandelion of the season early this month, and it absolutely made my day. I love dandelions.
Grey Matters: Christmas memories
I’ve just finished “taking down Christmas” for another year. I love the ritual; the small, silent, solitary ceremony of this dismantling.
Beverly Brazier turns to thoughts of fall
September is quite a month. There are poems about it. It’s a month that digs deep into the range of our emotions.
Pollyanna-ing the pandemic
What I’m writing about in this column are the benefits and blessings of technology that I’ve discovered in the last year.
The simple pleasure of hanging laundry
Of all the things I miss each year as the summer spills over into autumn, the one I hang on to the longest, and feel most wistful letting go, is laundry. More specifically, hanging clothes outside in the sun.
Dandelions and rituals
It all started with a dandelion. Funny how small things can make a difference.
And funny too how, when I have time, I can actually realize that.
A lifetime of music
It may be an exaggeration to say that Kermit the Frog saved my life, but only slightly. It was 1971. I was 17. The Beatles sang “The Long and Winding Road” and I was deep in the swamp of solipsistic angst in the way that only teenagers can be. “Last night I was a girl …
Aging with grace
When I accepted the call to become the ordained minister at Whitehorse United Church, I was living in rural New Brunswick. That was 10 years ago, in 2009. It may be a function of my age that it seems, in some ways, like yesterday. All the feelings associated with that decision are still quite fresh …
Ode to Nellie
If you have a glass or cup of something handy, get it ready. At the end of this piece we’re going to raise a glass to a woman named Nellie. You might want to get a handful of penny candy too … you’ll see why. Nellie and her husband (whose first name I never knew) …
Filling in Forms
Ambushed. Blindsided by an empty box on a sheet of paper. Later, she would remember the incident and smile, but at this moment it was as though the wound that had been healing for the last seven months had been cruelly torn open. A dentist’s drill going at her soul, with no freezing. Without warning, …
Europe? Bring it on!
The first time I went to Europe I was on a quest, of sorts. My mission: find french fries, and cute guys. Not necessarily in that order. I was 18. It was 1972, and “doing Europe” was the thing to do. Two friends and I backpacked the summer away: Zurich (I slept under the first …
