Featuring at Poetic Justice

Posted on December 8, 2017 by admin

Featured - Me

Thanks Poetic Justice – Poetry New Westminster.

Here’s a wee sample:

THE VICTOR

The road was hard,
The battle bitter,
And though you proved indeed
To be a worthy foe,
Your cause was wrong,
Your tactics merely spite,
And she it was who fought
The better bitter fight.

…

So you may wrack her body,
But you can never take her soul,
For the “She” remains complete,
And you shall pay the toll.
For she’s the proven Victor,
And to the Victor comes the peace,
And she shall dance with angels,
And wear the golden fleece!
— —

Come and join Sylvia Taylor and me.

Here you will find some humour too.

Also, Sylvia is amazing.

You will find us at the Heritage Grill in New Westminster
447 Columbia Street
2:00 p.m.

Parking on the Parkade, off Fourth Street.

See ya there.

Hand waving Pixabay

Posted in Advocacy, Alzheimer's, Book Signing, Care Giving, Dementia, Featured poet, Friendship, Guest, Memories, Thank you | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

There is Hunger in the World

Posted on December 4, 2017 by admin

 

There is Hunger in the World

There is hunger in the world
To be loved
A hunger to be acknowledged
To belong
There is hunger in the world
For quiet
And a hunger everywhere
For peace

(Well, not everywhere, for there is still
not peace
There is still
Not love
There is an appetite in some hearts
For hate
A hunger to be acknowledged
As better than you
There is a hunger in the hearts of some
For civil disquiet)

Better to break bread together
Than to shout and fight
Better to aim higher
To shine brighter with love
Than to starve with hate

Oh, there is hunger in the mind
For saying
And hunger in the soul
For hearing
Hunger amongst the poor
Amidst the downtrodden
And the memory loss people
The cancer-ridden, the lost
And the stolen,
Hunger amidst all who wander
Hunger
In the mind, in the land
There is seeking
Seeking food for the belly
Food for the mind
Food for the soul

There is craving in the world
Craving for understanding
There is searching for a voice
There is a reaching out
For a friendly hand
To shake

Oh
There is a hunger in the world
That is not being fed
Hear the cries of the hungry
For they are life
And life is precious
More precious than all the words can tell
There is a hunger
Hunger in the world

Break bread with the hungry
Feed the starving minds
Break with the hatred
We are all of a kind

Reach out – Reach out.

CREDIT: Pixabay

Posted in Advocacy, Alzheimer's, Breaking Bread, Care Giving, Choices, Decisions, Missing, Poetry, Wanderers | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

State of Mind

Posted on November 30, 2017 by admin

 

State of Mind

State of Mind

Old age is just a state of mind
It is what you make of it
If along the way you can be kind
Then you’ll be fine at the end of it

Middle age is just a state of mind
A balance of work and rest
A chase not to be left behind
Or a chance to be your very best

Youth is a just state of mind
It’s either a waste or an epic blast
You can be the orange or you can be the rind
It all depends on how you let yourself be cast

And O! To be a babe again
To be loved for what I am
And not for what I could or should become
But just for being what I am

— —

Posted in Advocacy, Alzheimer's, Care Giving, Grief, Love, Poetry, Remembering | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Meet My Great People

Posted on November 27, 2017 by admin

 

picture for My Great People

Even the flowers blow you kisses

My Great People

H. W. Bryce

Society honours its own Great People,
Its leaders, its heroes, its good-deed doers,
All for good reason, it’s a good thing to do,
They set good examples for us to do too.

But I have some heroes of equal worth,
Kind-hearted folk, the salt of the earth,
They’re plain common folk who live in our town,
And they all deserve Good Samaritan’s crown.

Like the girls in the jewellery shop in the mall–
Jewels themselves, they take her to heart.
Patient as saints they listen with care,
As my Love stutters to say what she’s brought in for repair.

Like the security folk and the cops in the car
Who find her when lost from our home and afar
And bring her back home, all safe and all sound–
To them and such like, we truly are bound.

Like the hospital folk, so down to earth,
They give of their time from death to birth,
And take all the time that my frail one deserves–
Such is the heart of the one who serves.

Like the folks in the street when she stops them right there,
And two of them bond, an implausible pair.
Like the house retailer who listens intent,
He shows her his listings, he’s heavenly sent!

Or the beggar who smiles and gives her a buck
And tells her now, dear, you’ll never be stuck.
My heart wants to stop, keep this moment for mine,
Bless you my friend, may your sun ever shine.

Like the heroes inside our supportive group,
They’ve all been through the wringer’s loop;
They come with experience and wisdom hard won,
And we soothe and support each other, each one.

And the nurses and aides and the folks in the manor
Who keep her there in a comfortable manner;
They’re warm-hearted, helpful and ever aware,
So She needn’t worry and I trust in their care.

These are the people of my home town,
Who help each other without a frown;
True Heroes all and deserving a hand–
May we all learn to take such a heroic stand!

— —

*This poem is from my book CHASING A BUTTERFLY, as Great People.

Chasing a Butterfly – a great Christmas present, by the way – is available at

Amazon:  goo.gl/nexsF4 and

FriesenPress:  http://bit.ly/2jQpFxS

You can preview the book there. A percentage of each purchase price goes to the Alzheimer’s Society of BC. Thank you for your interest.

See you soon.

Flower Photo by H. W. Bryce

Posted in Advocacy, Alzheimer's, Care Giving, Dementia, Hope, Memories, Poetry, Thank you | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Night is Closing in on Me

Posted on November 24, 2017 by admin

 

Night is closing in on me
Night is Closing in on Me

Night is closing in on me,
He envelops me within his darkling cape.
He’s closing off the daytime frights
And bringing on the night’s delights.

Such dreams as I do dream on!
If only I could remember them,
Such plans that gel in sleep.
And if I could, these dreams I’d keep.

Night is closing in on me.
Why do I put up such a fight?
Why do I fear the night time?
Is’t why my life won’t rhyme?

Perhaps it’s best to ride the waves
Of setting sun and kiss the moon
As she manoeuvres tides,
And find the golden prize she hides.

Perhaps the sparkling morn will bring
The answer to my life’s most puzz’ling thing.
But I thank God there is a night
To feature all the stars so bright.

The stars they do spark up the mind,
Fill it with such imagination’s
Bounty, from which to pick the flow’rs
That give the minds its super pow’rs.

Yes, the night is closing in on me.
I will embrace his velvet touch
And rest my weary bones the while
With which to embrace the day with style.

H. W. Bryce

— —
Good night, sweet love. 
The Alzheimer’s sufferer’s wish?
To sleep or to wake?

To read about both sides of the wish, read
Chasing a Butterfly
Check it out at

Amazon:  goo.gl/nexsF4 and

FriesenPress:  http://bit.ly/2jQpFxS

See you soon.

Posted in Advocacy, Alzheimer's, Books, Care Giving, Dementia, Dreams, Elderly, My butterfly, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Books, Books, Books

Posted on November 20, 2017 by admin

 

Sidewalk sale
Selling books
Thanks to all

Books, Books, Books

Just set up at Black Bond Books, Haney Mall, Maple Ridge, BC
And already tablemate John Knapp is in business.

Thank you to all who turned out Saturday. It was a marvelous day.

Shari and the Black Bond crew did a marvelous job hosting
14 local area writers and poets. Kudos crew! We love you.

Next: back to voluntary solitary confinement to work on some
new poems for you all. It’s always a pleasure.

You can visit me at hwbrycewrites.com

You can peruse the opening sections and verses of my book
Chasing a Butterfly at:

Amazon:  goo.gl/nexsF4 and

FriesenPress:  http://bit.ly/2jQpFxS

See you soon.

 

 

 

Posted in Advocacy, Alzheimer's, Book Signing, Care Giving, My butterfly, Poetry, Remembering | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hidden Hero

Posted on November 17, 2017 by admin

 

Hidden Hero badge

Hidden Hero

Hero or coward?

“I am mighty, I am strong!
I can whip any wrong.
I will face each bully down.
I will make it safe in town.”

No I’m not, I’m afraid.
I’m a victim ready made.
I’m no hero, leave me be,
I just want to live as free.

There’s a hero in each of us
Just waiting to be born,
All we have to do is call on him,
He’ll answer to the trumpet horn.
— —

The Inner Struggle

Inside, outside, all around the mind,
Ego hides behind a cloud.
Wait now, comes a noisy crowd,
Whadda they want, what’s to do with me?
Inside the self the ego hides behind the me.

Inside, out, join the coffee club,
Jabber, jabber get to the nub
Of the matter, white, or black or grey,
Think outside the box,
There’s so much fun with dividends to pay.

“Which am I, an extrovert who plays the game?
Or introvert who plays at self blame?
Who knows what’s the name to call me by?
I’m sure I do not know, goodbye!”

No wait, I want to be more brave,
I want to learn just how I should behave.
No wait, already I know just what it is that I should do:
Stand up and claim my rights, and that is overdue.

There is a hero inside of each of us
Say hello to your braver self,
And when he comes and saves the day,
He will fill you up with undiluted awe.

Inside, outside, hide or fight it out
You have a hero inside of you, never you doubt,
He waits for discovery, waiting to come out.
Work with him now, work together as a pair,
Show the people just how much it is that you care.
You can face the world now, you can even dare
To let your courage grow.
You are your own hero, didn’t you know?

The resolve

So that is life, on the ever ever go.
So my hidden hero, no need to stow away,
You can come on out, any needed day,
You’re always welcome here. So come on and stay.

— —

You can always come on out and play;
Any needed day.
I wish you’d come and stay.

When facing fear and adversity, sickness or death,
-OR, just for a good read of Poetry for the People-
turn to a good book

“Chasing a Butterfly” by H W. Bryce

Signing your copy tomorrow, November 18, 2017,

At Black Bond Books,
Haney Place Mall,
Maple Ridge, BC

See you there, Hidden Hero.

Chasing a Butterfly

Posted in Advocacy, Alzheimer's, author site, Book Signing, Books, Cancer, Care Giving, Caring, Celebration, Dementia, Hero, My butterfly, Poetry, Remembering | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment