Let the Sunshine in (narrative poem) by Leanne Dyck

A narrative poem about a journey a child takes to spread light and promise.

'February 2019 on Mayne Island' phtoto by ldyck

Let the Sunshine in

Down a path, hidden by snow

crunch, crunch, crunch

yellow rain boots with smiley faces on the toes

At the edge of the forest,

veiled in mist,

on a snow-capped roof

a chimney breathes smoke

A witch's cottage?

Unafraid, the child ventures ever closer

Her knuckles reach for the door

knock, knock, knock

Sunshine spreads 

from the spot where the knuckles touched

to illuminate the door.

The child enters--

gloom gives way to sunshine.

Listening, the child hears 

click, click, click

"Hi, Grandma."

In the living room,

an elderly woman abandons her knitting needles

and follows the ball of light,

the child

out to the reawakening world
Boots skip over snow,
now mud, 
now grass,
now flowers

'March 2019 on Mayne Island' photo by ldyck

Much thanks to my beta reader for helping me with this poem.

photo by ldyck

April on this blog...

It's raining

it's pouring,
lots and lots of stories 
(Don't worry they're short)

Sunday, April 7

Your Favourite Stories:  a list to start the month. I've been publishing short stories on this blog since 2010. I hunted through all the old blog posts and found the most popular (those that earned the most page views) stories. I'll publish this collection on this blog on Sunday, April 7th.

Sunday, April 14 and 21
Book Reviews:  Short story collections by Margaret Atwood (Bluebeard's Egg) and Lisa Moore (Something for Everyone). 

Sunday, April 28
short story ???

'Abby's agility work' photo by bdyck

Sharing my author journey...

"My latest trick"

I've been literary agent hunting and I figured out something cool.

Christmas with Family (3 of 3) by Leanne Dyck

Based in the UK, Jolabokaflod Book Campaign seeks to support an Icelandic tradition--giving books on Christmas eve.

If you want to support this tradition, why not give the anthology In the Moment:  Real Life Stories of Hope & Inspiration. It's a collection of 27 stories by authors from Canada, the United States, Spain, China, Oman, and Australia. I'm proud that Christmas with Family was included in this fine book. Proceeds donated to Children's Wish. To order In the Moment, please email Gary Doi (garydoi@telus.net).

('it snowed again' LDyck Dec 13, 2016)

Summarizing the story so far:  Lead by my desire to celebrate Christmas with family, my husband has ignored the weatherman and BC Ferries' warnings and we are now on Salt Spring Island but... 

(LDyck)

Christmas with Family (3 of 3)

“You see we made it,” I said, trying to be cheerful.

Byron fixed me with steel eyes. “The ferry was only half the battle. The other half is that steep hill.” He pointed with his chin.

“But…but you said we would try.”

“Yes, Leanne. I did.” By the way he said my name I knew he'd lost his Christmas cheer.

“You’re a good driver. I have faith in you.”

Byron did try. He cranked his neck to peer out the side window and turned the steering wheel. We started to slide. He cranked his neck the other way to peer out that window. We began to fishtail, he turned the steering wheel and kept us on the road, barely. Then he started the whole neck thing again. He looked like he was watching a tennis match. Over and over again, he tried, but the farthest he got was halfway up the hill.

I closed my eyes and visualized my three brothers pushing us up that hill. “This time you'll make it,” I heard them promise. But they weren't there; Bryon and I were alone. I forced back tears.

Byron yanked the gear shift into park and glared at me. “You got any more brilliant ideas?” He asked after driving backwards over that three-mile steep, curving hill. “We could be safe and warm in our apartment. But no you had to drag us all the way out here. And now… And now… It’s pitch black. We’re stuck in a blizzard. And we don’t know anyone who can help us. Happy?”

No, I wasn't happy. I'd gotten us into this mess; I had to get us out. I typed Susan's number into my cellphone.

“I’d go and get you myself but my Toyota doesn’t like snow. I’m afraid I’d only end up stranded too. Try a tow truck or a taxi?” She gave me the numbers. The tow truck driver’s voice mail message wished me a Merry Christmas. The taxi driver laughed in my ear. Byron was beginning to swear which I had to admit was justified.

Desperate, I phoned Susan again.

“Hitchhike,” she said.

“What?”

“Ask for a ride. Someone will help you.”

By the tone of her voice, I knew she was serious. She wanted me to ask a complete stranger for help. Clearly, she hadn’t watched those horror movies. I had; I knew what would happen if I followed her advice—Byron and I would end up dead or worse.

What’s that noise? I looked over at Byron. Were his teeth chattering?

I have to do something. Now. But what? We’re a steep hill away from Susan, a hotel, a restaurant—almost everything. I looked across the street. Everything but that grocery store.

Three large trucks with snow tires were parked in front of the store.

“I’ll be right back.” I unclipped my seat belt.

“Wait. Where are you going?”

“To the grocery store.” I opened the door. “I’m going to ask for a ride.”

“What? You can’t. We don’t know any—”

I closed the door on the rest of his sentence.

Large sleigh bells jingled as I opened and closed the door. The sound made me think of Christmas angels. I said a silent prayer, “Please, this has to work.”

I surveyed the store—not for groceries—for an angel. A few aisles away a woman was talking with a teenager who I thought must be her daughter. “Please, can you help? My cousin is expecting me for Christmas but my car won’t climb the hill.”

“Of course,” she said, “I'd be happy to.”

Just like that, our problem was solved. She made room in her truck for our luggage, my husband and me. She drove us right to my cousin’s door. There we had a very merry Christmas.

Next post:  Goodbye 2016
Published on Christmas Day (or a few days before) at approximately 5 PM PST this post is about you and me.
You:  what posts did you like the best?
Me:  what did I do ('writerly-wise') in 2016?
Comments, reflections, and... on the year that was.

Picture Books in Canada

(LDyck)

Kids Can Press

'the largest Canadian-owned children's publisher'

Picture books 

Submission guidelines

(LDyck)

Sharing my author journey...

Christmas with Family (2 of 3) by Leanne Dyck

Christmas is not always merry. If you are--for whatever reason--separated from loved ones, it can be depressing and lonely. But you don't have to be a victim of these feelings. You can save your Christmas. This is a true story of how I--with help--saved mine.

Link to Christmas with Family (1 of 3)

(Snow 12/09/16)

Christmas with Family (2 of 3)

Weeks later, I was at the breakfast table listening to the radio.

“We’re guaranteed to have a white Christmas this year,” the weatherman predicted.

“What does he know? It's all guesswork.”

Byron waved his hand to silence me.

“Tons of snow will make traveling hazardous,” the weatherman concluded.

“I think we should postpone our trip to Salt Spring. Our sports car isn’t equipped for driving up snow-covered hills. We can always visit Susan later when the weather’s better,” Byron said.

“No, we have to…” My voice choked. “It’s Christmas. We need to be with family.”

He patted my hand. “We’ll try.”

Days before it was necessary, I made reservations with the ferry that would take us from the Mainland to Salt Spring. Time trickled by until finally, the day came.

I eased out of bed, crept over to the window, breathed out slowly, crossed my fingers and pushed back the curtains. A light dusting of snow covered the ground. Large, fluffy snowflakes continued to fall. It looks so pretty, just like C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s... No! We have to...

Byron rolled over and faced me. “How's it look?”

I pulled the curtains together. “Fine. Just fine.”

He crawled out of bed and pushed back the curtains. “I think we should phone Susan and cancel.”

“No, we can’t. It’s Christmas. It’ll ease up. I know it will.”

He snorted. “So now you're a weather forecaster?”

“Please, we have to try.”

Grumbling, Byron loaded our luggage into our car and drove us to the ferry.

A short line of cars lead to the ticket booth. The BC Ferry worker slid back the window. “Are you sure you—”

“Yes, we're sure.” We can't be alone. It's Christmas. We need to be with family.

Another BC Ferry worker directed us onto the ferry, but not before saying, “Are you sure you—”

I cut him off too.

We boarded the ferry. A routine two-hour trip ended up taking eight hours as we were diverted and re-diverted. But eventually, we docked at Salt Spring Island.

Next post:  (Could be a few days earlier--depending on weather conditions) Sunday, December 18th around 5 PM PST
The conclusion of Christmas with Family

Picture Books in Canada

Tundra Books

'Tundra Books is one of Canada’s premier publishers of children’s books and is renowned for its innovations.'

About Tundra Books including how to submit your picture book manuscript.

Sharing my author journey...

Lessons from my largest writing project to-date:  a novel for young adult readers...

Visiting B.C (short story) 3/3 by Leanne Dyck

(In case you missed them or want to re-read them, parts one, two)

Floyd's parents were waiting for us on the other side. "Congratulations. You crossed the bridge. We didn't know if you were going to be able to make it."

"Neither did I," I told them and they laughed.

"Lyndi, come with me. I want to talk with you." Floyd sounded so serious.

So this is it. This is when he tells me that it's been fun but he's dumping me. We left his parents on the other side of that lookout tower and walked over to the other side. Well, I'm not going to cry. Oh, who am I kidding. I love him; I'm going to bawl like a baby. 

He cupped my hands in both of his. "Lyndi, we've known each other for several months now."

"But I just don't love you," I imagined him saying. My mind was so full of worry that I barely heard him.

"Things seem to be going okay," he told me.

My world began to spin. All I could do was nod. I guess he took that as I sign that I was understanding him because he continued, "I love you with my whole heart and."

What is he saying? What does he mean? I don't understand.

"I want to marry you."

He wants to... What?

"Lyndi, what I'm trying to say... What I want to ask you is, will you marry me?"

Then his words slowly started to make sense. He...wants...to...marry...me. The heavens opened, angels sang, doves flew, the entire world rejoiced--but I think that was all in my head. I wanted to dance. I wanted to jump around wildly. But then I remembered where I was and kept my feet firmly planted on that piece of lumber that was balanced on a few tiny boards a million miles in the air. The most I could do was lean over to him and give him a tight squeeze. "Can I think it over." I said because I wanted to make him laugh.

It worked. He laughed. We kissed. And then I said, "Of course, are you kidding. You don't have to ask me twice."

He dug into his jacket pocket. "You know." He pulled out a box. "This is the reason the security guards stopped me." He opened the box. "This is the reason we almost didn't make it out of the airport." A diamond caught a ray of sun.

"But we did," I said, between giggles. "And we made it across that bridge. And now... And now we're..."

We said the word together. "Engaged."

"But I only have one question," I said. "With our heads in the clouds, how are we going to be able to make it back across that bridge?"

"Together," he told me--and we did. And we still are...

Inside looking out (photos)