Culture Days in Newmarket Was a Big Success
On September 28th, 2019, the WCYR was lucky to participate in Culture Days, in conjunction with the Town of Newmarket. On site at the Newmarket Lion’s Hall and Community Centre, town organizers had a terrific line up of activities including music, 3D art, fibre recycling, giant knitting, and virtual reality demos. The WCYR held an open mic hosted by our own Erika Loughran MacNeil. Several WCYR members and others joined in the fun to read from their works, including Bev McLeish, a member who recently published her first collection of poetry, It’s Not Safe to Be Happy.
At the WCYR table, the public was encouraged to add a line to our community poem. The results were imaginative, moving, and sometimes hilarious. Here’s the WCYR Community poem (with thanks to T.S. Elliot for the first line):
Let us go then, you and I
I am Jan of the calculated risk taker, hot tea and orange scone loving English chick!
I am Maeve, a young creative and art lover
Shirin is my name, sweet is my fame
My family came to Canada in the 30s…1830s
Poetry is the soul of our life.
Life must dance and sing and soar
The people in our lives are the gifts
Nicolas walked along tasting the rain on his tongue, so sweet.
Kept his mind off his squishing, soaking wet feet!
The rain came down so sweet and gentle
We didn’t even miss the sun.
Our dog tagged along for the journey,
and soon the smell of wet fur filled the air
The sound of rain pattered on the windows, soaking my hair
The leaves are falling
The trees will be ’sleeping’ all winter
to awaken again next spring with a new set of leaves
Music in the air, love is everywhere, a song in your heart, a wonderful Culture Day event
Introvert, extrovert, dog lover, cat lover, September sun and rain
Working is invigorating and so is lobbying
And voices rose and fell in harmony and I am
Writing so I will not cry with joy from the sheer love of it and the bittersweet memories.
Look for the WCYR at next year’s Culture Days in Newmarket and come add your line to the community dialogue!
