isobelmtl

Writing under a Montreal sky

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about

Isobel Cunningham has published short fiction and poetry. Her book, Northern Compass is available on Amazon. She was born in Wales but Montreal is her adopted home. She speaks French, Modern Greek ( it’s a fun story) and a little Spanish…oh, English too, of course. She welcomes comments on her blog and looks forward to chatting with you over cyber-space.

Author: isobel cunningham

  • Hanging On

    This sight made me think about times I had hung onto things that had outlived their natural cycle, their natural life. Objects, clothes, books (a really hard one) dreams, ideas, but hardest of all, relationships. It’s hard to let go of people even if they are a damned pain in the neck. It seldom occurs…

  • Lunch at the Park

    Almost every day I go to the local park and do laps, climb up the toboggan hill backwards and forwards and look at clouds. Sometimes this fellow and his mate show up. They usually perch on top of the light posts, much higher up than this but yesterday they were intent on lunch. There are…

  • Eating with the Ancestors

         For how many hundreds of years did poor  Irish survive on potatoes and milk, cheese or butter?  That with cups of tea was the staple diet. Of course, the nice cup pictured here is more along the lines of ” lace curtain Irish” as my mother would have put it. A dear friend of…

  • An accidental Harvest

     I really didn’t mean to grow potatoes. I had read that if you stuck a rose cutting into a potato and buried it, a rooted rose plant would result. It didn’t so I pulled out the dry stick and threw it away. I forgot about it. ((don’t mock me) Weeks later some beautiful plants sprouted…

  • Groundhogs and fireflies

  • Dark Beauty

    Bright yellow and pink in the city garden. Blazing sun and dazzling colors. After days of baking heat, at last welcome rain and these darker beauties. Clematis coddled and anticipated opens like a Japanese sunshade to reveal a purple that puts the pallid roses to shame. On cue, a mysterious visitor, his brown and iridescent…

  • Tree Brides

        Catalpa trees in my neighborhood have burst into bloom. Each flower an orchid look-alike In intense heat the flowers fall, the brief bride-moment replaced by housewives sweeping up the glory and grumbling about confetti.

  • Goundhogs and Fireflies

    It’s summer with all the luxurious roses and the brilliant buttercups that enchant a young photographer. Today’s image was made by my granddaughter who has suddenly developed an interest in photography. It is tremendously hot in Montreal and the good weather has been holding for days. I thoughtlessly planted a lovely rosebush on my mother’s…

  • Covid 19 Test

      Magic bus driver in the Covid screening bus, you don’t take my ticket through the low slot of the plastic barrier that cuts the wattage of your brilliant smile. You take my medicare card, sanitized, in order. In return, you, the driver, give me a ticket. The three magic questions,” Do you have symptoms?,…

  • Spring, this is who I am

     I don’t match. My colors are all wrong. I’m the chaos you love to embrace. I’m moody, tearful. I explode with joy and temper. You long for me but I elude you. Just when you think you’ve tamed me My bossy sister, summer comes barging in. Can’t stand her…..I’m outta here!