He was just a bird, perched on the long cold metal of the electricity wire, strung along the overhead poles that ran along the road, watching over us, presiding over the burial, like it was his own to supervise. You could hear the electricity buzz through the metal wire and disappear into the long white … Continue reading The Crow

It seemed like a long drive from Winnipeg to Haywood. So long I thought my brain would go numb. Winter. Nothing to see along the roadside as we drove out there. Just long deep white fields that disappeared into the distance against the white sky. It seemed like the air was frozen hard. Too frozen … Continue reading The White Church

He wore a suit and tie to sell linoleum at Eatons and he napped in his good work pants. You had to play quiet when he was napping. But none of them were quiet then. The turkey people. I recognized many of them. They were from the French side. They spoke French to each other. … Continue reading Aunt Mary

The water is freezing now and I am alone in the cold air of the bathroom, the wind of late November leaking in through the storm window. There he is, a frost angel painted on the glass, telling me he is there, my dead Uncle. Their apartment was small. The front room had their bed, … Continue reading It Made No Sense

I was in the tub. The water was starting to cool. It was cloudy from soap used to scrub my little brother. I was the second bather again. No time to run fresh water. Some of his toys still floated around me, naked. My father stood at the sink shaving away the soapy lather on … Continue reading Death of an Uncle