Lily S. May–Life with Art
Here's a poem I began a few years ago that I made some small changes to today. The inked linoleum block that follows the poem was not done in response to it but seemed to fit. Map of the Body The body is a map in relief carved by the nail of time. The body… Continue reading Map of the Body
I came late to chimney swiftsbut now that I take note of them, living close to the sky in a high building, my life has expanded.I await their return in springand am saddened when they depart in fall. There's much false talk of freedom these days but watching the flight of the swifts above the… Continue reading Other Lives
In 2013 I wrote a poem that I've made a few changes to this year. Among the additions, I've changed the reference to passing years to bring it up to date. The setting for the poem that I see in my mind's eye is a place my husband and I visited in Cypress Hills Park… Continue reading The Day of the Angel
I've been rereading some of the poems I wrote years ago. Here's one from 2013. I've changed a phrase and the order of some words, but the feelings remain the same for me. Reading my work with fresh eyes has given me the push to take up ongoing writing again which I had let slide.… Continue reading Make It Small
Here is a poem I wrote in 2013 after a massive ice storm in Toronto. And a photo from the winter of 2017 at the Brickworks. Storm of ice A storm of icehas descended on uslasting over partsof three dayscoating branches and wiresbringing down the electricityacross the city.While the soft grey light remainsI sit writingthinking… Continue reading Storm of Ice
Here's a poem I wrote in 2013 and 14 that I've been thinking of. The word skinny doesn't refer to bodily thinness. Instead, I used it as a metaphor to express feelings and memories. Grasslands, Saskatchewan, 2009 Skinny Skinnygliding in the antelope's shadowstarved for lovefor the blossoms beside the lichen patterned stone. As skinny as… Continue reading Skinny
It's the time of lilacs and lilies of the valley, their perfume arriving on the breeze before I reach the flowers themselves in the gardens of houses that enchant me this spring. Mid summer heat has arrived early and the gardens are showing off: forget me nots, bleeding hearts, wisteria, irises, red bud trees and… Continue reading The Time of Lilacs and Lilies of the Valley
I hope you are well as we move into spring. I've seen crocuses and snowdrops blooming in Toronto this week and birds and their songs are returning. The scratchboard drawing reproductions (see Unearthed) have also returned, though these are from the printer and not from their wintering homes. The drawings came out well with much… Continue reading Unearthed 2
In order to preserve some scratchboard drawings I made in 2015 and 2016, this week I sent files of them off to be printed in a small experimental batch. I decided to print them as a set of postcards or small deck that I've named Unearthed. Here's the process that got me to this stage.… Continue reading Unearthed
Here is a poem and drawing about surgery I had as a child. It was in December when I was 15 that I had the unexpected, very serious surgery. Now each December I relive that trauma more forcefully than at other times during the year. Several years ago I wrote a poem about the experience.… Continue reading December
Arts of May 