…And she’s still going strong!
Though in her 90s, our founder Donna Bishop remains creative and active. These photos were taken at the debut of several songs she has written, November 26, 2016.
Alvin Ens and Donna Bishop (Photo © Rhonda Nichols)
Donna Bishop with friends and family at the debut of her songs – The Cottage (Abbotsford BC), November 26, 2016 .(Photo © Rhonda Nichols)
The Fragrance of the Rest
The eternal beckons beyond the twilight
and in that great all knowing
voices speak.
The night birds still chirp at four a.m.
while we give thanks
for the comfort of the night
and the on-coming day.
But you, press on, where you live
and move and have your being,
where longsuffering has been refined,
leading to the fragrance of the rest.
Soon, oh soon, to conquer hiding demons
and, as light reveals the errors of my ways
free me that I may be forgiving and forgiven.
Step by step into each moment
beyond the twilight
until descends the dove
where no branch is ever seen for it rest upon.
We too breathe the fragrances of myrrh
on windswept sands.
Visions never die, nor do we.
Breathe deep beyond the scent,
Hear sounds beyond circumstance.
Let silence speak….
Copyright © 2009 by Donna Bishop (first published in Rivers of Words by M.S.A. Potpourri Society © 2009). Used with permission.
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Shadow Dancers
Quietly I walk down long corridors where shadows dance.
Most never see the shadows, – only I.
Most never hear the symphony to which they dance, -only I.
Stepping softly into each room I peer down on sleeping faces,
waiting, – perhaps waiting to become shadows,-
for someone with a light, who hears, – who loves,-
who MOVES to the rhythms of celebrative angels,
where the ‘here’ and ‘there’ dance together.
Shadows down long corridors,
Crumpled photos in worn frames
peer through the dark, smiling in a different time.
Bronze booties with names,
A plaque that speaks of fame
in a distant past.
Footsteps in the night, healing hands
yet hands that beckon beyond and a voice whispers,
“Hear the music! Shall we dance?”
ENCOURAGEMENT
WITHOUT THE HELP OF THE WIND
THE PRICKLY THISTLE MAY NEVER
HAVE KNOWN A NEW THING IT CAN DO,
AS IT TUMBLES JOYOUSLY, DANCING
OVER PRAIRIE FIELDS.
WILL YOU OR I BE THE BREEZES
THAT LIFT THE MUNDANE IN OTHERS
INTO THEIR NEW JOYOUS DANCE?
Copyright © 1995 Donna Bishop. Used with permission
Donna Bishop
Growing up on a Canadian prairie farm, Donna Bishop was discouraged from writing as a child because it was deemed “frivolous”.
Despite the stresses and challenges of marriage and family, she continued being a closet-poet although it wasn’t until 1976 that she felt confident enough to read her poetry to a poetry group in Burnaby. The positive response from that reading was profoundly gratifying and confirmed her belief that writing could both heal and raise one’s self-esteem.
After moving to Abbotsford, Donna Bishop founded MSA Poets Potpourri Society in 1981 and has been a vital force for the group for over 20 years.
Now past 80, Donna Bishop continues writing poetry and prose and recently began to paint. She was also able to attend he 25th anniversary of the group.
Update – September 2014: The Fraser Valley Poets Society published and launched Encouragement – Writings by Donna Bishop, tributes and poems by friends as a society project, in the month of Donna’s 90th birthday. Congratulations, Donna!
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