Truth

I am whole. Tierra y yo.

-Micheala Yarmol- Matusiak

Streetview

Zoom out

Google Maps

Place the Man on The Moon

(SwoOn)

Bleep Bleep

Stop

(Swerve)

U-Turn

I-90

Cars, Cars, cars

Stop

Zoom In Out

Manual Focus Monocle

Lens turtle shell

Extinction and Fossilization

Snap

Elastic Band waves

Salt Lake City

X Orange

Writing for today

Zoom out.

-Micheala Yarmol-Matsusiak

For when faith Fails

Right now, the water is murky, filled with nitrogen and algal bloom.

The fish and I have lost our habitat,

I need a sign that this ecosystem will be restored.

That balance will be once more.

Tell me that the fields will turn from ice into potent sunflowers that fill the air with

warmth and longing.

Let the stars fall and please, let the bees return.

I wait for the hives to fill, for the hibiscus to open their vibrant petals.

I long for the hydrangeas and the ferns, the english oak and the daffodils to bloom and

burst once again,

among the ruby and creamsicle tinged skies.

These visions have no sense of time, there is no time

time is not real, a mirage over gypsum deserts and yucca plants.

It is stuck in the asteroid belt along with the lost hopes and dreams that we cast away

out of reach from gravity, with no trajectory of return.

This brings the question:

Can technologies advance?

Can I manipulate the hummingbirds to travel past Mars and bring my dreams home to

me? Bring my love home?

Tell me Universe is this in the stars?

Are we meant to reunite ourselves with what we have lost in yesterday tomorrow?

Field Note 1

Sediment formations are surrounded by emerald water and schools of fish.

I glide through the rippling waves as the salt content keeps me afloat.

The sunshine etches itself in wave-like patterns across my arms, refracting and

reflecting through the frigid sea.

Though I am covered in goosebumps, I am reminded that I am a part of this beautiful

scene.

-Micheala Yarmol- Matusiak

Nostalgia

Have you ever had the feeling

When you wake and hear the chirping

Of the swallows, by your window,

By your window, they all sit

You start walking down the pavement

Which you took when you were little

And remember seasons passing

Seasons passing, bit by bit

Or you read a little something

About people that you knew once

Names and selves that stayed in your head

In your head they do not fit

Nowadays, have you the feeling?

Do you wake and hear the chirping

Of the swallows by your window

By your window, do they sit?

-Jeanne Polochansky

The First Lullaby

Catch the fairy of the soul

Clasped within the polished bowls

Place it in the hazel round

And hide it under jealous thorn

Stitch a thread of love and life

Through the forests of whitened branch

Draw a line of hollow breath

On skyward stems and languid leaves

Plant the seeds of slender down

Long or short, either is well

Let raindrops fall onto the bloom

As long as they’re not bitter, but sweet

Paint the berries cream and gold

Glaze in silver, cover in silk

Dot spots on the hill with truffle and spice

And powder it off with shimmering dust

Let gold streams flow between each strand

Running through kaleidoscope falls

Make the wandering sun plant a kiss on the path

Its butterflies painting trails of pink

Listen for cries of the buried mountains

Hear the hum of hooved travelers

Blind the fliers but see their wings

Guiding fires towards the sky

-Jeanne Polochansky

Indigo/Crimson

I can open both of my eyes

Yet while one sees, the other one cries

Looking past the shoreless sea

I spot capsized rafts awaiting me

I peer into mirrors to find what’s amiss

But I end up blinded instead of blissed

I hear voices that say the key

Is something that I cannot see

Don’t wear tinted glasses – surreality lies

Pink isn’t always the colour of skies

The dark is your friend, as should be your ears

Since invisible silence causes great fears

Water can’t help and neither can you,

The stings have pierced all the way through

Once you’re here, there’ll be no wound to tend

All that’s left is to wait for the end

Forget the colours of your breath

They’ll be gone soon, inviting death

Trade irises for rose bouquets

There’s nothing to see here anyways

They’ll wrinkle and whittle if you watch for too long

Your nectar will dry with the hummingbird’s song

But you sent a seed on its brittle wings

Don’t fret, lest you lose the garden it brings

Perhaps in the depths of the greenest waves

Meadows of coral cover the caves

I don’t know for sure of this faraway bloom…

…are they growing for me? (Only fools would assume!)

Petals, like paint strokes, dapple her hair

One day she’ll find out they grew everywhere

For now she believes she’s accursed with this view

Alas, she’s mistaken – she’s blessed with it too

-Jeanne Polochansky

On my way to the bus stop

on my way to the bus stop this morning

the sun was just beginning to rise.

it dawned above the brick red row houses

as well as the sturdy, leafless trees

that line the avenues of my city.

as i emerged from the serene sidestreets

the streetcar whooshed down the main road

and commuters hurried and crammed

into those small steel crowded cars.

i crossed the road, strolling down another avenue.

now the sun was alive and glowing

shining in rays of peach pink and bright amber

shimmering over the blue in my eyes

leaving traces in my copper red hair.

the walls of my fantasy world

began to scale straight into the sky.

suddenly the webs of my wallowing turned loose

unspooling and breaking the locks of my truth.

i was no longer fearing for the future

nor beating myself up over the past

instead fixated on the dogs barking by

or counting the kids with toques on their heads.

i reached the end of my journey

where row houses grew into grey coloured mansions

yet the light still simmered in the same way

when i first set foot into the sleepy morning.

the sun had fully risen against the sky

and all that’s left to do

is to wait in the seas of wonder

nestling into the peace

of my once chaotic mind.

-Owen Merskey

Magical Place

I’ve found a magical place, where I can be free

Where children laugh where no one can see

I’ve found a magical place, where no one’s asleep

Where everyone's equal, there is no black sheep

It is a small world, as the city of Omelas

But the passengers here are a big mass

A big mass of joy, that forgot the world around

A big group of voices that makes a loud sound

A sound that is heard, but not understood

A sound that screams: “we are alive!”, and the mood,

A mood of belongingness that brings anyone out.

Out of their fears, their depression and drought.

Their fear, of doing the wrong thing

Their fear, of not knowing how to sing

But the rules don’t apply here, you can do what you want

You can try a new thing, or help someone out

Each day is different, we’ll build a new world

And we’ll build it together until we are old

We will sing, write and perform

We will lock ourselves in and make the new norm

We will speak in rhymes or not speak at all

We will run around screaming until fall

We will play games and forget the rules

We will forget the rules and become fools

WARNING

The voice, my voice that I found

My people helped me to pick it up from the ground

They built the pieces, and I glued them all

And we held them together, in hopes they won’t fall

I held theirs, they held mine

We made a big chain, we were all fine

WARNING

Each time I came back, my voice became stronger

Each time I left, the world around became wronger

As the glue would weaken while I was away

But I was so sure I would come back to stay

WARNING

New faces come to replace the ones who leave

I don’t want to do it, but I’ll feel like a thief

A thief who stole a chance to come here

From someone who did not yet hear

WARNING

I am a fool that forgot time exists

But the world around continues and insists

On turning around the sun, and making me leave

Their voices become weaker and I can’t deceive

WARNING

What they are saying anymore, I want to hold on

Hold on to that feeling that feels like it’s gone

WARNING

I am losing something important

WARNING

Why can’t this place be a constant

WARNING

I don’t want to live alone again

WARNING

I am holding to everything, but in vain

WARNING

I’ve walked away

I am a passenger so I cannot stay

To rebuild the world, I brought only one thing

And now, I know how to sing

-Evdokiya Mazhurina

What’s On – Young Voices, Home and Work & More

Forward this E-mail | View e-mail as a Web page   What's On at the Library March 12, 2019 The Time Traveller by Bessa Fan, age 16, from Young Voices 2018. Get Published in Young Voices Magazine Released annually, Young Voices is Toronto Public Library’s magazine of writing and visual art by Toronto youth age 12-19. The submission deadline for the 2019 edition is fast approaching! Send us your work by Tuesday, April 2, 2019 for consideration in this years’ magazine. Submissions are accepted online and in all library branches. Contributors selected for publication will be contacted in June. Young Voices Writing and Art Workshops Home and Work: Today's Industrial Revolution We are thrilled to launch a new collaborative series of events, Home and Work, exploring the ways modern industry is changing the way we live in regards to home, labour, transit and leisure. On April 9, hear from journalist and author of the memoir Maid, Stephanie Land, whose passion is giving a voice to the working poor in America. Join us on May 24 for a talk with Alex Rosenblat, technology ethnographer and author of Uberland. Local Artists are Invited to Exhibit in the Library We are pleased to provide space for art exhibits which reflect the diverse cultural interests of the City and its neighbourhoods. Art Exhibits spaces are included in 16 of our locations across the city. Artists are invited to submit their work for possible exhibition during the upcoming Art Exhibits season, running September 2019 – August 2020. Deadline for submission is April 5, 2019. Did You Know? ...You Can Find Book Recommendations for Your Child Our website for kids 6-12 has recommended reads for every child's taste. Browse our latest fairy tales stories, mysteries, graphic novels and much more.  Upcoming Programs Cardboard Tube Race Cars Craft  Wed Mar 13, 2019 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Bayview Enjoy an afternoon making cardboard racing cars and get creative with this craft by personalizing it. All supplies provided. Recommended for ages 6-8. Read More More March Break Programs Star Talks: Why Men Must Join the Gender Equality Revolution  Thu Mar 14, 2019 | 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm North York Central Library Michael Kaufman, international expert on gender equality, talks about his latest book The Time Has Come, which explores how a patriarchal culture that has given power to men comes at a huge cost to women, children, and, surpr... Read More More On Civil Society Programs Sushi Making for Teens  Fri Mar 15, 2019 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Maryvale This hands on sushi making class presented by award winning chef Sang Kim from Sushi Making for the Soul is for teenagers aged 13 to 19. Teens will learn about the art of sushi making while learning how to make three differen... Read More More Teen Programs Jennifer Robson: The Gown  Tue Mar 19, 2019 | 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm North York Central Library With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. The Gown is an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the t... Read More More eh List Writers Series First-Time Home Buyer's Speakers Panel  Thu Mar 21, 2019 | 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm Bloor/Gladstone Drawing on the knowledge of a mortgage specialist, realtor and real estate lawyer, this presentation and discussion will help first-time home buyers find out what they need to know and do to ready themselves to enter the hous... Read More More Personal Finance Programs The Edge of Your Seat: Writing Scenes of Suspense  4:30 pm - 6:00 pm on recurring dates listed below Jane/Sheppard Using drama and audience participation, author Marina Cohen will teach techniques young writers can use to add tension and suspense to their writing. Read More More Sophie's Studio Workshops Story Jam  Sun Mar 24, 2019 | 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Toronto Reference Library A day of great family storytelling, with folktales from around the world, national and international guests, and lots of storytelling activities. This drop-in event is presented as part of the 2019 Toronto Storytelling Festiv... Read More More Culture Arts & Entertainment Programs June Callwood Lecture: Albert Woodfox  Tue Apr 02, 2019 | 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Toronto Reference Library Albert Woodfox served more than four decades in solitary confinement―in a 6-foot by 9-foot cell, 23 hours a day, in notorious Angola prison in Louisiana―all for a crime he did not commit. ... Read More More Appel Salon Programs More Upcoming Programs Your Next Great Read For Adults New Adult Fiction New Adult Mysteries New Adult Non-fiction Current eMagazines  New Ebooks and Eaudiobooks Featured eBook The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton Borrow Now For Kids and Teens  New Children Fiction New Children Non-Fiction New Teen Fiction New Teen Graphic Novels We Recommend Challenged Books in Canada Recent Blog Headlines Local History & Genealogy From the Archives: Ontario's Musical Greats The Buzz...About Books Happy Women's History Month 2019 Arts & Culture 10 Vintage Photos of Toronto's Working Women Arts & Culture A Body in a Library: Eiko Otake at the Toronto Reference Library Growing a Reader: Kids' Books, Tips and More New and Noteworthy Picture Books More Blogs by Library Staff Photo Moment Feminist Bookmobile In 1974, these two Toronto women drove their Feminist Bookmobile into small towns across Ontario. Judith Quinlan and Ellen Woodsworth saved up money to convert a school bus and stock up on pamphlets and books to sell (at cost) on topics such as women's history in Canada, birth control, day care and also works by feminist poets. For more photos from our Special Collections, visit our Digital Archive. Please also visit us on Pinterest. Latest Video How to be a Radical Why do some social justice movements fail? How can grassroots organizers and activists build better movements that change the world? To kick off our On Civil Society series for 2019, we invited activist and organizer Jonathan Smucker to discuss these question with Michal Hay. Watch Video More Toronto Public Library Videos We Want to Hear from You Send feedback about the 'What's On at the Library' newsletter to info@torontopubliclibrary.ca.  Subscribe | Privacy Policy | Contact Us Toronto Public Library 789 Yonge Street Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8 torontopubliclibrary.ca | 416-393-7131 Unsubscribe from this contact list

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