The Glass Ceiling

You have to have the attitude of a brick
in order to bring down the glass ceiling above you.
The strength of a madman
and the willingness to fail.

How easy it is to point out the failures of yesterday,
and how difficult it is to admit our own failures upon inheriting our parent’s success.
There is no perfect flower in the rose garden
only the perfume of the bloom, and the smell of fertilizer.
Your tears shall not feed the roots of tomorrow
for that blessing comes from higher up.

Instead,
try nurturing a thistle of your own to perfection
sharpen the colors with love and dignity
Watch it grow in the worst of times.
For it’s core strength stems from appreciation  
and determination.

Those that forge their life from your work
hold you in honorarium!
When they dance, they dance for you
when they sing, they sing to you,
when kind words and actions flow from their souls
it’s an acknowledgement of your attentiveness.

What feeds the stem will feed the soul
and what feeds the soul, feeds your God.


Image: A Blue Thistle taken from Nature and Garden’s web-page.
used without permission.
https://www.nature-and-garden.com/gardening/thistle.html


#Canada #Canadianpoet #Freeverse #Generation #God #Inherit #Love #Nature #Passdown #Poetry

Coming up at 6pm on June 27 at L’Eugélionne the Feminist Bookstore: Seed Beetle + Fire Cider Rain Poetry reading! Come to 1426 Beaudry, in Montréal for a beautiful and thought-provoking evening with poets Mahaila Smith and Rhiannon Ng Cheng Hin.

#poetry #canadianpoetry #canadianpoet #canlit #canadianliterature #speculativepoetry #sciencefictionpoetry #narrativepoetry #canadianbooks #canadianauthors #books #smallpress #bookstodon

Heads up, poetry lovers! Another great poetry event is coming up in a week. The Factory Reading Series, with Mahaila Smith, James K. Moran, Pearl Pirie, Manahil Bandukwala, and MA|DE will be on June 20 7pm at Anina's Cafe, 280 Joffre-Bélanger Way, in Ottawa. Mark your calendars!

#poetry #poetryreading #canadianpoetry #canlit #canadianliterature #speculativepoetry #sciencefictionpoetry #canadianpoet #ottawa #ottawaevents

Leonard Cohen - Closing Time (Official Live in London 2008)

Leonard Cohen - Closing Time (Live In London) (Official Video)Listen on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/lc_spotify Listen on Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/lc...

YouTube

Thank you Myna Chang for this lovely little interview with Mahaila Smith about their upcoming poetry collection SEED BEETLE! "The sweep of the story feels epic, almost mythical. Each poem brings another grain of understanding, building a complex world."

https://mynachang.com/2025/04/04/author-interview-mahaila-smith/

#poetry #poetrycollection #canadianpoet #canadianauthor #sciencefiction #sciencefictionpoetry #narrativepoetry #canlit #speculativepoetry #books #bookstodon

Author Interview * Mahaila Smith

Mahaila Smith’s narrative poetry collection, Seed Beetle, is a gorgeous little package wrapped around a compelling story of climate loss, corporate “saviors,” and human community. I love the way Ma…

Myna Chang

Stelliform's 1st poetry collection is now available to pre-order directly from us. Mahaila Smith's SEED BEETLE is tender, whimsical, and quietly revolutionary. Filled with beautiful illustrations by Toronto artist Julia Louise Pereira.

Find out more about the book and order your copy here: https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/product/seed-beetle-by-mahaila-smith/

#canadianpoetry #poetry #canadianauthor #canadianpoet #canlit #canadianliterature #narrativepoetry #bookstodon #books #poetrycollection

This coming Monday March 10, 7-9pm at Glad Day Bookshop:
Trinity's BIPOC Writing Circle & OCAD Emerging Writer's Reading Series. Come for readings by Mahaila Smith, Mechelle Wu, Alex Samuel-Bethel, Nishka Srivastava, Rayn Lakhani, Alyssa Johnson, and Elliot Black.

Mahaila Smith will be reading from their forthcoming Stelliform Press poetry collection, SEED BEETLE!

#gladdaybookshop #readingseries #canadianpoetry #canadianpoet #poetry #ecofiction #canlit #torontoevents

This land like a mirror turns you inward
And you become a forest in a furtive lake;
The dark pines of your mind reach downward,
You dream in the green of your time,
Your memory is a row of sinking pines.

#ThingsMyPetBirdSays
#HashtagGames
#CanadianPoetry #CanadianPoet #CanadianLiterature #Canada #Poetry #Poem #Literature #20thCenturyPoetry #20thCenturyLiterature #NorthAmericanLiterature #NorthAmericanPoetry
#GwendolynMacEwen

https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/macewen/index.htm

Canadian Poetry Online | University of Toronto Libraries | Gwendolyn MacEwen

I’m delighted to be part of this June 23 event at the Art Shoppe in Miller Lake, launching a new book of poetry by Kim McKellar, with readings interspersed with some of my original piano compositions, as well as wine and charcuterie yummies. To buy tickets, use the QR code in the poster, call 519-373-3526 or visit https://the-art-shoppe-events.square.site/ ..looking forward to it! #canadianpoet #booklaunch #gowakethebear #canadianwriter #naturepoetry #Colmanjones #piano #theartshoppeatmillerlake