New Chapbook: Suddenly, Time was Like the Flowers

When I was in middle school I wrote a poem called Flying. It was published in the Moose Jaw Times Herald and from that point, I wanted to be a poet.  I kept writing through high school and it felt only natural to study literature in university. During that time I discovered many wonderful writers and learned a great deal, but also unfortunately, came to the discouraging conclusion that I could never write as beautifully as the voices I admired.

And so, for many years after that, my poet’s voice fell silent. Life happened . . . I fell in and out of love. I raised sons I cherished. I lost people I loved. And through it all, the need to make sense of life’s experiences through poetry slowly reawakened until at last, I started writing again.  And the desire to see my words find their way into print returned.

One day I gathered the courage to attend the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair.  I arrived nervously and entered shyly, keeping a low profile as I walked through, stopping at each table, admiring all the beautiful books but avoiding making connections.

Then I heard someone say, “Hi Diane.”

I turned and saw a friendly, welcoming face.  It was the wonderful poet and lawyer Natalie Hannah who I’d met at a previous event . . . and from that point on, I knew I had a friend and an ally in the poetry community.  Natalie later included my poem downsizing in the April 2020 issue of GUEST [a journal of guest editors] and in time, invited me to work with her and Liam Burke on the creation of this chapbook for publication in battleaxe press.

We worked together on it with Liam Burke on and off during the COVID pandemic and last December it was printed and launched at SPAO gallery in Ottawa.

Each of the thirteen poems in this collection was conceived in love and nurtured by memories of those I have loved and lost. They reflect my journey through a difficult time when I discovered the deep magic and healing power in the flowers, trees and plants in the meadows around my home in Ottawa.

excerpt from Síocháin Domhain (Deep Peace)

When the forest called to her longing, 
she answered -- for its comfort, not hers.
And after she fell,
the damp grass yielded to her.

Maybe she lay 
     for months or minutes or hours.
Who knows?
Because suddenly
                time was like the flowers
that flourished between her fingers
and the vines that tangled
   and twined in her hair.

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Suddenly, Time was Like the Flowers $10
Published in a first run of 100 copies
battleaxe press, Ottawa, Ontario – December 2025
ISBN: 978-1-9994750-8-6

Botanical Art: Vasmila Designs

Poetry chapbook containing 13 poems about nature, growth, love and loss.

My writing is grounded in the lands of the Anishinaabe (ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒃ) people and flows with the waters of Sawmill Creek, the Jock River and the Rideau River.  I am grateful to the many plants and the winged beings who inspire me, to my four sons and grandson who are everything to me and most of all to my husband and soulmate Richard who loves me unconditionally.

Image adapted from photo by Diane Perazzo, Yarrow and goldenrod at Fawn Meadow Park, 2021