I gaze at the night sky, tiny silver nuggets wink back at me. Which one are you, I wonder, as Shakespeare's words float through my head: 'When he shall die Cut him out in little stars And he will make the face of heaven so fine All the world will be in love with night' #Losslit

I sit on a hill in the park. The summer air wraps me in a velvet blanket. Above, pinpricks of light sparkle through a black canvas. One star breaks away from the rest and hurtles towards earth. There you are, I say. My #fallen son shows himself in beautiful ways. #vss365

This is the anniversary of my niece, Nicole's, death. Taken by cancer at 31. Nicole was a wife, a mother of two babies, a registered nurse. Her blond hair and ice blue eyes turned heads. It's 17 years since her light was extinguished. #Lingering gold dust. #vss365

One Mother's Day many years ago, David gave me a Hosta. I love it, I said. I'll think of you when it comes up each year. David's been gone more than a decade now. And when that hosta appears each spring it never fails to remind me of my son. #LossLit

Her blue eyes stared up at him. Hey baby, he cooed, running his hands down her body. He couldn't ever remember feeling such love before. Behind him bacon sizzled on the griddle. She drooled, he ignored her. She threw back her Husky head and howled in #betrayal. #vss365

Kids at school called her the girl who was raised by wolves. Her matted hair and grubby face gave her a #feral look. But at night, away from the taunts of her schoolmates, she curled up in the den, nestled against the she-wolf and felt unconditional love. #vss365

When I was little I had (what Bob Dylan called) a flesh-coloured Christ that glowed in the dark. My older brother was a big Dylan fan and I listened along. At night in bed I'd read by the light of the #luminous Jesus statue. It was a good time to be a Catholic kid. #vss365

The #barren land howls A cry of abandonment At the cloudless sky The merciless sun beats down Rain, the land pleads, please God, rain #vss365 #Tanka #micropoetry