Elsie Measures, an athlete of the mind

Elsie Measures. What does the name mean to you?

Perhaps you think of the grande dame of Barrhead’s bowling scene. Or perhaps the secretary of the Barrhead Historical Society, someone involved in preserving artifacts and the history of the area.

Some might also think of the founder of Southside Greenhouses, one of the town’s landmark businesses.

How about Measures, the poet and short story author? Maybe it is not an incarnation that springs most readily to mind, but it is one that has been in existence for several years.

It is this creative, literary Measures who will be vying for a medal at the Alberta 55-Plus Summer Games.

Yes, creative writing is a part of the July 25-28 games. While it may not require much physical exercise beyond tapping on a computer or lifting a pen it demands plenty of mental agility and athleticism.

It also requires discipline, expressing thoughts and feelings within verbal limits.

Take haiku, a three-line Japanese poem of up to 17 syllables, traditionally 5-7-5. Here is Measures’ haiku entry, “Snowflakes”:

Fluffy snowflakes fall

drifting softly purest white

winter wonderland

“Snowflakes” won her first place in the zones. Measures is also taking part in two other categories: poetry of up to 30 lines, and a story of 2,000 words or less.

Her longer poem, “Dreams,” placed second in the zones, while her fictional story, “About A Boy,” came third.

A long-time businesswoman in Barhead, Measures started writing seriously about five or six years ago.

It is something she always wanted to do. At school she had always excelled in English, getting high marks for her writing.

However, the demands of business – such as running Southside Greenhouses, which she founded in 1971 – were incompatible with literary ambition.

“I had no time for writing,” she says. “I dabbled a little bit, but never in a serious way.

“We didn’t even have time for holidays. Back then, life was about shovels and wheelbarrows.”

Although still extremely active in the community, 80-year-old Measures now find times in winter to release her creative energy.

Often her poetry follows a process of evolution: words will continually revolve in her mind as she strives to weave them into a completely satisfying whole.

“I could be watching TV and something will suddenly occur to me,” she says. “I will think ‘that’s what I’ve been looking for.’”

Frequently she will seek affirmation from her daughter, who acts as a sounding board.

While Measures has written a lot of poetry for family and friends to commemorate such anniversaries as weddings and birthdays, her primary source of inspiration is nature.

Descriptive pieces abound in her work, reflecting her Canadian experience.

With the games approaching fast, Measures finds herself in an unusual role for a participant: her performance is already behind her after she submitted her entries in June.

“I really don’t know when they judge,” she says. “I haven’t a clue.”

Hopefully, she can emulate previous literary success. At the Airdrie summer games in 2009 she won silver for poetry, while two years later in Fairview she struck gold for a non-fiction entry.

As she waits for the judges’ verdict, Measures can dream a dream of another gold. Perhaps it lies at the rainbow’s end in her poem “Dreams.”

If we could stop the hands of time or catch a falling star,

Chase the moonbeams from the sky and place them in a jar.

We’d drink a cup of kindness yet, from the Milky Way

Or ride on Halley’s Comet up to the clouds to play.

We’d dance upon the Northern Lights

And search the rainbow’s end,

Then lay back on a bed of clouds

To dream our dream again.