Glenn Lloyd, the Villa Poet
–
#VillaHeroes: Glenn Lloyd, the man behind the poetry
–
“We all have a hero and usually just one,
But the Villa has heroes, a few hundred and some”
–
Glenn Lloyd, known as The Villa Poet, has been sharing his poetry with the Villa community since his arrival in 2019. His poetry has helped him get through the peaks and valleys of his life, but what he didn’t know was that it would help thousands of others along the way.
This past year, especially, Glenn’s beautiful words have been the medicine in the candy for our community. His witty remarks, clever rhyme schemes and tear-jerking sentiments have captured all the emotions of this past year, or have distracted us from our worries when we needed it the most.
Glenn fell in love with poetry sometime after high school. He recounts his earliest inspiration to get started, “I had a grade 12 teacher who had an affection for poetry. I was never good with literature composition. In fact, it was my worst subject. But I was fascinated by his appreciation of poetry.”
Glenn spent the next few years playing around with words and rhyme schemes, falling in love with the process of constructing words to make a complete piece. He always shared his work with his wife, writing poems for her birthdays and their anniversaries.
“I was getting sick of spending good money on cards that had a poem I didn’t even like!” Glenn quipped. “So, I decided I would start writing my own for her, and it just kind of caught on.”
He soon found himself writing for his friends and family and reciting lyrics for telephone answering machines, coined Lloyd’s Lyrical Lines. He has since written around 1600 lyrics for Lloyd’s Lyrical Lines, sharing them once or twice every week.
Over the years, he’s composed quite a prolific catalogue of one-liners and poems. Perhaps his favourite, however, is “No Pill for Lonely,” written about the passing of his beloved wife.
“That one was the hardest to write and still pulls a tear from me now,” said Glenn. “But I think it’s had the greatest impact after all we’ve been through since the pandemic. It’s connected with a lot of people.”
.
A New Home at the Villa
His arrival to the Villa in 2019 has been a blessing for everyone. He is now closer to his daughter Jennifer, who lives in town and is just minutes away, and he enjoys his home at the Villa tremendously. The care from staff and volunteers, as well as friendships with other residents, has made every day much more comfortable and fulfilling. And to help pass his time, he helped start the Villa rock garden which has about 250 staff names of rocks.
He also enjoys all the beauty Dundas has to offer with the help of his cherished scooter.
“It’s absolutely perfect for me. I do my regular trips into town; pick up any groceries I want or stop at the dollar store down there. I pass out pinwheels and flags to any children I pass by along the way,” Glenn said. “I also like to get out and drive around the Villa campus or take the rail trail down to the historic train station.”
“This thing gets me everywhere,” he brags. “I’ve already put 3500 clicks on it this year.”
And from that beloved scooter, here is Glenn reading his latest poem dedicated to the HEROES at St. Joseph’s Villa.
–
–
Villa Heroes Poem:
WE ALL HAVE A HERO AND USUALLY JUST ONE
BUT THE VILLA HAS ”HEROES” A FEW HUNDRED AND SOME
THEY’RE ALL AROUND US THEY REACH EVERY ROOM
THEY’RE LIKE THE AROMA OF A FRAGRANT PERFUME
THERE ARE SOME HERE THAT WE ALL KNOW
WE SEE THEM OFTEN AND THE NAMES JUST FLOW
BUT THERE ARE SO MANY THAT ARE NEVER SEEN
AND WITHOUT THEM THERE WOULD BE NO TEAM
THEY CAN BE STAFF OR THE FRONT LINE TEAM
OUR NURSES AND KITCHEN ALL CREAM OF THE CREAM
PLUS COMMUNITIES VOLUNTEERS EAGER TO TRY
ANY PROJECT TO HELP MAKE THIS THING FLY
AND HERE WE ARE WITH A VIRUS TO TAME
BUT OUR “HEROES” CONSIDER IT A CHALLENGING GAME
THE HORIZON SHOWS A HOSPICE SOON TO APPEAR
ONE MORE CHALLENGE FOR THE COMING YEAR
THE QUESTION REMAINS CAN WE HOLD THE LINE
WITH A TEAM LIKE THIS WE’LL DO JUST FINE
SO PICK OUT YOUR HEROE IF YOU CAN
BUT THEY ALL SEEM THE SAME FROM WHERE I STAND
GLENN
MAY 17/21
.
