I wrote this--as I often do--with my Thursday night writing group. Prompts included: I have waited too long, ferocious food, what was the house like, Agnes and her pike, why wouldn't I want an Italian cavalry sword, diagnosis, immediately largest (which I changed to largess). Another challenge was to weave a color throughout the piece--and … Continue reading Too Late
Imagine a world where suddenly and inexplicably the sick and injured begin to emit light. Open wounds shine like flash lights, acne sparkles like glitter, leukemia patients shimmer and glow, and muscle tension can be seen “twisting like algae in an underwater current.” This is the stunning phenomenon that drives Kevin Brockmeier’s The Illumination. Though labeled a novel, … Continue reading The Illumination, a review
I wrote this with a prompt that urged me to speak with the Sun. That reminded me of Frank O'Hara's "Talking to the Sun on Fire Island." I think O'Hara's sun was a bit more cordial than mine was; I'll need to work on my relationship with our resident star. But for today, this is … Continue reading The Sun Speaks
Written with my Thursday night writing group with the prompts: couldn’t find my keys, night in Fiji, half-life, listening to trees, embracing endings, where shall we go, plumeria I dug in my purse—life savers, lip stick, coin purse, tissues. When I couldn’t find my keys, I decided I was too drunk to drive home. So I ordered another … Continue reading Twelve Dreams of Fiji
Greetings! This week I've updated a Christmas post from a few years past. It seems more meaningful than ever right now. Long ago, in the pagan cultures of the far north, work and travel were severely limited by cold and snow as days grew shorter. Farmers and their families would remove a wheel from their carts … Continue reading Meditation on an Advent Wreath
Years ago I had a student named Joseph who was deaf and mute and on the autism spectrum. He was 9 years-old, with big brown eyes, and sandy hair. I loved him and I knew he trusted me. When it was time to come in from the playground, he could not hear the bell, so … Continue reading Wagons
It was pointed out to me in recent years that the Catholic Church has seven sacraments for men but only six for women. I already knew that, but I had never thought it about it in quite that way before. For all you non-Catholics out there, sacraments are sacred rituals to mark initiations, milestones, and … Continue reading Ordination
I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was dipping into Sleeping on the Wing by Kenneth Koch and Kate Farrell, an anthology of poetry and writing prompts written for children and teens. In a chapter on D.H. Lawrence, the authors note that Lawrence called his poems “acts of attention.” They prompt readers to give … Continue reading The Story of My Hydrangea Bush
Hey, it's National Poetry Month, so I've decided to post a few poems this April. It's been fun for me to look back over my decades-long collection of poems to find a few that will be just right for this moment in time. None of those wild, whiny, passionate unrequited love poems I seemed prone … Continue reading How to Find the Muse
After the weight of holiday expectation has lifted, on short wet days when I don't feel compelled to rush out and toil in the garden or hike by the river, the light begins to return. Not to the sky, but to that small amber space between my belly and breasts. I discover again that I … Continue reading January
