At dusk, when the day turns orange, then pink, then purple, spanning the color spectrum in the time it takes to walk home from the park, the ghosts come out. You may see them for only ten or fifteen minutes, in that bright, liminal space before the night turns black and stars wink on like … Continue reading They are Coming
Recently I was doing a yoga DVD and I got my first taste of vertigo. I think it happened when I was doing one of those poses where you’re bent over, your head near your shins, and you lift one arm straight up, then you twist your neck to look at the ceiling. That seems … Continue reading Vertigo
Written with my Tuesday writing group with the prompt: the body loves slowness. A bit of a farewell to summer! Sound is fast. Light is faster. The pungent scent of sour milk hits our nostrils fast and hard and bring instant tears to our eyes. But the body loves slowness. The body is heavy, whether … Continue reading The Body Loves Slowness
As many of you know, I have two feline companions, Suzanna (aka Zuzu) and Valentine. They were born in a feral cat colony, littermates and sisters, and now they are happy to be indoor cats. Obviously, indoor cats need indoor facilities. Used to be I had two criteria for cat litter: it had to be unscented … Continue reading A Tale of Two Kitties
School children rushed up the city street. The shu-shush of their corduroy pants woke the white paper birch trees from their dreams. The children had come from an ocean as green and foamy as champagne. Their skin was translucent like the skin of a yellow plum blushing blue, and their eyes were brown but lit … Continue reading White Paper and Water
I wrote this a year ago after a morning volunteering at the center that serves breakfast to low-income and homeless women and children. The kitchen was being remodeled back then, so we were only offering coffee in paper cups and to-go items like fruit, wrapped cheese, and protein bars. It was the week of the … Continue reading Summer Solstice
This was written with my Thursday night writing group with the prompt, "Don't feed the ducks." It should be noted that the photo above is of Joe Mallard, as his mate Marietta is rather camera shy. Joe and Marietta Mallard were vacationing in Sacramento valley pools they caught sight of as they traversed the … Continue reading The Musings of Marietta Mallard
“Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?” Mary Oliver I like to imagine that the breath goes everywhere in my body, not just into my lungs, and—hey, it’s just occurred to me—it does!! I know this because I used to teach a very pared down simplified science lesson on the … Continue reading Breathing Just a Little
The day before Easter, just about a month ago, I tripped on a concrete block in a parking lot and fell flat on my face. My chin was cut badly enough to need seven stitches, and my jaw now has a tiny little crack in it. I was blessed in that they didn't need to … Continue reading Gravity: how it pulls us
Hey, I just found this in my journal. I remember writing it, but I don't remember when. Guess it's time to set it free. It's a bit of Matrix thinking! If I had it to do all over again, maybe I’d take the blue pill; I’d choose the illusion. I’ll get a job in a … Continue reading If I had to do it over again. . .
