Written with the prompts: you know how we are, working on a list of things to do, no gray only black or white, what?, doors with round corners, rusty knife under the pillow, felt blue, what is your heart doing, worry a lot less every day, remembering/forgetting, it looked impossible, Mom smiled down at me, … Continue reading You Know How We Are
Once again, allow me to share one of my favorite family stories. . . On December 7th, 1941, my mother was at her friend Louise’s house. They were picking the first oranges of the season when Louise’s mother came out to the yard to tell them the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. … Continue reading My Mother’s Orange Tree
I started writing this piece about my friend Craig several years ago. I thought I had lost it, but I found it again as I was purging files this summer. I was so grateful to find it! Writing this was an experiment for me, as I was attempting a Japanese form called Haibun, which combines … Continue reading Blue
I wrote this with my Thursday night group, and many of the prompts were inspired by the Colbert Questionnaire from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. See if you can figure out which ones: what is the best sandwich?, scariest animal, apples or oranges, what do you think happens after we die, favorite action movie, … Continue reading Afterlife
Mandy pulls out delicate items—silk blouses, rayon skirts, summer weight T shirts that could shrink in the heat of the dryer. All the while yesterday’s conversation with Eric’s widow plays and re-plays. He was alive yesterday morning. Donna seemed hopeful, unconcerned even. Or was she? Was she unaware, naive, in denial? Or was she softening … Continue reading While Sorting the Laundry, Mandy Thinks About Death
The Secret to Rubber-Soled Shoes The secret to rubber-soled shoes is that they are often imbued with the ghosts of deceased dogs, dogs who were loyal and eager to serve, dogs who want to cradle the foot of a beloved pack member protecting you from gravel-strewn trails and unyielding cement floors, dogs who want to … Continue reading The Secret to Rubber-Soled Shoes
There was already a voice in Jessamyn’s head when the beacon hit her eyes. It told her a story about a serpent of light coiled around the hard ridges of her face—her right cheekbone, right eye, her tight angular jaw. It is the East, and Juliet is the Sun, the voice said, and Jessamyn almost … Continue reading The Voice
The prompt for this one was "nature's tranquilizer." This is where it led. I had one of those nights when I thought I couldn’t sleep, when I thought my mind was turning over and over again a tired thought, a hazy dream, and then I rolled over, mumbling and wondering why I couldn’t rest, and … Continue reading Dia De Los Muertos
