I wrote this story years ago, when NPR had a flash fiction contest for Presidents' Day. It didn't win, maybe because Ronald Reagan didn't appear in the story himself. But in my defense as a citizen and a writer, I think the doll in my story represents President Reagan better than a more life-like character … Continue reading Tearing Down a Wall
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
Shrinking in the Drought Written with my Thursday night group with the prompts: I am the walrus, oh baby it’s a wild world, breaking rocks in the hot sun, tonight, maybe the drought shrunk it, proven to be, on a river raft, burning, why why why, learning a new way, don’t ask questions, too tired … Continue reading Shrinking in the Drought
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
Hey, it's April!--National Poetry Month--and I'd like to share with you some ekphrastic poems I wrote this past year. I encountered prompts to write ekphrastic poems in more than one lit journal and workshop. It seems ekphrastic poems are having a moment, I guess. You may be wondering what ekphrastic poems are. Ekphrastic poems are … Continue reading The Arrival of Spring in Normandy, 2020, after David Hockney
Written with the prompts: don’t feed the ducks for health and hygiene, a door rattling in the wind, helpful, they come back to bless us My sister Darlene told me not to feed the ducks, lecturing me on health and hygiene and the ideal diet of the typical mallard which should not include processed flour. … Continue reading They Come Back
Written with my Thursday night group with the prompts: strange person in your bed again; driving a taxi; cat suit; interesting way to make a living; letter to human friend; faces of dead men filter through his brain like sunrise; first day of 3rd grade; write about what you don’t know about what you know; … Continue reading Meredith and the Cheetah
Wallowing in post-holiday exhaustion/annoyance/envy/loneliness yet paradoxically grateful to have some alone time, then BAM!--stunned by the unexpected yet unsurprising news that a good friend has died, and suddenly I am so damn sick of being accepting. I think, who came up with this business where people routinely die, just disappear--the roles they played go … Continue reading Blessings in Disguise
I have not been the most consistent blogger in the world. If there’s anyone out there paying attention this is not such a big surprise. My last post was over a year ago. In that episode, I announced that my poor old sweet-faced kitty Angel was dying of cancer. I got all philosophical and weepy … Continue reading Greetings Blogosphere!
