She changes positions in a blue club chair front facing forward, feet perched on a small ottoman next thing, shoes kicked off, legs curl underneath her, knees point first to one side, then the other, her slim ankles, her rough heels exposed. The book is in one hand raised to catch the window light, her … Continue reading Day 15 When We Read
Day 14 Names
This week walking with tears in my eyes the world is an impressionist rendering of pink dogwood blooms, bursts of lime, purple, fire, gun smoke rising. Some days without obligation toward optimism my heart is at odds with my name. My names travel barefoot generations from biblelands to biblebeltways, suggest oaths I cannot keep, grace … Continue reading Day 14 Names
Day 12 Cold Sleep
The way the rafters shook slow- motion-like with little bits of caulk snowing down, weightless, strange, no? For it was stone and fell without sound. I held on to you, held on as walls caved, dust rose, your breathing steady, and mine too, come to think of it. It all comes back as if I … Continue reading Day 12 Cold Sleep
Day 11 Dear J.B.
Dear J.B.- There are very few men who ever picked me up and swung me around like you did. My father, perhaps, when I was quite small. My friend, Sam, who loved to polka, and put his whole muscled body into that 1-2-3- and 1-2-3-and. Thursday nights at Hillel on Campus as a teenager, a … Continue reading Day 11 Dear J.B.
Day 10 Finding Saturday
I found a thumbtack, I found an old door knob A Christmas ribbon, some keys, an aimless fob Cornflower seed packs, tissues, a cracked spyglass so many pens, you won’t believe, the ink’s dried out, forget the caps All the days spent in someone’s hands Bobby pins, and rubber stamps Remember, all those idle tasks … Continue reading Day 10 Finding Saturday
Day 9 To Do Haiku
Please, do keep breathing Remember rest and fluids One thing at a time
day 8 Chuck
I admit it, still bitter about the baseball cut. The Minors were my way out and signs and coaches and sweethearts all liked my chances. I was small but had a damned hell lot of grit and fast, man oh man, I could run down those bases, throw far and catch with the sun in … Continue reading day 8 Chuck
day 7
I Shadorma The word alone broods gathering deep blue dark morning before the rains come recedes in shadow II Red Sky Morning Everything waits, wavering song chorus creatures singing water III (and by the way) This is not My favorite way tapped knee count drumming words While trying to make some sense Of an exercise … Continue reading day 7
day 6 -Breath Before Grace
I learned sighs in the kitchens of my childhood along with towel flicks, food fights, and stern instruction to dry a glass again to remove evil water spots or anything else the night’s dish washer had missed. Do it again was my mother’s hovering mantra. Dad just got overwhelmed. As head chef most holidays, he … Continue reading day 6 -Breath Before Grace
day 5 -loosely after Ada Limon’s Late Summer After a Panic Attack
Inch by inch I mosey, thunderstruck with awe loving the way weather works. today’s warm breath on my neck, wrung tight from weekend labors delights me all the way down to the soles of my feet, touching grass for the first time every bit as tender as the day my mother hovered and gently swayed … Continue reading day 5 -loosely after Ada Limon’s Late Summer After a Panic Attack
Early Morning Poems 