Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
No...
This is not a still from A Beautiful Mind.
We painted the kids' closets
with blackboard paint
when we moved in
And Nu loves it.
Clearly.
Clearly.
_
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
One Stew to Carry it all and Cure Us
At's sick… he wanted...
something hot and soothing for dinner.
Behold our soup
with every ingredient known to help colds:
Chicken, mackerel,
ginger root, garlic, tomatoes,
cabbage, broccoli,
black pepper, turmeric,
mint and jalapeƱos,
sprinkles of salt
Then a bit of limon and C's salsa
from the summer of 2014 for heat.
It's delicious and magical.
__
Monday, March 09, 2015
Monday, March 02, 2015
Compense
Wrestling an ocean of sky
the lyrics of whited valleys,
I crave the salt of the wind
the taste of words whipped
with sea air (hold the snow).
This land calls me by all names
But holds itself cold and aloof
hushing with remembered formality
calculations, welcomes, and reunions.
_
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
Monday, February 09, 2015
Sunday, February 08, 2015
Moment
I've climbed a tree
and I'm talking down
to you.
The moon,
stony-faced, circles the empty basketball net,
is reflected in a crescent of watermelon.
_
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Testing
Their sister
is at retreat/
long camp
(rehab)
Then when
they took tests
to see if they too
were dependent
they found only
two options:
dependent OR
very dependent
__
is at retreat/
long camp
(rehab)
Then when
they took tests
to see if they too
were dependent
they found only
two options:
dependent OR
very dependent
__
Friday, February 06, 2015
On the Night it Comes
You're calm, sleeping
with the lights on
between both parents
growing ghosts
deliciously
for the thrill of it
blankets in a clutch
with a firm hold
of yourself
in the old silence
in the odd silence
lips
are layered
with prayers
in the shadows
just beyond
the frame
of side vision
darkness strays.
It reads you
and then stays
bending
at the waist
from far away
and if it doesn't
come further,
or get too close
you could still love it
_
with the lights on
between both parents
growing ghosts
deliciously
for the thrill of it
blankets in a clutch
with a firm hold
of yourself
in the old silence
in the odd silence
lips
are layered
with prayers
in the shadows
just beyond
the frame
of side vision
darkness strays.
It reads you
and then stays
bending
at the waist
from far away
and if it doesn't
come further,
or get too close
you could still love it
_
Thursday, February 05, 2015
Un-Prayer
these fingers twin
from shaping time
your hair sinuous
works its way alive
this gaze is like god's--
absolutely no concern
marking a jigsaw world
blowing a heady wind
the song rises
but the dance clings
fears and errors tell
warnings and knells
_
from shaping time
your hair sinuous
works its way alive
this gaze is like god's--
absolutely no concern
marking a jigsaw world
blowing a heady wind
the song rises
but the dance clings
fears and errors tell
warnings and knells
_
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Tuesday, February 03, 2015
Monday, February 02, 2015
Sunday, February 01, 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
The Sense of an Ending
the sky is a staircase
the sounds of the day
going away
The dark is to
tear down stars
all of ours
squeeze their affluent
and vintage shine
wet as wine
_
the sounds of the day
going away
The dark is to
tear down stars
all of ours
squeeze their affluent
and vintage shine
wet as wine
_
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
A Third Coast
On the brine of memory
the ink of veins marks spots
It is a storm of forgetting;
at each sob, she jettisons
Parents as they were, embraces
in sorrow how they now are
sweeps it all into feeling
grabbing and flailing even so
_
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Monday, December 01, 2014
Stand Down
Reaching for amusement
but the door slams
meticulous and tight.
Spinning silently,
breath touches corners
and then as surely
is inhaled back in
brittle as silk
_
but the door slams
meticulous and tight.
Spinning silently,
breath touches corners
and then as surely
is inhaled back in
brittle as silk
_
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Novemberance
Foreshortened day,
unwelcome touch,
and unkind light.
I read the warnings,
count out their syllables.
Then snow webs
untidy, un-mappable,
planting everywhere.
Racing, erasing my flesh,
being, becoming my body.
_
Monday, November 17, 2014
Keepsake
a smile-dusted child
swarms grandly
up hope's slope
unfurls something
bigger than the world
mouth stretched wide
so smiles endearments
all--are kinds of kisses
_
swarms grandly
up hope's slope
unfurls something
bigger than the world
mouth stretched wide
so smiles endearments
all--are kinds of kisses
_
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Ugh, Bill Cosby
In the wake of Trayvon Martin and Michael Browne, I found The Cosby Show on TVLND and it became a habit to watch/listen to reruns while I folded laundry or cleaned. It was somewhat escapist and a little bit inspiring to hark back to some golden age where a sitcom about a black family was the show of choice for most of middle America. Internally, I quietly disagreed with much of Clive Huxtable's parenting; separately, I vociferously disagreed with Bill Cosby's pronouncements about "Welfare Moms and Thugs," still it carried on.
Until all these reports of Bill Cosby's rape of multiple young (and teen) women.
_
Friday, November 14, 2014
Absence
Well, I don't know.
In small portions
this body would be fields
of stupid ideas repeated
a concussion of cowardice
in all the openings
of kind words unsaid.
But where are you?
It's time to feed ghosts at the
pressing behest of their buttons
And soon we'll be:
ancient or innocent
epochal or whatever
and just not the same.
_
Thursday, November 13, 2014
In Silence
Speaking still
in triangles
the moon's half smile
last night gazes zen
past the brazen
stare of the phone
which kisses my fingers
promises to wake at four
And after that, the flare
of the soft scimitar
of your mouth
dim with sleep
_
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Shoreline
Bruised and accumulating
the lichen of thought
and the plenty
of quarrels
quarrying then policing
altering but falling
belonging
(to none)
these are the tidal drags
the smash of boredom
the open fall
of over
_
the lichen of thought
and the plenty
of quarrels
quarrying then policing
altering but falling
belonging
(to none)
these are the tidal drags
the smash of boredom
the open fall
of over
_
Monday, November 10, 2014
Sunday, November 09, 2014
Saturday, November 08, 2014
Friday, November 07, 2014
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
And on the Fifth Day...
A went to Chicago for a conference FOUR days ago.
It's a testament to the effed-up-ness of his work schedule that the kids finally got around to wondering where he was this morning.
OR
It's a testament to how technology can keep us connected despite distance--they've been texting, emailing, and talking all along.
-
It's a testament to the effed-up-ness of his work schedule that the kids finally got around to wondering where he was this morning.
OR
It's a testament to how technology can keep us connected despite distance--they've been texting, emailing, and talking all along.
-
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Summary
Morning
is a kaleidoscope calling out
--although it is hard to hear
I answer: Yes? Hello?
as though speaking into
an old-fashioned telephone
Night
mimics birds bedding,
my arms punctured now
by pain, pine-tree needles.
In the end, the day leaves
unnoticed and uncomposed
_
is a kaleidoscope calling out
--although it is hard to hear
I answer: Yes? Hello?
as though speaking into
an old-fashioned telephone
Night
mimics birds bedding,
my arms punctured now
by pain, pine-tree needles.
In the end, the day leaves
unnoticed and uncomposed
_
Monday, October 27, 2014
Eerily, just this morning a colleague told me that he'd sent out a job application to the U of Wyoming at Laramie, and then we had the near-obligatory talk about Matthew Shepard.
An hour after, I find in this weekend's edition of The Guardian--a truther-style story about details that might have been suppressed in the race to anoint Shepard as a poster-boy for anti-hate legislation.
We seem to prefer heroes on a template, but details are not the enemy.
_
An hour after, I find in this weekend's edition of The Guardian--a truther-style story about details that might have been suppressed in the race to anoint Shepard as a poster-boy for anti-hate legislation.
We seem to prefer heroes on a template, but details are not the enemy.
_
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Nostalgia and Kindness
It's true that every time I hear this song, it brings a lump to my throat.
Nu says, "That's like you, Mama. You left your mom and Dad too."
At silently thumps me on my shoulder. (Somewhat smirkily, the way he seems to do everything these days, but still kindly.)
Broods: Mother and Father
_
Saturday, October 18, 2014
A Quiet Thanksgiving
Right now
the afternoon brightens
the dogs sleep
beside me
the last of the corn
and the best acorn squash
from the garden are
roasting from light to gold
The kids sleep one room away
done with every weekend activity
A stumbled home from a night shift
and also sleeps
I? I have something completely
unrelated to work to read
while the week's laundry
churns itself clean and dry
Sounds so ordinary
but this hasn't happened
in years. It is a returning
peace, to be thankful.
_
the afternoon brightens
the dogs sleep
beside me
the last of the corn
and the best acorn squash
from the garden are
roasting from light to gold
The kids sleep one room away
done with every weekend activity
A stumbled home from a night shift
and also sleeps
I? I have something completely
unrelated to work to read
while the week's laundry
churns itself clean and dry
Sounds so ordinary
but this hasn't happened
in years. It is a returning
peace, to be thankful.
_
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
The Backstory...
So Nu has a 'sister' at school.
"Angel and I do every thing together. We're really, really sisters."
I get it. Sometimes having a loving big brother is not really your thing, and you need someone more like the giggly tweens populating the shows your parents decided to ration.
"We're really, really, REALLY sisters."
I guess?
"You see--before dad met you, he and Angel's mom had Angel."
It takes a while to convince her that I'm really uncomfortable with this scenario...
"That's ok, I don't think Angel would mind if we switch it up and make it about you and her dad."
_
"Angel and I do every thing together. We're really, really sisters."
I get it. Sometimes having a loving big brother is not really your thing, and you need someone more like the giggly tweens populating the shows your parents decided to ration.
"We're really, really, REALLY sisters."
I guess?
"You see--before dad met you, he and Angel's mom had Angel."
It takes a while to convince her that I'm really uncomfortable with this scenario...
"That's ok, I don't think Angel would mind if we switch it up and make it about you and her dad."
_
Friday, June 27, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Friday, May 02, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Prophet
(For J.K.)
Morning light
your message asks
if I'm alright--when you
dreamt of me last night
it sounds like maybe
I was not alright
Morning breaks too,
birds are the traffic
wardens of our sky--
like them, I become
many many things.
All small magic--
Like a funnel it's still
and still the same thing
on the other side. One
must keep on, there's
little choice on a slide.
I just thank you, believing...
me as I argue what I didn't
know I knew. That's huge.
See: If I said now, even
innocuously, "raincoats on."
Someone (age 6) might scoff
"How would *you* know?"
_
Morning light
your message asks
if I'm alright--when you
dreamt of me last night
it sounds like maybe
I was not alright
Morning breaks too,
birds are the traffic
wardens of our sky--
like them, I become
many many things.
All small magic--
Like a funnel it's still
and still the same thing
on the other side. One
must keep on, there's
little choice on a slide.
I just thank you, believing...
me as I argue what I didn't
know I knew. That's huge.
See: If I said now, even
innocuously, "raincoats on."
Someone (age 6) might scoff
"How would *you* know?"
_
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
This is a morning
Painted with the colors of my childhood
a door swings, calls my childhood name
the stairs lift me as did mother and father
the breeze, their blessing calling me home
_
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Friday, April 11, 2014
An Explanation
Hours rhyme
silenced
on either side
you miss
all this
when you die
comb calendars
take back
days--
some days
nothing
happened
some babies
are called
baby
answers turn
and run
into mouths
you squeeze
the neck
of a bottle
_
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
A Dimple in Time
In the middle of August
four years ago, I uploaded
this picture of Nu to FB.
It was whimsically captioned:
"One day, the child made a wish--
and then summer started."
My sister's school friend
(newly friended) found it
today, liked it. Others did too.
I looked through that
entire album at work
and missed my babies.
She was just two then
she's headed for Grade 2
this August. Soon.
So small and squishy, right?
But I remember thinking then
that she'd become a big kid.
Ok, yes.
Time is fleeting,
but it's also so ridiculous.
_
Monday, April 07, 2014
Of Never
They
try to make
the day stay--
to find
days that are
round and ripe
to
grow cities
and conversation
spiral
in slow, secret
snail-like orbit
the year's
great love,
time's anchor.
_
try to make
the day stay--
to find
days that are
round and ripe
to
grow cities
and conversation
spiral
in slow, secret
snail-like orbit
the year's
great love,
time's anchor.
_
Sunday, April 06, 2014
Quiet/Spring
little snow callus
to amputate
*
ghost weather
I'm not afraid
*
calla lilies
may evaporate
*
But my kingdom
is coming
*
to amputate
*
ghost weather
I'm not afraid
*
calla lilies
may evaporate
*
But my kingdom
is coming
*
Saturday, April 05, 2014
Friday, April 04, 2014
On Coolness
I gave her a bad haircut.
and felt terrible.
She didn't care!
She wore a velvet hat
and added
a leather jacket.
Me: How are you so cool?
She: Don't know.
I guess I just am.
But not every one in the family
is cool (exactly) like that
Exhibit Big A:
Who it seems--
might let me get away
with just about anything :).
_
Thursday, April 03, 2014
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
Quickly
You place the fight in my eye,
throw me a cape of illustration
the ideas ride along underneath,
in the hiccup of my photograph.
_
throw me a cape of illustration
the ideas ride along underneath,
in the hiccup of my photograph.
_
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
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Friends and old neighbors shutting it down in honor of John Crawford. _
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