Would it be cliché to say this is my life right now? This is the interior of my mind? Probably. I already said that in my last post. The hole, you know. The Maw. What's it mean to have a hole in your soul? Does it mean you are unhappy? That's not right. It may … Continue reading Progress
Category: all of the above
The Maw
I’ve got this thing for houses. I like old houses best. I like the smell of old wood, I like the way light comes through single pane glass and old glazing. I even like the dust motes endlessly hovering along stairwells or sitting like ghosts in empty rooms. Today, for the record, is the day … Continue reading The Maw
Graduation, Time Travel, and the Former Self
It’s cap and gown time, endings and good-byes. I don’t have a cap-and-gowner, but we are saying good-bye to elementary school. I’m old enough to have a cap-and-gowner. In traffic I watched a woman take a photo of her graduate as he held up the gown to reveal neon yellow spandex shorts. I thought "Oh … Continue reading Graduation, Time Travel, and the Former Self
The Second Half: A Reckoning
The number 45 is: Half way to ninety. Cannot be divided in two. Comprised of two hyphenated F-words. Not very sexy. At this age, the typical adult needs a reading glasses magnification of 1.75. Common mild skin issues include: brittle nails, Poikiloderma (aka "redneck"), and seborrhoeic keratoses (once known as "senile warts"). Foot pain is … Continue reading The Second Half: A Reckoning
Making Music
My daughter is in the fifth grade. That goes a long way in explaining the silence from this blog these past several months. I didn't know! Apparently, fifth grade is a bear to teach, with its own weathers. Sweet girls turn mean and boys get into fist fights. I've been told that the light at … Continue reading Making Music
Residency Notes: the third time around
On the trail today I met two men well into their sixties, one with a collie puppy on a leash, the other with a walking stick, a hat and a rather frozen grin. "Warren Wilson College?" asked the one with the leash, gesturing to my shirt. "Where's that?" North Carolina, I told him. "Well! you're … Continue reading Residency Notes: the third time around
Summer so far. . .
I meant to post this weeks ago, before the Fourth, which I think of as the middle of summer. But honestly, the real apex around here is county fair, which is always the third week of July... Great Falls, Montana, soccer complex: It's been a rocky season this spring. We had our first taste of … Continue reading Summer so far. . .
Beginnings: What will Happen?
What if two kids met in a room in a house in Paris.... the boy was nine, and the girl was eleven. This moment is a moment of in-between for both of them; she is on her way to live with her grandmother, and he is meeting his mother for the first time. He lives … Continue reading Beginnings: What will Happen?
Crowing again
I've got to share a poet. He's a faculty member in the program where I'm currently a student, which is how I encountered him. When he reads, I feel like I'm in church. His book, Lawrence Booth's Book of Visions (2001 Yale University Press) knocked my socks off last winter. His new book, The Gone … Continue reading Crowing again
Tuesdays
My kids are huge suddenly. Nora eats more, has a stomach and needs her sleep. She cracks jokes, has moods, and when she tries to cuddle it can be awkward, because she is so physically big. We barely both fit in the overstuffed chair. She doesn't fit under my downward dog the way she used … Continue reading Tuesdays