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Minutes to good riddance

Annus horribilis. Dumpster fire. Shit show. Fuster cluck. If nothing else 2020’s been a good year for swear words and rage.   Since at least June we’ve been hearing, I can’t wait for this year to be over. As if with the flip of the calendar page life will suddenly improve. We know that’s just […]

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Escape into the pod

Sick and tired. Is there anyone who isn’t sick and tired? Granted we may be sick and tired of different things, but aren’t we all glad to put campaign mailers in the recycling bin and see the neighbor’s lawn cleared of irritating signs?   Let’s change the channel. We need something else to think about, […]

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My alter ego, unmasked

Every dog has his day and so with every elf.   Welcome. You have landed in the department of self-promotion. You may leave at any time.   I’m thrilled to have a piece published in Lithub chronicling my ten years as Poem Elf. Thanks to any of you who read it. More importantly, thanks to […]

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Bedtime series, part 4: sanctuary edition

  Late Hours by Lisel Mueller   On summer nights the world moves within earshot on the interstate with its swish and growl, an occasional siren that sends chills through us. Sometimes, on clear, still nights, voices float into our bedroom, lunar and fragmented, as if the sky had let them go long before our […]

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Minute Five

Day five of commemorating the last moments of George Floyd’s life—     I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free song by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas     I wish I knew how It would feel to be free I wish I could break All the chains holding me I […]

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Swinging with Ceci from Chicago

Today’s guest poster is my sister Ceci. Ceci is the oldest of eleven and I am number nine, so she has a history with the family that I know nothing about. For instance, I never knew a beloved book of my childhood, a book that seemed like it was part of the furniture, belonging to […]

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Hope in the ashes from Patti

Post Memorial Day weekend, post family barbeques, post trips to the boardwalk and camping ground, post online shopping for holiday sales—post fun, in other words— let’s ruminate on loss. It’s what we were supposed to be doing anyway.   Yep, there goes my inner Debbie Downer. She rears her gray head often these pandemic times. […]

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