Disposal by W.d. Snodgrass The unworn long gown, meant for dances She would have scarcely dared attend, Is fobbed off on a friend— Who can’t help wondering if it’s spoiled But thinks, well, she can take her chances. We roll her spoons up like old plans Or failed securities, seal their case, […]
MoreSudden by Nick Flynn If it had been a heart attack, the newspaper might have used the word massive, as if a mountain range had opened inside her, but instead it used the word suddenly, a light coming on in an empty room. The telephone fell from my shoulder, a […]
MoreThis is a picture of the jam jars in my pantry. I count thirteen and that doesn’t include the outpost colony of orange marmalade and apricot preserves that live in the back of my refrigerator. The jars have sat unused for at least a year, some much longer. If it were up to my […]
MoreLet us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized upon a table; Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: Streets that follow like a tedious argument Of insidious […]
MoreFace to Face by Tomas Tranströmer translated by Patty Crane In February existence stood still. The birds didn’t fly willingly and the soul chafed against the landscape as a boat chafes against the dock it lies moored to. The trees stood with their backs to us. Snow-depth was measured by dead […]
MoreThere comes a time in a woman’s life where she has to let go of long-held goals and finally to admit she’s never going get into grooming or have a wardrobe that’s pulled together. The same goes for an elf. For a long time I’ve wanted to make this blog more polished. Someday […]
MoreMy old friend Trish (frequent commentator, a great reader of poems, an even better writer and artist) sent her annual Christmas fantasy card. I pass it along with her permission: And in case you’ve got loads of spare time for reading, I’ll also share a link for a piece from the New York Times […]
MoreI came to Starbucks to write a post about a few sweet gifts I’ve gotten from a few sweet people. As I stood in line I was debating how to write about my good fortune, given the horror in Paris, without sounding oblivious and tone-deaf. Maybe I shouldn’t write about it at all, I thought. […]
MoreThere’s a sad nip in the air this morning, a reminder to get the rest of my summer beach posts up before they’re as out-of-date as puka shells and jellies. I count myself among the most fortunate of souls that I got to return to Maryland this summer to spend a week at the beach with […]
MoreI’m a stickler about thank-you notes, a real pain to my children after birthdays and Christmas, and self-righteous and judgey when my own presents aren’t acknowledged. And yet, as with other deep and firmly-held beliefs, I can be a hypocrite about applying the rules to myself. Which is all to confess that I haven’t sent […]
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