Kitchen Song by Laura Kasischke The white bowls in the orderly cupboards filled with nothing. The sound of applause in running water. All those who’ve drowned in oceans, all who’ve drowned in pools, in ponds, the small family together in the car hit head on. The pantry full of lilies, […]
MoreCuba by Paul Muldoon My eldest sister arrived home that morning In her white muslin evening dress. ‘Who the hell do you think you are Running out to dances in next to nothing? As though we hadn’t enough bother With the world at war, if not at an end.’ My father was pounding the […]
MoreThe great Irish poet Seamus Heaney has died, only 74 years old. Obituaries characterize him as a rock star among poets, and that was my experience of him, long before I had even read his poems. Years ago I went to hear him read at the University of Michigan with a dear friend. This […]
MoreI’m still a schoolgirl when it comes to summer’s end. I dread the fall. Pumpkins and football games make me anxious. Give me hot, humid weather, a little body odor, and a good book every time. Speaking of good books, there’s still a few weeks to enjoy summer reading. On a friend’s recommendation, I’ve […]
MoreIn spite of the name on the window, this cafe makes me sad. Laptop and thesaurus in hand, I had stopped by Jolly’s in northern Michigan the other day and found the door locked, the tables gone, and a sign on the door saying thanks for three great years. Jolly’s Cafe is […]
MoreI’m trying to get this post up quickly—too many things to get done and my daughter gets home from Cameroon today—so I’ll skip the fanfare and get right to it. I put an assortment of poems for Father’s Day around town. Three of the poems are fathers addressing daughters. Another poem is a father’s […]
MoreSeven people–or rather, six people and one group–sent me poems for the “Ultraconserved Words” challenge. The prompt was to write a poem using ten or more words from a group of twenty-three words that some linguists believe have been in use since the end of the last ice age. Congratulations to all the participants! […]
MoreLove Poem With Toast by Miller Williams Some of what we do, we do to make things happen, the alarm to wake us up, the coffee to perc, the car to start. The rest of what we do, we do trying to keep something from doing something, the skin from aging, the hoe from rusting, […]
MoreLast week I announced an “ultraconserved words” poetry contest. (If you missed it, read here.) A quick re-cap: write a poem using 15 of the 23 words that some linguists believe have been around since the end of the last ice age. The words are: I, we, thou, ye, who, this, that, what, mother, male/man, not, worm, […]
MoreExpect Nothing by Alice Walker Expect nothing. Live frugally On surprise. become a stranger To need of pity Or, if compassion be freely Given out Take only enough Stop short of urge to plead Then purge away the need. Wish for nothing larger Than your own small heart Or greater than a […]
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