Search Results for: Haag

I thought it might be helpful for Youto have some information about me.Written down, you know? On paper? Of course, You know everything.Work history, educational path,all the skills and references—though those don’t mean spitanymore. Like the paper, which,as You well … Continue reading →

The unfilled air space, the interval,the gap in the vascular tissue ofa stem through which a leaf grows,unseen to our wondering eyes—the lacuna— air space in the cellular tissueof plants like the onespresently flourishingoverhead in suchabundance. Seemingly thousandsof leaves have … Continue reading →

(for Billy Collins, author of the poem,“Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes,”on the 138th anniversary of her death,May 15, 1886 ) You will want to knowthat she said yes every time,that she undressed him, too—no shy maid, that one—that, no matter … Continue reading →

(for Georgann) You got me in the chair the first time,my feet marinating in a small pondof warm, swirling water. This is gonna change your life,you assured me. Painted toenails? I wondered. The from-the-knees-down massage,you said, and yes, polka dot … Continue reading →

(for Don DeVorss) The man with the donated heart thatpowers him in his second life tells me, Succulents are survivors,and I say, Like you. And he grins, the once-upon-a-timeboy who rode the same bus as I to our rural elementary … Continue reading →

is that none of this has been inflictedupon you so that you’ll learn a lesson or grow a tougher skin or somehowbecome a better human. In fact, if it’d been up to us, we’d have pavedyour path with roses (or … Continue reading →

How often people tell me,You’re so lucky to have your mom,which crosses my mind on Momdays when I pick her upat the house by the lake in her carsince she no longer drives, as I deposit her at variousappointments, run … Continue reading →

The things you learnat a routine physical— how many times your heartexpands and contracts,how pressured it is,fueling your body, how your lungs soundto the man with thestethoscope, and, on a wall chartof the ear, nose and throat,discovering that yourlarynx, closed, … Continue reading →

Spring winds rose this morning,clearing the sky of clouds,snapping branches newly greened. Late in the day I walk amongthe leavings, registering themby name—black walnut, Japanese maple, Douglas fir—sorry that they have been felledso early in their lives. I know this … Continue reading →