Author Archives: janishaag

And yet the most ordinary of days—one of barely-there precipitation,a trip to the store, where, as I park, I see a pale yellow rose soaringon a long, strong stem againsta soft gray sky. It pulls me out of the car, … Continue reading →

Oh, God, really? After whipping up giraffesand hummingbirds? After forging forestsand icy poles and oceans, for Your sake? We realize that we sound like Your angeliccheerleading squad (You’ll beget those later—just wait—they’ll call it evolution)‚ but that’s the exhaustion talking. … Continue reading →

Is what the astrologers call it,this falling back into the darkeningmonths of the year, leaf litter increasing underfootand, sitting between Earth and sun,the invisible new moon offering a quiet, fertile space to plantourselves in deep stillness.Whether we want to or … Continue reading →

(Latin: for each day) Daily I wish forthe best version of me to show up, the onewith an expansive heart, an elastic mindand far-reaching arms ready to embracethe world. Each day’s spacious beginningstretches wide over a pinkening horizon,and ends that … Continue reading →

Fluttering around a casa gardencalled Romantica on a cliffoverlooking the sea, three of themhelicopter through foliage plantedjust for them, alighting on velvety purpleMexican bush sage, intricately petaledzinnias and a rainbow assortmentof lantana. It’s not that I see every monarchas the … Continue reading →

This is one more way I know that I’m old:every year getting a bigger kick out ofkids’ costumes on Halloween. Younger me would spend the eveningsomewhat annoyed when the old-fashioneddoorbell (truly a bell) shrilled, forcing me to rise from the … Continue reading →

Joy to the fishesin the deep blue sea,joy to you and me —from “Joy to the World,” Three Dog Night, 1970 ••• And so we sit on the pier,over a deep blue sea of fishes,eating some of their brethren, tasty … Continue reading →

(T Street Beach, San Clemente, California) He’s standing solo on the beach,holding his board vertically,its fin buried in the sand,trying to take a selfie, and on my morning walk,even from a distance, I can seehim struggling to get it allin … Continue reading →

He is that friend who presents a book we’ve never seenwrapped in soft tissue like a gift from the divine, which it is, in a way, coming from the long-gone penof Langston Hughes, jazz poet of 1920s Harlem: “We build … Continue reading →

There is in Celtic mythology the notion of “thin places” in the universe where the visible and the invisible world come into their closest proximity. …—Rev. Peter Gomes Perhaps this is why my feet need to meet ocean,sink into ankle-deep … Continue reading →