Author Archives: janishaag

for Pat Schneideron the 89th anniversary of her birth So if I write a poem each day,that’s one kind of prayer,which I think you tried toshow me long ago, writing having become yourspiritual practice, after decadeson your knees, after years … Continue reading →

Be carefulwhen you bendto smell the stalksof yellow lupineflourishing onthe sandy pathto the beach industrious bumblesare at work here you are intruding asthey busily hoverseeking the uprightbanner with the helpfulspot at its base to directpollinators to thenectar reward as you … Continue reading →

for Sue Lester I have followed yousince we were 8, youalways a head taller andeight months older, down dusty paths strewnwith all manner of loveliness—poppies, blue dicks, softgreen grasses—and potential danger—poison oak,crumbly granite underfoot,so easy to slip on, allmanner of … Continue reading →

for Dickie Of all the places I’ve cut your hair—and if I could math, I might be ableto calculate it, but I don’t, so I won’t— perhaps my favorites are withinsight of the sea, the ocean refillingour spirits, saltwater and … Continue reading →

for Sue Lester, tidepool buddy At low tidebejeweled anemone appear,nestle like olive green breastsbetween slick black rocks,tentacles tucked in tight, the ample girls showing off theirseabling—lacy coralline algae,once pink, now bleached white,random shell bits, washedrainbows of abalone, limpets liketiny volcanos, … Continue reading →

She has washed ashore with dozens of hersea sisters, moon jellies with translucentbell bodies, tumbled with feathery kelp,along with blue-rimmed, tentacled diskssporting clear sails, hundreds ofby-the-wind sailors. Velella velella, the cosmopolitan, free-floatingseafarers, sail across the ocean’s surface,while Aurelia labiata pulse … Continue reading →

As the first wildflowers fade,as early grasses yellow,as summer’s beginning approaches, the morning offers a near-perfect breezeas I meet an out-of-town friend for breakfast,as he has just delivered another friend to my city for outpatient surgery to help her see.He … Continue reading →

We call this Heebie-Jeebie Day,the day before we leave on a trip.He likes to say, “It’s easy—justthrow things into the car. Not likewe’re getting on a plane,” whichrequires more compression of stuff,of the too-much gear I tend to bring. But … Continue reading →

This breath, the rise and fall of belly and chest,this eyeblink, the refocus, then another,this swallow, the contraction of throat, then release, a wandering in, a presence warming the backof my neck, wondering which of you is flying inthis moment, … Continue reading →

Years of historic drought thatleft the lake I think of as minelike a great sandbox with ariver running through it mean that I’m surprised,though I’ve been keeping aneye on it since January,to see Folsom nearly filled to the brim, water … Continue reading →