Author Archives: janishaag

The stalks shoot up first, thoughyou have done nothing to deservethem—months ago you prunedthe spent stalks to the ground, yethere they are, restarting from last year’s leftovers, fuzzy green lengthsextending slender arms ending inpalm-sized leaves. And all alongthe new stalks, … Continue reading →

That’s me in the back at the xylophone,mallets in hand, next to the drummer onthe set, watching the director up front withan intensity I usually reserved to study the boy I had a big crush on whenhe boarded the bus … Continue reading →

She wanted to walk down the hillof backyard lawn to see the lilacin full bloom up close—primetime for her favorite plantat its fragrant peak. So, as I watered the potted plantson the patio, she carefully madeher way to the lawn, … Continue reading →

for Dickie You taught me to see lightfalling through a broad leaffrom the underside,its green veins illuminatedlike a manuscript,shining with lifeblood,and the lacy fingers of fernshanging shaggy in rainforestdamp, droplets poisedjust so at the tips,pointing to somethingelse to be looked … Continue reading →

William Shakespeare’s birthday is traditionally celebrated April 23, though the date of his birth was not recorded. But because he was baptized April 26, 1564, which often happened when babies were three days old, his birth is celebrated on the … Continue reading →

for Lauren, Gerald and Kyle I like to think it’s not becauseI slipped Kyle some small bitsof beef that his grandpa grilledin the backyard and the familyate on the deck under the old oak, or because I fussed over himas … Continue reading →

Earth Day—April 22, 2023 They floated around out there, the Apollo 17crew in my 14-year-old imagination, snappingphotos on a space-age Polaroid, the device spittingout a damp image spit from its slotted mouth, astronaut hands waving it dry in the artificialatmosphere … Continue reading →

for Lisa Morgan Folsom Lake, next to Mormon Island Auxiliary Dam I have come again to the granite bouldersbeneath the oak tree on the angled hilllooking down at the lake—this spotI occupied a few weeks ago—to see what has changed. … Continue reading →

When, in the midst of an online discussion,someone says the word tree and invitesyou to envision that tree—a magnificent tree with a strong trunk, one with roots reachingdeep into the earth, drawing up what is neededto grow and live, a … Continue reading →

for Rose Varesio on her birthday Heads bowed, the first roses of the seasonhang heavy on strong stems, some as thickas crayons brushing the spring green grass. They do not look up when I pass, so I lifttheir crimson chins … Continue reading →