Author Archives: janishaag

(on the anniversary of her birth, Jan. 23, 1838) Let us make best use of the fleeting moments.They will not return.—Saint Marianne Cope, mother of outcasts, Kalaupapa, Moloka’i In the old photos she looks so tiny,the Franciscan nun with such … Continue reading →

Do we not want her calm strength,her steely-eyed confidence?Do we not envy her bold gazethat observes everything andremains unruffled? Look at you, standing tall,perfectly balanced, no matterwhere you set down, regardlessof where your feet land. Slowly turn your head,surveying the … Continue reading →

still and always so good-looking(as is his wife, my baby sister),so talented, an excellent fatherand husband, a man who deserves,after a long career as a high schoolart teacher, to retire this year,which he will (and my sister,the amazing physical therapist, … Continue reading →

In winter when we cannot find waterwarm enough in which to swim,we become salmon, welcoming the cold, entering a state of torpor, as manyanimals do, slowing metabolism,schooling together in deep water pockets a few degrees warmerthan the surface, eating less,though … Continue reading →

One still on the planet, one not—Parton and Joplin, two music iconswhose songs so many of us cansing from memory— though for two fine singersborn on the same day,you couldn’t get suchdifferent musical styles. And how is it that Janiswas … Continue reading →

You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.—Winnie the Pooh(by A.A. Milne, born Jan. 18, 1882) So let’s lace up our big bootsand step out … Continue reading →

I let my poet off her leash,and, unclipped, she turnedher furry head and shot mea question— Really? Yes, I said. Go ahead.Run wherever your heartdirects you. Sniff whatcatches your fancy.Gobble up luscious lines.Lie in greening coupletsand rest when you like.Chase … Continue reading →

Joy is not made to be a crumb.—Mary Oliver Joy is the whole cookie,fat with chocolate chips orsmooth as shortbread. In fact,the more crumbs you mashonto a finger and apply to yourtongue, the sweeter the joy. No one tells you … Continue reading →

for Dick, on his fourth “rebirth-a-versary” The universe keeps dying and being reborn,physicists say. It doesn’t stay the same;it’s ever expanding, as Einstein theorized—exponential expansion, which meansthat as much as we want things to remainthe same, a rock solid cosmologicalconstant, … Continue reading →

East Lawn Cemetery, Sacramento In between stormsI take my walk to find,not far inside the open iron gate,the first uprooted tree, its undersidetypically hidden underground,the lacy petticoat and fine bonesunearthed, nakedly exposedunder a hazy blue sky Another of the fallen, … Continue reading →