Author Archives: janishaag

The next generation lives there now,their motion cam picking up all manner of wildlife in the backyard, the onethat used to be our backyard when my sister and I were growing up.My nephew and his wife show us photos of … Continue reading →

He heard it at least weekly from bosseslooking for something striking to anchor A1 or a section header: Get us a weatherpicture. And the photographers would sigh as they headed out of the office,into the world, to fulfill the always … Continue reading →

Your maroon nails accent the new blue penas it scoots across the pages of a petite notebook, one each for you and yourclassmates brought by two visiting writing ladies who have set you allto making lists of possibilities. You do … Continue reading →

Has rolled off the U.S. Mintassembly line in Philadelphia,presumably with othersof its kind, though, as itsNew York Times obituarynoted, it was more or lessworthless. “Not even penny candy” canbe purchased any more withthe thin pseudo-copper coin,having long since given upup … Continue reading →

(for Katie O’Rourke) The Garden Goddess on the corneris collecting the fallen, arrangingthe downed and brown aroundthe base of a tree and allowing itto do what comes naturally—turn itself into compost. “You make your own dirt,”observes a woman who likesto … Continue reading →

For a true contemplative, a gratuitously falling green leaf will awaken awe and wonder just as much as a golden tabernacle in a cathedral. —Richard Rohrfrom “A New Cosmology: Nature as the First Bible” ••• This is where I worship,awakened … Continue reading →

(In memory of my father) Driving down H Street, I seea man at the curb, rake in hand, and another man’s voice comes to me:I can pray just fine raking the leaves, though he really said this about mowing,not being … Continue reading →

A pair of young, wiry men work overmy front yard for several days withhands both strong and gentle, lifting this earth that was once partof their homeland—long before theirexistence or mine as a native Californian— for the 27 years when … Continue reading →

Walking behind the young man pausedbefore the sliced meats in the grocery store, I felt my feet skid to a stop at the sight ofthe back of his head, the sandy blond hair curling down to his collar, the style … Continue reading →

(Irish: happiness, joy) ••• Sonas ort, the Irish say,happiness on you,my Irish friend tells me, and in her lilt, I long forthe voice of my Irishgrandfather, who could turn on a brogue in an instant.Would he have known “sonas”?Of course, … Continue reading →