Author Archives: janishaag

(for Ed Cole) I walk by the ceramic vase by the windowwith a myriad of feathers emerginglike the tail of a hastily assembled bird— as if God had grabbed a brown-and-whitevariegated tail feather from a turkey,and the curving tiger stripes … Continue reading →

It is a strange and wonderful fact to be here, walking around in a body, to have a whole world within you and a world at your fingertips outside you.—John O’Donohue ••• We talk about the re- (as in incarnation)with … Continue reading →

Cherishing is love with its sleeves rolled up.—Father Greg Boyle I circle the labyrinth on an overcast morningthe first week of fall as fifteen pilgrims maketheir way along the single circuitous path, many new to walking this singular pathto the … Continue reading →

(for Dickie) I count aloud like a kidlearning her numbers—one, two three, four, five pairs of specs on his table,not counting his shades,which are who knows where? I, who usually has more ofeverything, own just one pairfor the everyday along … Continue reading →

We walked the local auctiongrounds on weekends witha taste of teenage freedom,setting up shop for a fundraiser, the high school pep bandassembled to play some rousing’70s hits—oh, that lower brassopening of “25 or 6 to 4,” trumpetsjoining five bars in, … Continue reading →

What if, instead of imagining thatyou happen to pluck a momentout of the air, your word-thirstytongue snagging it like a tasty bugand tucking it into a pocket of memory—what if that darting insect of a flashinstead taps you on the … Continue reading →

Autumnal equinox, Sept. 22, 2025,Northern hemisphere Today I imagine Western monarchsborn in late summer packing theirtiny bags, preparing to head south for Mexico or Southern California,seeking warm spots, trusting theirspot-on radar to guide them to just-right trees where their fellowtravelers … Continue reading →

Driving home in the September dark,I see a shadow of leafy somethingaffixed to the windshield, but, since it’s not impairing my vision,I zip up the onramp for the briefhop on the freeway to my exit, a swift 65 for a … Continue reading →

A past that’s sprinkled with the bluesA few old dreams that I can’t useWho’ll buy my memories of things that used to be? —Laminated into the table in Willie‘s Corner at Texas Roadhouse in Elk Grove, CAFrom Willie Nelson’s song, … Continue reading →

C’mon, you cute thing,ask me to meet youat the soda shop where you’ll buy mea malted that a whitepaper-hatted boy will deliver to ourbooth with three straws.You’ll give me two, you’ll take one, andour teeth will chilland our brains will … Continue reading →