Author Archives: janishaag

whom I have never met but whoselines have touched me again and again, who is chronicling her gradual decline,but I do not cry for my dead mother? Is it because my mother was not a poet?(She did leave behind some … Continue reading →

It is not an easy assignment, being alive.—Maria Popova So we arrive, then, with an assignment,but it takes us most, if not all, of a lifetimeto figure out what that is? Or do we discern it bit by bit, awarenessdawning … Continue reading →

A loose ribbon of birds arrows over the shoreline,though we hear them before we see them,the gaggle perfectly synchronized,heading north. On our last coastal afternoon for now,we stop walking, look up to take inthe call and response of geese on … Continue reading →

The Sea Ranch, Sonoma coast, California We set off for our just-before-sunsetwalk with coats and hats and cameras,the kind that live now on our phones, but it is not until we are almostat the trail that I rememberI have forgotten … Continue reading →

Please pay no attention tothat nutty man behind the curtainin the land south of yourson this continent we share. If I could, I would send up anold-fashioned red biplanetowing a huge, ribbony sign,saying, Canada, We Love You! You have been … Continue reading →

(at The Sea Ranch—for Lauren Just Gieland other mamas-to-be) Standing on the blufflooking down at the beach,we sigh with recognition, admiration and a little envyat the fourteen snoozingharbor seals sprawled like sausages on the sand.We are out for a walk,checking … Continue reading →

(for Clifford Ernest PollandMay 21, 1952–March 18-19, 2001) I stand atop a rock at Shell Beach,looking out to a sea far calmerthan yesterday’s stormy onebut still alive with vigorouswaves exploding onto seastacks,sending spray forty feet abovethe surge. No longer do … Continue reading →

When the tide swirled in,I found my wellies overtoppedby the chill of saltwater,as hundreds of tiny becalmedsails swirled around my calves. I did not leap toward shore,but stood and watched themcaught in a vortex not of theirmaking, these small doomedcreatures … Continue reading →

Leo horoscope for Sunday:Introspective feelings could drive you to probethe inner recesses of your mind today. 🌖 🌖 🌖 I ask Dr. Google: How many people in the worldare born under the sign of Leo? (Like me.) Dr. Google’s AI … Continue reading →

“You can’t save everything,”my sister said as we went room by roomthrough the house of our mother,who pretty much did. Though hers was more of a case ofnot-getting-rid-of, of stuffing more stuffinto an already full drawer or cupboard,which turned the … Continue reading →