Author Archives: janishaag

(for Gay Morgan, raccoon feeder extraordinaire) I see them scurrying up the drivewayas I pull in—two fat-bottomed girlswho’ve been munching on the dry foodon the porch bowl, because I expectthat the night visitors will findwhatever the neighbor cats don’t. You … Continue reading →

though I didn’t see it then,muddled in grief and regret,unable to recognize anythingbut the gone-ness of her. And it took time—far too long,it seemed—to absorb the here-nessof her, still so present if I couldlet my mind to drift her waywithout … Continue reading →

—for Richard L. Tracy,garden editor, The Sacramento Bee (ret.) Our hero in so many ways—comical and horticultural,good person of the earth. Dear friend, father, husband,fine writer and photographer,raconteur, he of the wicked wit,has announced his imminentdeparture. And we wonder if,just … Continue reading →

(for Donna Gail) Maybe because we flatlanders shiverunder skies delivering rare bitsof snow, while our neighbors2,500 feet higher have been toldto expect eight inches tomorrowand ten inches the next day,which is far from usual for them, and maybe because every … Continue reading →

(a nod to Shel Silverstein) But, really, who else could you be?You have to be you, as I have to be me. If I tried to be you, I surely could not,nor would I want to be. For you are … Continue reading →

(for Ursula, who said, “This sounds like a poem”) For a long time I shut mypoetself tightly in a closetcrammed full of miscellaneouswords and stray lines, and over the years it gotquite crowded in there,just me and all that verbiage.And … Continue reading →

They once looked so much alikethat they had a hard time tellingthemselves apart in photos. I stood on the right, Mary wouldsay to Sheila, and the identical girlswould agree—that’s you; that’s me. Seeing them is a highlight of ouryear—Sheila does … Continue reading →

for Mom and Dad,one here, one always in our hearts Of course, I wasn’t there,but I see them in the photo—her, slim, dark-haired and lovelyin her sleeveless tea dress with the floral lace overthe foofy skirt, as her eventualdaughters would … Continue reading →

Six neighbors head outon their morning stroll assix of us oldies work outto the oldies with Shelleyon Marilyn’s lawn. The couple across the streetemerges from their house, eachholding onto a leash-tugging dog,and two leashless cats trailinga good distance behind,like teenagers … Continue reading →

We hear about the late ones—maybe we are the late ones—but the early ones presenttheir show-offy selves on datesthat seem too early, but really, they do this every year,I remind myself. The Yuletidecamellias appear for Christmas,and by February, their cousinshang … Continue reading →