Author Archives: janishaag

(For Sue Reynolds who walks through the worldwith these words inked on her wrists, and in memoryof our mentor and friend Pat Schneider.) ••• Spacious as in plenty of space,as in having great capacitylike your great heart, which seems to … Continue reading →

It’s the old-fashioned hand signal for “stop”or “slow down” that gets me, fingers hanging loosely, elbow turned up, lower arm browned fromfrequent out-the-window airings. And I— piloting my mother’s car that I used todrive her on Momdays—think, “Father.” On a … Continue reading →

Unlock the curlicuesdeep in the brainwhere stories hide, where lines of poetrylurk, waiting forthe just-right key— a voice, a touch,the trill of bird orthe warmth of a sunny summerday—to release wordsthat gush through the gates of synapses,rush down the riverof … Continue reading →

(for Sue Reynolds) Neither of us could name it—but one of us from eastern Canadawas not likely to know it, since this herbaceous perennial thrivesin warmer climates like mine, though,like me, is not hardy enough for northeastern winters. But,walking by … Continue reading →

How rivers and stones are foreverin allegiance with gravitywhile we ourselves dream of rising.—Mary Oliver If I must pledge,let me do so while standing,not with hand over heart, but outside amid the greening,gawking again at the show-offhollyhocks rising like full-skirted … Continue reading →

Lady Liberty may be caged for now,she may be detained behind a fenceor kept out of a place thatis rightfully hers, but hear this as you try to stompon her freedom-loving soul:She is not sitting or lying down;she is standing … Continue reading →

(for Sue Reynolds, visiting from Canada) While you nap, exhausted from the longjourney from your side of the continentto mine, I grab the clippers and head for rosesthat my long-ago neighbor Inez plantedfor us here on Santa Ynez Way. I … Continue reading →

I want to be what you saw in me—the bright and energetic, frizzy-haired bundleof young woman with the too-big glasseswho was still so much girl, one whohad so much to live and learn. But something in you found somethingin me … Continue reading →

You wish this had come to youas you watched her labor through the last days of hardbreaths, focusing on the in and the out, the lengtheningbetween: that the breath has no body. It is not our home.We let each one … Continue reading →

(for Antsy McClain) Even without the band,it just takes one man,six strings and a voice that reachesinto your soul and tugson your deepest self, urging you to settle infor a spell of kindness,to feel like family, embraced by his largeheart … Continue reading →