Author Archives: janishaag

…sometimes it is necessaryto reteach a thing its loveliness,to put a hand on its browof the flowerand retell it in words and in touchit is lovelyuntil it flowers again from within, of self-blessing… —Galway Kinnell, from “St. Francis and the … Continue reading →

(for Gail and Amy) Odd things appear on the kitchen windowsill—this week two apricot pits that,if I had a compost pile, should go there,or perhaps tossed with the loose teain the flowerbed where the rangy volunteersmight find some sustenancein my … Continue reading →

Recall, friend,the thaw, the liftof elaborate freeze, the throb of salt,the steamof belong. Chant the cycleof ache, the curlof caress. How the blazeflew into overwhelm,with no regard for you, who gaveall to the onewho would abscond with your heart. ••• … Continue reading →

(for Donna and our parents) I never expected to see it,much less run across the roadon a trip home throughthe mountains, but came upon it veering offOmo Ranch Road, this forestedpiece of property our parentsbought decades ago, sold to the … Continue reading →

In the beauty of holiness,like dew from the womb of the morning,in silence and mystery,I have begotten you. —verse adapted from Psalms 110 ••• Beauty arrives every day,the holiest of things shrouded in silence and mystery, emergingfrom the womb of … Continue reading →

Dear Mr. Ross: I wish I could have been therea century ago, sitting in what I imaginewas your decidedly un-hip apartment,you brainstorming from a sprawling,padded armchair, your wife Janeat the typewriter—the two of youbirthing a magazine with input fromassorted writer … Continue reading →

When putting up a fence, consider addinga potential opening—maybe a gatethat doubles as a doorway, swinging in, swinging out to allow access.Or perhaps build an entire wall of doorsthat might open and shut at will, each different from its neighbor,each … Continue reading →

A departure for today… instead of a poem, a reminiscence of our friend and former Sacramento Bee colleague Walt Wiley, who died July 13. Sending much love and gratitude to him and to his many loved ones, especially his devoted … Continue reading →

Perhaps it’s the tree of my dreamsgrown larger, the horizontal branchesthat cradled me now softened by memory. Or is it the dreaming tree, that long gone,leaning oak in my childhood back yard?I have known many other trees, loved plenty of … Continue reading →

It feels as if you’re being given an extra life to live.—Dara Barrois/Dixon* Or maybe it’s the third or fourth or hundredth chance—you’ve lost track, as you should. Doesn’t matter. It feels as if you’ve been given an extra life … Continue reading →