Author Archives: janishaag

(for Henry Alan Gielfrom Great Aunt Jan) So what do you thinkof this world you’velanded in, tiny mammal? These people fromwhom you came caringand carrying you, propping you up,their big, goofy facesgrinning at you. You shining the lightof your sweet … Continue reading →

I know you’re out there somewhereSomewhere, somewhereI know you’re out there somewhereSomewhere you can hear my voice I know I’ll find you somehowSomehow, somehowI know I’ll find you somehowAnd somehow I’ll return again to you —Justin Hayward (of the Moody … Continue reading →

adjective: Having the same or coincident boundaries;meeting at the ends; within the same boundaries. ••• You created my boundaries before youwere aware of my presence deepin your womb— just a wee egglet bumped intoby Dad’s wiggly sperm and… boom!Embryonic me, … Continue reading →

Are you addicted to your phone? In the doctor’s office waiting rooma masked man leans over and says to his wife, Some people just have to be on their phones all the time,as I begin writing a poem on mine. … Continue reading →

On my way to Mom’s, I drive into Beals Pointto admire the spectacularly full lake,the water rarely so high that seeingthe vastness of blue submerginggranite outcroppings winked with micafeels almost miraculous. The flotilla of Canada geese looks happy,a giant flock … Continue reading →

Someone asked,Do you think he might’ve lived longerif you hadn’t left him? I didn’t say,That’s the million-dollar question,isn’t it? I didn’t say,Hmmm… I never thought of that,not once in the 23 years since he diedalone in the house he rentedin … Continue reading →

not today butsome day, let it comewithout warning,say, as I walka sweetly shaded path,coming to the firstof several gentlepacked-earth stepsplaced by thoughtfulhands and let the pathbe bordered in latespring green vergingon summer goldunder the mostordinary of trees,which, of course,only appearordinary … Continue reading →

Crow blackcascading down her backlike kelp massagedby the sea braids to her waist—grown ‘em all my life,she says to the hootsof other Black girlsin my classroomwho pooh-poohthat notion hair’ll break it getsthat long—gotta beextensions Decades laterI stand on a trailoverlooking … Continue reading →

Dr. Janis peers through the magicalmachine that looks like a giant pairof glasses on a swinging pole—something Elton might have wornonstage in the 1970s—her eyes on the opposite sideof the device inspecting mine. She’s done this for years, keepingwatch on … Continue reading →

Even with the car’s A/C pumpingits little compressor heart out,I feel my left arm burning throughthe driver’s side window,having left the cool coastline,speeding just a little overthe I-5 limit north toward homeon the second century-plusafternoon of the summer. Next to … Continue reading →