Author Archives: janishaag

Though we have bailed out of exercise earlytoday—because the leaf blower man hascome to blow away the leaves on her lawnwhere we work out to and with the oldies— Marilyn comes inside, heading for her laptopon the table by the … Continue reading →

Given the choicebetween love and not love, between the harsh voiceand the gentle one, it is prudent, you remindyourself, to pause when this one or that one isannoyingly annoying, and you want, more thananything, to snap off their head and … Continue reading →

for Dickie on his fifth rebirth-a-versary The day you melted,I witnessed the collapseof a self, a candle burneddown to a puddle of wax,a heap of humanity—gone. Yet strangers sprangto reshape your meltedself into a new form,and we learned thatresurrection is … Continue reading →

It’s my month, I think, every timeI abbreviate it—not the one of my birth, but my name, the Roman god of doorways,beginnings, sunrises and sunsets. One letter difference between his nameand mine to indicate entrance and, yes, transitions, him with … Continue reading →

I have thought for weeksthat now’s the time— on these gray, cold dayswith the narcissus shooting their merry paperwhites skyward,even the odd hollyhock clinging to an unseasonably tall stalk—that I must take up the clippers and head to the back … Continue reading →

I used to wish that I’d ridden morethan bikes as a kid, or perhaps pedaled my pink two-wheeler across the roadto the stables butting up to the state park, and plunked down the dollar-fifty to ride.I’d have needed lessons, tippy-over … Continue reading →

for Marilyn On the brink, over the edge,between breaths, heartbeats, tears, underneath the weight of it all,without what is needed, wanted, you find yourself going round,not necessarily in confusion, but moving toward an unnameablesomething, though you may not be able … Continue reading →

each of you has written upon my body the story of moments shared, in tenderness,in urgency, tracing lines across my skin,dropped kisses here and there and there— so long ago that my memory cannot easilysummon it—but love stored in too-soon-to-melt … Continue reading →

Today I’m featuring a special guest poet who found this poem coming to her in much the same way that they show up for me. Bravo, Ma! ••• “Propitious,” a wordseldom used these days,or, perhaps,any days,popped up inconversation, and,prompted the … Continue reading →

I just burst out laughingat myself when texts blastthe camera-that-makes-phone- calls out of its inert state,forcing my aging brain to puzzleout current-day acronyms. The one that read TIA startledme into a fast response:Did you have a stroke? to which the … Continue reading →