Author Archives: janishaag

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 →

(Moss Cove, Pt. Lobos State Natural Reserve) After decades of relishingthe feel of soft sandcaressing my toes, pebbled shorelineshave become my favoritebeaches. I appreciate the great work over eonsof the sea pulverizing rockand coral into fine silica, but how I … Continue reading →

(for the Brandt’s cormorants and brown pelicansof Bird Island, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve,California) ••• A convention of the slender black-cloaked,long-necked ones gathers on the great rock,some nesting the next generation into being,while nearby a contingent of brown giants somehow … Continue reading →