Author Archives: janishaag

Though we appear to die, we do not.Death is merely a change of address,and loved ones wend their waylike turtles or salmon or whales—by smell, by feel.This mourning, we do for ourselves,but when we raise our heads,sniff the breeze, feel … Continue reading →

(In honor of Sea Otter Awareness Weekand the Monterey Bay Aquarium otters) ••• She log rolls on her side and rises,breathes and pats her stomach,rolls and pats, then, chin tuckedto her fuzzy chest, curls intoa forward roll, somehow undulatinginto a … Continue reading →

What did I really see this day?—John O’Donohue ••• I saw the day break into a thousandcrystal shards when my spot on the planet rolled into sunshine, scrolling up likemovie credits, light refracting into sleepy eyes that would much ratherbe … Continue reading →

Or an old one, as the case may be,for we fall into autumnal shadows today, the lengthening ones,the light fading more quickly, winter on its way, the radiantdays darkening with an inkling of farewell reverberating intochillier mornings. I look up … Continue reading →

For all that has been, thank you.For all that is to come, yes.—Joan Stockbridge The simplest formsof gratitude,heartfelt, whetherspoken or thought, mean the worldto the world,so in need ofhonest appreciation, all of us here tohelp heal humanity,grow our soulsas we … Continue reading →

My mother has lost the little gold penknifemy father used to open small packages,and it’s driving her nuts that she can’t find it, she says, as her ride arrives forher evening excursion. It has to be onthe side table, she … Continue reading →

“I wish”—whispers the bottom stair, trod by countlessfeet, in the translated words of Hafez, “I could show you”—the 14th-century Sufi poet’swritings about divine love, “when you are”—in his birthplace of Shiraz,he who learned the Quran by heart, “lonely or”—whom others … Continue reading →

(for Robert Gordon, with thanks) How many people can say theywalked out on their front porchesmidday on a mid-September Sunday to find two zombie/skeletonsculptures propped up like ghoulishJesuses on survey-stake crosses? Not many, I’ll wager, unless like me,they’re lucky enough … Continue reading →

(May 2021) Books boxed, shelves emptied,left like gaping mouths, every bitof paper in the filing cabinetsboxed, too—nothing left behindfor recycling—no one to removeit on the pandemic-closed campus. No one to say goodbye. Faithful iMac wiped cleanof so many documents/photos/whole publications. … Continue reading →

Shanah tovah, our Jewish friendssay this weekend, offering us all wishes for the good new year 5784,this Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the universe, asking forgivenessfor mistakes, which I ask, too, as I cut up apples, dip them in honey,crack … Continue reading →