Category Archives: Uncategorized

(for Ryan Montgomery on his birthday) You will likely not remember,but it was one of your best linesever, especially clever for your seven-year-old self,who, after I cut your hair, atyour mother’s request, and I asked only for a kissin return, … Continue reading →

When, after nine months gestation,the cat you brought home fromyour mother’s house after she dieddecides that you are, for better or worse,his person— though he still runs when you walkthrough the house, but will come to youwhen you sit on … Continue reading →

(for World Inclusion Day, Oct. 10) Remember that pale blue dot,that tiny speck of light in the darkphotographed by Voyager 1beyond Neptune, some 3.7billion miles from the sun? When mission managersdirected the little spacecraftto turn and look over itsaluminum/titanium shouldertoward … Continue reading →

(for Rebecca) You know, it occurs to methat I haven’t said to you,dear niece, how sorry I am for the passageof your dear mama from lifeinto mystery, feeling my own sorrowswirled with gratitude forthe way she embraced me as she … Continue reading →

Beneath the floorboards of this old housea young man named Nick, a genius with pipesand fittings, has wedged his slender self between the dirt on which the foundation restsand the old redwood planks that form its base.He’s a spelunker, his … Continue reading →

I have her Porsche,a cookie jar versionwith its wild paint job, and though, as a teen,I heard her “Bobby McGee”growl on the radio, I didn’t resonate withthis Janis who spelledher name like mine until after she was gone.But the car—eventuallyI, … Continue reading →

(for Donna and Eric Just’s41st wedding anniversary) ••• Cherishing is love with its sleeves rolled up.—Gregory Boyle You two make it look easy,always have, for four decadesplus a year now. And while the rest of us don’t see allthe behind-the-scenesgoings-on, … Continue reading →

(for Shelley Burns, who brings happinessto so many, especially when she sings) “Forget your troublesand just get happy,” she sings.“You better chase all your cares away.” We walked carrying our cares, totingheavy concerns and fears, but whenShelley sings at the … Continue reading →

She smiled when she asked, her7-year-old self so serious, so sincere, and like all grownups confronted withhard questions we haven’t answered for ourselves, I said, “It just stops.”And she said, “No more lub-dub?” because she had heard herslub-dubbing away through … Continue reading →

Surfers talk about it in termsof waves they’ve zigged and zaggedand ridden till the swell fades,dissolves into ocean. But poets shred, too, tearinginto language with high energyand skill. For those who surfwater or snow or concrete, they mean mastery of … Continue reading →