Category Archives: Uncategorized

(for Rebecca) Once again, after the quietexplosion of death, the presence of the belovedpersists, as companion spirits do, lingering in the present tensenear those who cherish them. We cannot yet think in the “was,”as we sink into the after-space that … Continue reading →

(Lake Tahoe, west shore) On the second day at the lakea storm warning and propheticgraying skies, rimmed by a hintof light over the mountainsto the east. Sure enough, about mid-afternoon,I walk to the same spot overlookingthe beach, where yesterday beamedwith … Continue reading →

(Lake Tahoe, west shore,Labor Day 2025) You are here—me, too—by the Big Blue that is so cold…(how cold is it?).I remember two little girls who grewup next to what theyconsidered “their” lake, who were longago brought to thisginormous one situated … Continue reading →

That, when I bent over and kissed her cheek as she lay on the sofa—the spot from which she would not rise the next morning—I didn’t say, aloha nui loa, mahalo nui loa—much love, many thanks. That I didn’t say … Continue reading →

In late August when the sycamorestarts tossing leaves brittled byunrelenting sun, I’m alwayssurprised to find the lawnlittered with the dead anddying. It happens annually,but it feels unseasonably early. I’ve called this sycamore minefor 38 summers. Perhapsour real purpose is not … Continue reading →

“It’s always more fun to eat out,”I tell my neighbor whose kittywanders down to my porch most mornings. “Hi, Hercules,”I say, as he sits politelybut expectantly, waiting for breakfast. Sometimes dinner.It’s not that he doesn’tget fed at home, his mom … Continue reading →

That’s the pisser—the dilemma with noeasy resolution, no good answer:when to hold on,when to let go. We are a holding-onspecies, reluctantletter-goers, especially when ourtender heartsache with loss. We want this oneback, never wantedthat one to go, the clench of griefsqueezing … Continue reading →

You left Wednesday, Marge, beforeI could return Friday to take down detailsof your 79 years for the obit. You’ve been in hospice for onlytwo weeks, moved to independentliving less than a month ago, and though I haven’t married your brother,you’ve … Continue reading →

(and no, it doesn’t rhyme with “violets”*) You want me to write a triolet?OK, then, I’ll try.Turns out it’s a fun game to play.You want me to write a triolet?Once I start, I might just do this all day.Testing my … Continue reading →

Not that I ever mastered perfect parking,much less parallel, although living in a city all these years, I have gotten better. But Ifind myself deeply annoyed one dark night by the yellow flap of paper-that-is-not-a-ticketwaiting under my windshield wiper, bearing … Continue reading →