Why not write Because the baby is crying, the bath water runs, lettuce waits to be washed, your toddler yells for you to wipe. Or an old vet phones, please won’t you help? or it's the Good News shelter needing you to scrape the dishes and throw away the trash. There's a bottle, scotch that’ll make your teeth grow hair like weeds sprouted in the garden. Maybe you’re just too polluted or not buzzed enough; all you can think of are butterflies and that’s so … [Read more...]
Spring’s here and my spirit is tossed
Hello friends. Spring is officially here. The calendar tells me so. Today is a cold spring day in Chicago. Lots of art focuses on the renewal of spring as something to celebrate. And usually in spring my spirits are lifted, but sometimes, I experience a moment of missing winter. Not the frigid temps and winds and snows but the mindset of winter. I feel unprepared, like I need a few more days. So that's what inspired me to share "The Enkindled Spring" by D. H. Lawrence. … [Read more...]
“I Kid You Not” by Laura Rodley
Hey there! Happy December! I haven’t posted in a while, but then I got this poem from Laura Rodley and I wanted to share it. Peace, love, and solace I Kid You Not The bird whose name he does not know flew smack against his armpit- the beginning of the heart meridian- smack through the car window, bounced to the floor amidst papers and cookie wrappers as though dead, eyes closed, smacked him hard enough for it to hurt, leave a faint … [Read more...]
Meditate on the positive
Greetings. It looks as if Spring may come to Chicago after all. How’s the weather by you? This weekend came and went. I saw the aftermath of a fatal highway crash on Friday. I went to the funeral of a young father on Saturday. I thought about my own father who was born on April 22, which was Sunday, which was also Earth Day. One of the readings from that funeral was from Philippians 4:4-9 (Final Exhortations). I don’t usually share scripture, but the last two verses … [Read more...]
Some summer diversions
Hey there – happy summer! I am happy to start the season with a cover shot. My photo “Petal Perfect” is the cover of the latest Olentangy Review. Thanks so much to Melissa and Darryl Price for choosing my work. Here’s some stuff I found interesting these past weeks. For Mockingbird, June 2, Sarah Condon wrote “Self-Righteousness at Home in the Twenty-First Century” and it has stayed on my mind. The subject matter is pertinent (“Because self-righteousness cuts a clear … [Read more...]