Random Acts of Poetry Day
The first Wednesday in October is Random Acts of Poetry Day. (This begs the question: Is there any day that is just, you know, that day, and not national Eat a Pickle in Public Day, or whatever?) I learned about this admirable day through the excellent tweetspeak, a site for poets and those who love […]
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Last weekend I stepped out of a storm-wrecked farmhouse and ended up in Oz. My daughter and I have always wanted to see The Land of Oz, the quirky North Carolina theme park on the top of Beech Mountain, based on characters from the book by L. Frank Baum, and bringing to life the movie, […]
Farther Along – Road Trips with Sisters
When I was growing up with three sisters, we piled into a series of station wagons for regular road trips from our home in Florida. We drove to North Carolina for summer camp and Thanksgiving vacations. We drove to small towns in Tennessee and Virginia to visit relatives. Sometimes we drove about an hour away, […]
On Rusty Tools and Writing
It’s a lot right now. Afghanistan, Ida, COVID, voting rights, and whatever personal pain or worry is keeping you up in the night. It’s an awful lot. Are we making progress? Is progress even the goal? What about kindness, or truth, or mercy? Or just safe shelter and schooling for anyone who needs it? Do […]
Forgetting the capital of Paraguay
I’m writing in the living room of a rental house inhabited this week with four friends from seminary. We are reading (a little) theology together, and swapping stories from 30 years ago. Grateful to have carved out the time together, and nervous about rising COVID levels. One of us had it back in the fall. […]
Hanging in my Hammock with Bernard of Clairvaux
This week, my writing prompt has three parts. 1. Make a quick list of some things you love. Not people, but non-people things. Today I might list: my hammock good coffee my old dog Twyla and my Birkenstocks 2. Choose one, and list some attributes of it. My hammock is… comfortable inviting fraying promotes napping, […]
In this one you are….
This is one of my favorite writing prompts from my writing group of bereaved mothers. Put in front of you, or recall a photograph. It can be of yourself, or of a loved one, or of a stranger. Start your writing with these words “In this one you are….” then write to the person in […]
i carry your heart with me
It’s our wedding anniversary today. Twenty-seven years ago, on a spring day in Florida, we made our friends and family sit through a long earnest ceremony, then had a lovely party afterwards. The intervening years have been joyous and hard and worth it. I’ve got to say, if I have to be sheltering-in-place with anyone, […]
The Peace of Wild Things
It’s going to be a beautiful day here in Asheville. On a usual Thursday (my day off from work) I would be running endless errands, choosing a restaurant for coffee or lunch, or planning a hike. It’s not usual, of course. Our county’s wise two week “stay home, stay safe” order goes into effect at […]
Haiku for clementines
Yesterday I made a list of items in my refrigerator. We have an abundance of hummus right now. And we have 7 clementines. I adore clementines. I’m not big on oranges or grapefruits, but I could write poetry about clementines. So I did. Here’s my haiku about the clementines in my fridge: tiny clementines my […]