(or what comes after) Not one but two deaths, to hammer home that we are but dust, as if smearing ashes on the forehead just wasn’t enough. A memorial service, followed by another vigil, sandwiched between math tests, Latin vocab and baking bread. Old stories heard fresh reread and retold through a book of wild … Continue reading
There comes a moment. Perhaps on a neighborhood walk, you realize it is warm enough to pull up your jacket sleeves and turn your face to the sun. Or one evening under a luminous moon with water a mirror for the heavens, when peepers come roaring to life, and you know a little slice of … Continue reading
March is mid-season Despite calendar or weatherman; Not the deepest cold Nor the full onslaught of color yet, But brown, and moody A tumultuous whiplash of weather. March is mid-sun An increase in light and longing; Not the strength and length as the year’s zenith Nor the watery and wan winter’s rays, But enough power … Continue reading
When we moved into our home five years ago, an ancient rhododendron featured prominently at the corner of the house, its gnarled branches hanging ominously over the driveway. Gravity and age tugged at its branches, which scraped the windshield of our cars as we pulled in and out; what pale blooms there were peaked quickly. … Continue reading
lines etched in leathery hide concentric circles of memory & loss, of joy & wisdom radiate outward from eye to cheek to bridge of nose and always tugged back to your downward gaze. as if all your lumbering glory your searching thirst and desperate losses & joyful trumpets could be contained in that one single … Continue reading
Now that it’s nearly spring (or mud season, as we call it around here, which may or may not include more snow), I thought I’d come back and finish the list of things that I am learning, which I started midwinter. Thanks, Emily P. Freeman, for the inspiration! 6. In addition to winter being a … Continue reading
gentle white falling, heaven’s soft gift almost covering the land, almost made new and I’m adrift in thoughts of you. every morning, rich foamy delight in a mug, this morning scented cinnamon, gifts of bounty and promise for toil and I’m awash in your friendship. woosh and wings and slack-jawed stare – catch it, catch … Continue reading
A necessary balance to the shorter and darker days of winter is found in the blazing fireplace, the cheery string of mantle lights and a scented candle, which brighten both space and spirit. Lots of natural light floods the picture window during the cold winter: bare trees, arms outstretched offering only what is necessary, are … Continue reading
As part of an online course with Abbey of the Arts, we were encouraged to take a contemplative walk – a purposefully slow meander, just to notice what we notice around us. I offer here a few photos and reflection from my brief sojourn around the neighborhood.
In a season of fullness, to scale back requires work and faith; freedom to fully see. I wrote this Advent Haiku last year as part of an online course through Abbey of the Arts. It speaks to me now as much as it did then as I embrace the paradoxes of the season and prepare … Continue reading
"That got me thinking..." 