one morning, bland and weak,I heard a wilted flower speakof our future tribulationsof our far-off destinationsour technicolor tapestrylife’s seeming mystery to mea tightly coiled secret kepta trepid toil oversteppedthe whisper of earth’s voicea shiver scattered once or twicelike autumn’s petals in the windall our summer days rescinded This poem was written for this week’s Wea’veContinue reading “I heard a wilted flower speak”
Category Archives: Teaching
Taproots
Burrowed underthe surface,secreted shadowsthat swirl sandand flooded landwith God’s hand.I’ll masquerade as a poeta little longer,learning to findmyself beneath my words, expose my owntaproots. Shortly into remission from stage three cancer, I was joking with my primary care physician: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” “Well,” she said, surprisingly hesitant. “It makes youContinue reading “Taproots”
Different Kinds of Resolutions
fragile like dawn’s first light,like the air buoyed in a bubble,like a needle of ice thinnedfrom sun’s rays,held in our cursory glance,then folded carefully,saccharine moment,earth’s newest rotation Happy New Year, everybody! I was contemplating the different sorts of resolutions I’ve made over the years. Many of them have had to do with writing or healthyContinue reading “Different Kinds of Resolutions”
The lens through which we see the world
the camera reflects the lens through which we see life captured light glistens bright and speckles the soul with sunbeams fractured lens the camera pretends tells only half the story squeezes hope bitter note looking for glory heartened now we are learning how to share love camera’s hope the story behind the lens empathy warmContinue reading “The lens through which we see the world”
Journeying
for the love of adventure, I’ll cross these prairie lands of waving grass and sun-speckled hollows, the pastures hidden beyond winding county roads and no-named hillsides, sleeping under yesterday’s roof and weaving tomorrow from scratch Oh my goodness, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve written a poem on WordPress! I’ve missed that. This semesterContinue reading “Journeying”
Distractibility
boldly billowing grim clouds coil and laze around others swirl in dance I’ve written on here before about my difficulty with focus. Toward the end of my chemo infusions and immediately afterward, I couldn’t get my brain to attend to any one idea or situation for more than 5 minutes or so. It would bounceContinue reading “Distractibility”
July Reading List
My July opened with a family camping trip and ended with a countryside trip to celebrate a dear friend’s upcoming wedding. It was a month that included many ups and downs and (unfortunately) not nearly enough writing, but it involved a decent amount of reading. Here’s a look at what I read this month: IContinue reading “July Reading List”
Simple Days
lemonade summer sherbet sunshine overhead bare feet on cut grass The past week was chaotic as we wrapped up the semester. Between the emails, grading, meetings, late student work, extra emails from panicked students about their excessive late work, and everything else, I didn’t really have a chance to sit and just enjoy a momentContinue reading “Simple Days”
Floodwaters
Well, that escalated quickly. I intended to write more innocently about the river flooding happening near our home, but this definitely turned into something more. I composed this Symetrelle poem for the We’ave Written Weekly prompt at the Skeptic’s Kaddish. This week’s prompt is from Jane, who asks us to do the following: I believeContinue reading “Floodwaters”
Resuscitation
bitter, battle-hardened, armed with baited breath and toxins, build the bridge that bares your losses, unaware you are the strongest I don’t presume to know what this bald eagle is thinking, but I’d venture that he’s eyeing up a tasty fish. Though they were at one point added to the endangered species list for mostContinue reading “Resuscitation”
Words and Coffee Writing 