Always, “Forever!”

Honestly, the other day in a really long line at the grocery store, I ended up talking with the woman behind me, the woman in front of me, and the checker gal. We all had so much fun together, laughing and complimenting one another. I walked outside to put my groceries away and thought, “What would be so wrong with telling them I’d like to know them more and hang out?” Well, it would be weird, of course. Continue reading Always, “Forever!”

Music Heard so Deeply, That it is Not Heard at All

For most of us, there is only the unattended
Moment, the moment in and out of time,
The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight,
The wild thyme unseen, or the winter lightning
Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all, but you are the music
While the music lasts.

*T.S. Eliot, line from The Dry Salvages, out of Four Quartets Continue reading Music Heard so Deeply, That it is Not Heard at All

“Days of Soup and Holler,” ~ My New Book!

“Where can I pick up your book?” you ask. Here are some happy links for you – it’s available online wherever you would normally order books (most likely). Bloomsbury Books in Ashland – – Powell’s in Portland – – Strand Books in New York – – Barnes & Noble – – Amazon I got to see her triumph and fall apart. I wept and cheered … Continue reading “Days of Soup and Holler,” ~ My New Book!

Mothers

  The conflict happens because she’s right and she loves you. And yet, we strive against all her rightness, her great ideas, Her prodding us into things that challenge and define us.   She made memories for us, with the books she read us, The games she played, the places she took us, The worlds she opened up to us, The things she made it … Continue reading Mothers

Poetry in Music and Dance

There is so much poetry in dance, in the way bodies sidle up to one another and barely touch and then move away, only to come back around and move together suggestively, still holding back, still mostly eyes, still only hints at what could happen if both bodies fully engaged. There is love and loss and poise and danger. There is heart on sleeve, and … Continue reading Poetry in Music and Dance

Filling Small Pages with Enormous Words of Love

These are the tiny books Bean has made for me in the last week. The Best Mom book is 22 pages with my name written on every page, and as you can see, just larger than a quarter. The other book with stars and moon and hearts on the outside is blank inside and he wants me to fill each page with a Poem. Eh-hem. … Continue reading Filling Small Pages with Enormous Words of Love

Because Cleaning is so Distracting

  Or rather, we have a friend coming over this afternoon, and so the boys are cleaning, and I am cleaning, and we are all getting distracted by the things we are supposed to be putting away. I’m straightening my bedside table, and finding books of poetry that should be leafed through if only for a moment after I’ve dusted them, before stacking them neatly … Continue reading Because Cleaning is so Distracting

Days of Soup and Holler

It seems as if the geese could bump into each other in this mist, each screeching into the void sounding out to the others calling the way forward southward, onward toward the next season, the next warm nest.   I can’t see to the end of my driveway, fog hanging in white, billowing curtains, pulling me into the story, some elegant myth, where rooms are … Continue reading Days of Soup and Holler

Throw-Back Thursday: Another Year, Another Show

These photos are all from the 2009 show, Strengthen Me with Raisins. Back in 2007, I performed my very first Poetry Show as part of the Rogue Festival in Fresno, CA. I was 39 years old, and I floated away from my first Standing Ovation, not physically touching the ground. These are the shows I did back in California. 2007 – Come Now I Will Test … Continue reading Throw-Back Thursday: Another Year, Another Show

Downbeats of Defiance

Sometimes I shatter; break into pieces and scatter across the floor.   My tiny shards reflect light in odd patterns on the wall and once again I am something shiny.   I remember a spark, I remember a brilliance, I point with awe.   We do this dance of bright things to dung hills and back again; excitement and despair.   The mysteries, the mundane, … Continue reading Downbeats of Defiance