A Night Well Spent

Say I told you that I spent a good, no, a great, part of my life in numbness training. Men thought me emotionally stable because I wanted nothing, asked for nothing, accepted even less. Women thought me a threat because men thought me well. I was never well. Say I told you that in myContinue reading “A Night Well Spent”

Seeds

The small, slow steps work. Every time. This is true of difficult decisions. True of preparing a gorgeous meal. True of creating beautiful art. The fastest track might yield “results,” but rarely offers a deep sense of fulfillment. For the last three years, I’ve suffered a variety of medical malfunctions. Maybe I’ve suffered this wayContinue reading “Seeds”

An Invitation to Keep Your Course

Today, there’s a swearing-in. Yesterday, three hostages were released. The day before, TikTok “went dark.” Last week, Zuckerberg decided to eliminate fact-checkers on Meta, citing a “cultural tipping point.” Last year, Musk created a reel using AI, putting words in Harris’ mouth, and called it a Parody. In the days of yonder, we called thisContinue reading “An Invitation to Keep Your Course”

The World Needs More Than a Tweaking

I underwent a little spine surgery last Wednesday. Yes. I’m fine. Yes. It was a necessary tweaking, offering hope to alleviate pressure and pain on my occipital nerves. I think of all pain, nerve pain is the worst. No. Heart-pain wins. But this isn’t about pain. This is about hunger. The day after my tweaking,Continue reading “The World Needs More Than a Tweaking”

Let’s Say…

Let’s say, recently, interested men-folk express their said-interest in you by pointing out all that they are willing to accept. And, let’s say, their acceptance, which is tolerance in disguise, shapes into a short list and on this list is the life you’ve curated, including your four Newfoundlands, your adult disabled son, and your ownContinue reading “Let’s Say…”

a little self comfort for the tender poet

I can only begin with advice I read (and re-read) from Rebecca Solnit‘s Facebook post, Nov 6th at 4:25 am, “Things you do not have to do today. –Join the frenzy of what/who to blame. –Take in a bunch more media. –Feel like you’re ready to face the next five years and have to planContinue reading “a little self comfort for the tender poet”

The Price of Energy

I collect money. Collect it in a mason jar. Collect coins and bills and hand-written IOUs on Post-Its. I charge five dollars per bad attitude. I began this transactional system when my sons were younger, say eight and ten and two. The price lower back then. A quarter for an eye-roll, a dime for a,Continue reading “The Price of Energy”

Bookmarks – Empowering and Essential Tools

The other day, in a workshop with Sarabande Books, someone shared the story of a librarian discovering a taco in the center of a book.

A taco.

Squished in the pages.

A taco.