Be Foolish

Be Foolish

Read a poem to an audience while your voice and hands shake with fear. Give that coin to the homeless man who will likely buy drugs. Tell your friend you love her even as the air shimmers with awkwardness. Let the wind blow your hair into a rat’s nest, the sun burn...
The Land of No

The Land of No

  I should have said no to that tenant who left his stuff in my house. I should have said no to my mate who insisted we bike that treacherous trail. I should have said no to that vampire, that leaner, that diva and bully. But I could not. I am too well trained in...
Thunder Claps

Thunder Claps

  Boom! Lightning strikes, thunder claps within. The assault ricochets through the body, drives downward to the ground, shakes the heart, weakens the limbs, until I shiver in my bones. I call to the Steady One. Suddenly, brightness illuminates my white-knuckled...

Head into the Wilderness

Our personal history tries to keep us on a track, iron rails hold us to a fixed route. When anger ignites, one has no choice but to follow the ancient directive: fists clench face burns scarlet, revenge sparks on the tongue. But… What if that track isn’t so set? What...

Row Gently

  I rowed this boat so darn hard, I must have broken a thousand oars on rocks and shallow depths, always trying, trying to get there to that shore of love, safety, and beauty. I rowed and rowed, flipped over and back up until my arms ached, my nose filled with...

Light the Whole Universe

“Poor me,” the voice in my head says. “If it weren’t for this, my life would be easy. I could be free, happy, full of energy and love.” “Really?” I ask the voice one day. “I mean…you’ve had this refrain for so many years… ‘Poor me, if only…’ “And yet that situation...