In the Old Country
#SOL16. No.28. Melted snowflakes Maple-wood smoke Hints of cinnamon, cardamon, cumin In the mysterious Old Country That no one knows anymore Every winter a hundred years long Every spring a miracle Water like music, music like water In the Old Country Whose name and...
Alive Forevermore
#SOL16, No. 27. Easter Sunday 2016 I am he who lives, and was dead, and Behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. Revelation 1:18 This I believe. A foreboding darkness Covers the land Jesus hangs On a cross As life ebbs He cries It is finished Bowing His head He dies The...
Easter Past
#SOL16, No. 26. I have been following Mark E. Weston's Heartland Series, stories from his boyhood. His writings are making me pause and remember. So for my slice today, I've written a poem remembering Easters of my girlhood. My title, Easter Past, borrows from Charles...
The Marmalade Cat
#SOL16. No.25. Yesterday, I published a memory from my first grade year -- "The Day My Teacher Died." Today I am writing a piece that is a snapshot of my thinking as I crafted it. However, before I begin unfolding my thinking, lest my narration of the crafting make...
The Day My Teacher Died
#SOL16. No.24. Prologue: This is my true story. The account is completely accurate. Names have been changed and a detailed added, but I will share more about that tomorrow when I write about the writing. The cat. It was a big marmalade cat. When I see a marmalade cat,...
Lunar Lunacy
#SOL16. No.23. It is the very error of the moon. She comes more near the earth than she was wont. And makes men mad. William Shakespeare, Othello Sharon and I sit in the Brian Center dining hall with Mick, waiting for his dinner tray. Mick, in the final stage of a...
For the record . . .
#SOL16. No.22. I My granddaughter (MZ), a high school junior, dropped into our kitchen unannounced on a Monday evening, full of life and energy as only that age is. The dropping-in is normal since we are neighbors and our back yards run together. We chatted and I...
Crazy Words
#SOL16. No.21. I read, and I laughed, and then inspired by Alan Wright's SOL16 Day 20 post, I took out my dictionary and wrote. It was in the time of the year when trees are about to leaf that he came home on leave. We talked and I asked if I could leaf through the...
Some Arachnid Lore
#SOL16. No.20. EN, my not-quite-5-year old grandson, dramatically tells Mommy that a spider is on the bedroom floor. Mommy questions about the exact whereabouts of said spider and heads up the stairs with determination. EN plops onto the couch, gives Mommy a huge...
The Day the Sun Rose in the West
#SOL16. No.19. True story! Once I watched the sun rise in the west. The sun had barely set and dusk was descending when I boarded a commuter flight out of Portland. I was on my way to catch a cross-country red-eye out of Seattle. As we lifted into our takeoff, I...
Life Just Got Harder
#SOL16. No.18. TS and NC (12- and 10-year-old brothers) have been learning about safety—water safety, bicycle safety, hiking safety. While reading about safety protocol for hiking in a woods, they got into a discussion about ticks. The tick talk included information...
The Power of Three
#SOL16. No.17. "To laugh often and love much" has always been one of my favorite quotes. I've seen so many different versions, including one written as prose, and wondered how that could be. And I've always thought they were the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Well,...
Sentinel of My Home
#SOL16. No.16. Some call me a frequent flyer. Others call me a road warrior. American Airlines says I'm Executive Platinum. All I know is that I spend a lot of time in airports and airplanes, traveling to work with schools across the country. The records show that...
Mr. Snowman
#SOL16. No.15. In my back yard, a lone snowman stood, quietly smiling. Though temperatures were getting colder, he kept smiling. When the wind blew hard, he still smiled. Maybe it was Mandi's red scarf around his neck, or Mike's black sock hat on his head, or Madi's...
Takeoff
#SOL16. No.14. Engines roar. We rise to the west. Water becomes clouds, Clouds become water. Where ocean and sky meet, I do not know. --On a winter departure from Santa Anna, Orange County, CA Slice of Life Read more about a slicing life and a great community of...
A Song is Singing
#SOL16. No.13. Outside the temperature is 44, but feels more like 37. A cold rain is falling. A trace of someone's wood fire is filtering through the woodsy, mossy air. Inside my kitchen is toasty, warmed by the aroma of breakfast--coffee, bacon, an omelet, a maple...
Growing Together
#SOL16. No.12. I The inspiration II The poem Growing together As years slip by, Sharing the earth Our roots entwined. Steadfast we stand Sunshine and rain, Faithful and true My Love and I. Writing about my writing The afternoon is perfect for a garden wedding....
I heard his chirp . . .
#SOL16. No.11. I heard his chirp--a tiny, hopeful chirp. Then I saw him, perched on the railing next to my table. Plain brown, no fancy plumage. He cocked his head, this way and that, stretched out his neck, ruffled his feathers, and chirped again. Brave little...
The Assignment
#SOL16. No.10. June 2014 Somehow, from somewhere, a notice about an email drawing class came to my attention. I was intrigued by the idea of taking a course via email. And I've always wanted to do more sketching, more drawing. I believe drawing goes hand in hand with...
A Bed-to-Bed Free Verse Poem
#SOL16. No.9. Having fun with a Bed-to-Bed Free Verse Poem* It's Tuesday Sunrise and coffee with my man --Treasure these moments when I am home Reading and answering emails Keeping phone appointments --One lasted 1.5 hours, we should have Skyped Waiting for a FedEx...
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