Bro

It’s been a while since I’ve met someone who clicked with me.  My new pal feels the same way – maybe more so.  He likes my sense of humor, my way of looking at life, my sobriety, our mutual fatherhood and interests in life beyond the suburban horizon.  He declares … Read the rest

Twilight

BY HENRI COLE

There’s a black bear
in the apple tree
and he won’t come down.
I can hear him panting,
like an athlete.
I can smell the stink
of his body.
Come down, black bear.
Can you hear me?
The mind is the most interesting thing to me;
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“But that afternoon he asked himself, with his infinite capacity for illusion, if such pitiless indifference might not be a subterfuge for hiding the torments of love.”

Love in the Time of CholeraRead the rest

Soon

It’s August and the drive to Camp Wabasso is long and languid.  This marks the first time my daughter will be on her own. I’ve assured her she’s about to have an adventure, an experience – one she won’t forget. It’s a big step for her.

We drive north on … Read the rest

Ghosts

There is something about this time of year … The air. The light. The memories.

I think about the smell of the burning leaf piles, the feel of flannel and fuzzy sweaters, pumpkin pulp squishing in my hands, the way the cold crisp air made the stars seem extra bright … Read the rest

The Nile

“Daddy, what’s your favorite food?”  It’s just one of those random questions my daughter asks me from time to time. “Barbeque.”

She stares at me confused. “You don’t eat meat!”  

“True, but I’m blessed with a great memory.”  I lovingly describe the BBQ brisket my dad would make – a … Read the rest

Isn’t it …

I spent the holiday weekend at a friend’s house. She called me a few days prior to tell me she was fired from her job, unceremoniously and unexpectedly. I felt her pain like it was my own. This was her future and now it’s gone –  abruptly snatched away. “Let’s … Read the rest

… a small, quiet room

I’m finding that while I’m writing and spilling my thoughts and emotions onto the virtual pages here, I can’t finish.  I search for a satisfying conclusion and there’s nothing.  It’s not so much writer’s block as an inability to focus – too many competing ideas, too many daily responsibilities for … Read the rest

Quote

A Kiss

And sometimes it is
loss
that we lose,
and sometimes
it is just lips. When I was
a child, I would ask my mother

to tuck me
in, wrap me tight in blankets,
make me into a burrito.

Sometimes I would wait in bed,
pressing my body stiff, like a
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