It was last year around this time when my brother announced he wanted to move. The town he called home was inexpensive and rural, an easy commute to work., the kind of place you might drive through on the way to somewhere else. It’s sole nod to modernity was a … Read the rest
In Words Your Parents Spoke
If you hold a heart that sings secret songs
closely to your ear,
you can hear the words your parents spoke
when your father drew your mother near.
If you hold the hand that took too long,
the one that seems too far,
you can tell who loves you, who … Read the rest
“After the final no there comes a yes
And on that yes the future world depends.
No was the night. Yes is this present sun…”
There is an ambiguity with all good poetry, but this feels hopeful … like something pure that endures.
I’m a firm believer in the power … Read the rest
Better Living …
It’s autumn 2013. I’m at the doctor’s for my annual physical and predictably he hones in on my weight. A sixth of my body has melted away. “Stress,” I tell him. Not a problem easily solved by a general practitioner. “Sleep?” he asks. I admit I struggle. This … Read the rest
Kissing is …
I keep my eyes fixed on the road while my girls watch videos on the iPad in the backseat. The three of us are headed north to New Hampshire to visit their new cousin.
If left to her own devices the older one would silently play Minecraft the entire trip. … Read the rest
Clocks
I hear clocks ticking. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tock.
The woman sitting in the padded chair across the room stares at me, pondering her next words …
Tick. Tick. Tick.
“Well … ”
She’s my third therapist in as many years. Sometimes I laugh at how life twists in unexpected … Read the rest
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
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;
“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 Cholera… Read 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