It rests between the large jars of cinnamon and parsley, peeks at me from behind the glass restaurant-style sugar dispenser. Sissy gave it to me, this duckie tea infuser. I take it out, hold it in my palm, stroke it. I squeeze my eyes tight and think back to that day in the dollar store […]
my spiritual midwife: kay arthur
The walls around me contract and squeeze, pressing in and pushing out. I’m reaching, reaching. Her hand grabs mine, and she pulls. Then she crams colored pencils in my fist and says, “Go forth, and mark up your Bible.” The words become life to me, and this world is not my home. My home and […]
mama said never judge the inside by the outside
My mama. She was a clever one. And she loved practical jokes. They were probably separate Christmases, but they’re fused together in my mind. We were still in the little house. I sat on the couch facing the bathroom door and the tree draped with single strands of tinsel, oil stove on my left, gray […]
five minute friday: fingers of fear
I crack my right eyeball. He’s up on his left elbow, leaning over me, staring… …at the clock, I guess, on the nightstand next to me. Then he’s fiddling with his phone. Did it go off? Or not? After I complained about the radio blasting strange music at weird hours and having to wake […]
five minute friday: cherish
Cherish. He tells me its his favorite song. I’m looking back through the window of time. It’s our first date. We’re on our way to the Waterfall in Ann Arbor after the Philadelphia Orchestra’s concert. The tables are full, so we sit with another couple that we don’t know. When D tells them he […]
Five Minute Friday: The Staying Power of Scarlet
“Just hold on and suck in.” Scarlett grips the bedpost while Mammy yanks on the corset and cinches Scarlett’s waist down to 18-1/2 inches. Laces her up right tight. Molds her right to form. Bones bear down to bear her in. I think about bone that once bore down on another’s side, fragments that raked […]
When You’re Rooted in Grief
“I don’t know why I’m so exhausted,” I text. “The weather,” she responds. I toss and turn and dream and wake up and doze and wake up. Energy wanes. We’ve eaten out more than in. I wonder–could the root be grief? Is that what’s gripped me in the gray of these cold days? Did […]
31 Days of Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 26: When You Fear You Have No Voice
I used to sing in a 100-voice choir, though it wasn’t that big when I first joined. I knew how to read a little bit of music because I’d taken a whole year’s worth of piano lessons. But I didn’t know how to make my voice create the notes. So I suspect I started […]
31 Days of Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 19: Look! Behold!
Look! Behold! Drop your jaw in amazement. See the flower wave from the clay cracks of your despair. See grace splashed in the garbage of your day, a fragrance rising. He is here in the dust of every musty moment, in the dirty dishwater, in the mildewed tiles and cobwebbed corners. He is here […]
Five Minute Friday: There is No Hurry (Day 12)
I pour tomatoes and chop sweet onion. Then snip parsley frills and crush the basil, sprinkle salt, add spoonful of sugar. Stir. I race against the clock. Hurry. A tasty sauce takes time to simmer. But hungry stomachs will arrive at six. I rattle glasses, bang stainless, wash and wipe. Outside a silver needle threads its […]
