Learning to Dance

Last weekend I watched my husband take a dance lesson at a local dance studio. The lead teacher was an effervescent young woman, fluid and catlike in her steps, hips loose and flowing, carrying herself with that unmistakable upright carriage of a dancer. I was spellbound as I watched her…

Communion

This poem came to me during my morning ritual, when I step outside, greet the sun, offer up my prayers, and connect with my heart's yearning for the day. I tend to do so in bare feet, so I can feel the soil under my toes. Standing on…

Pulling Out the Splinter

Splinters are part of gardening, I've learned, especially because I tend not to wear gloves. My last splinter was so tiny that I couldn't extract it from my finger, even with my best tweezers. But, ouch did I feel it! I was struck by how much…

The Magi

The other day I was talking to an acquaintance about the January I've had, a season of illness and vertigo, a flare up from Meneire's disease, my new companion. A phrase came to me as I described my experience: my body is not a battleground. As…

Waiting on Hold for the Customer Service Rep

Perhaps like me, you make a lot of phone calls. Insurance companies, banks, doctors offices, the IRS, the plumber and the repairman for the washing machine. I even spent time with the NCAA this winter (they were wonderful.) This poem came during a week where it felt like two different…

Mourning Song

There's a story I heard in a Tara Brach podcast, many years ago now, about a young child struggling to go to sleep at night. The child is scared and calling for mom. If I remember the story correctly, the mom reassures the child that they're…

Saying Goodbye to My Son's Choir Oxfords

For much of the past twenty years, my social life has rotated around the axis of my children's activities. Lots and lots of hours at the soccer pitch. Guitar recitals and concerts. Plays and kung fu tournaments. Diving meets and figure skating. Art lessons and tumbling. One of…

Blessing the Pills

Yesterday, in my monthly writing group, we explored belonging. During our time together, I heard something I hadn't contemplated before: how we belong even to what is hard or difficult. It's human nature to want to eliminate these difficulties, to avert our eyes and minds from…