A few years go I heard a saying from Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan that continues to teach me - “Money, what do you like most? Changing hands.” Those words came to mind as I found myself collecting the mail one evening, sifting through the envelopes. Most were from charities,…
Last week our friends came to visit as they took their son to college. The next day, in the early morning light, we sat under the back porch and watched the birds feast on my dying sunflowers. In late August my garden gasps after weeks of heat, little shade, and…
Last night we hosted friends from college who'd just dropped off their middle son at college an hour away. They stopped at our house to spend the night and share a meal before they flew home this evening. They stayed in my son's now empty bedroom…
This week found me in my living room, sewing in the wee hours after my son asked me to repair his favorite soccer cleats. As I sat with the sewing basket, the dog curled up next to me on the couch, I remembered my dad and how he'd…
I've told you many stories of the pond that lives down the road from my house. But first let me tell you more of my home. I live in a typical suburban neighborhood in a city, in a ranch home in a cul-de-sac that was built in the…
There's a New Yorker cartoon, with a dog laying on the couch at the therapist's office. The therapist is also a dog, and the dog on the couch bemoans, "It's always good dog, never great dog!" Our family laughed and laughed at…
This is a poem that surprised me. They often do. But this one especially. Each of us has exiles - places within that we shun, doors we're afraid to open, pain we're afraid to embrace. One of my exiles is what I call the black hole.…
Nature is the most generous and helpful teacher. So many of my poems come when I'm watering the flowers, or picking tomatoes, or walking my dog. The natural world teaches me over and over that the way my mind likes to categorize, divide, and subtract is great for…