Eloquence as Legacy
My mother Victoria took prolific notes. Her handwriting was an elegant cursive, quite different from my chicken scratch (that even I have difficulty deciphering sometimes). She penned lovely postcards during her travels. Clever greeting cards with her thoughtfully composed messages and a favorite quote or two enriched birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones of all sorts. She […]
Oh, baby!
I’ve just had five poems published in the inaugural issue of The Turning Leaf Journal. Here’s one of them. I wrote this the same day I went through a few old hat boxes in my daughter’s closet in an attempt to get rid of things. What not to do when decluttering Three bags stood […]
Mutha
I’m so pleased to share two poems that were published today in Mutha Magazine. These two are part of the full-length poetry book I’ve been working on for years. I finally finished the manuscript in January, and sent it out to a number of publishers. Now it’s a waiting game! You can read the magazine […]
Mother
Today I honor the universal quality of benevolent mothering. Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who exemplify mama energy, whether they have their own children or not. You….we…make the world go ’round! Mother You wake in the middle of the night. This is not new. I move dreamlike to your bed, empty my […]
Quiet Dreamy Girl Noises
Silver Linings We are looping familiar ground, the houses predictable, almost dear. Across the way, an imposing home and its four outbuildings spreads along what used to be seven individual yards. The main house seems to peer curiously at our own small one. An anomaly, this mansion, penned in by a tall black fence that […]
More Autism Awareness
For many folks on the autism spectrum, medical encounters are fraught with anxiety and fear. Sensory issues, limited ability to understand procedures and express themselves, the speed at which things are expected to proceed, traumatic memories of previous encounters—all can combine to create some serious daytime nightmares. Bink and I have decades of experiences across […]
These Monikered Months
A month of daffodils is upon us. Yay, spring!! April has been branded both Autism Awareness Month and National Poetry Month. Here you go, then, a post that covers both. I’ve shared this poem before, but it feels annually relevant. As D, a sister mom of a young woman with autism says, ” We are […]
Farther
I’m so pleased that my poem, “Farther”, which I share with you below, was just published in the Spring 2024 issue of Metonym Literary Journal. Metonym is a print journal, available for sale through their site at https://metonym-journal.com/ Poetry is art. While not everything written in all poems actually happened the way it reads, it’s […]
Anxiety, the unwelcome house guest (who never seems to leave).
Agita Sometimes I think there four of us making a life inside this sweet gray house. Add the felines, we make a quirky octad. There is the me who is I poet, I mom, I carer for everything and everyone who moves within this circle–– the him and her, the furniture which claims no […]
Pippi
For the most part, my childhood nourished my creativity and sense of wonder. I feel so fortunate to have come up in a time before cell phones and social media. My knowledge of screens was limited to our old black and white TV set and the occasional movie outing. Children’s literature was a treasured […]