Category Archives: Poetry

Loco-motion

There’s alteration everywhere and nothing steady yet. The shape of life is changing every day. The mode is metamorphosis and never can be set to animate in any other way. The planet moves; the creatures eat & grow & breed … Continue reading

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Western Fare

She walks outside at 3 this afternoon upon a sidewalk carpeted with leaves, observing that the winter’s coming soon; it’s suddenly too cool for T-shirt sleeves. An apple is reducing in her hand as she ingests each tart and crispy … Continue reading

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Juxtaposition

I can make a satisfying meal: tasty mixture at a low expense. I can cook a dinner of appeal but I can’t fabricate ingredients. I can change an argue to agree (switch a letter, make the order squirm). Composition is … Continue reading

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Invisible Friends

All grownups have invisible friends. That’s who they talk to when they move their mouths and there’s no one else around. The more burnt-out grownups talk aloud to their invisible friends, to the embarrassment of the less burnt-out grownups, who … Continue reading

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Pedestrian Path

I used to turn the corner to my street with dread reluctance mounting in my heart, preparing for the tensions I would meet within my own front door. That stress was part of every evening when I lived with him … Continue reading

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Extension

This week I’m putting up two poems from 17 years ago, from time with the kids. In case you don’t know them or the story, both of my children were a challenge to raise. Each of them spent too much … Continue reading

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Homework

I was browsing through old poems recently, and came across two written 17 years ago but in the same week, about life with my kids. I was 44 at the time. Katie had just turned 18 and Danny was 12. … Continue reading

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Momentum

They say it takes six weeks to make a new habit. I think there’s truth in that, but not complete truth. In fact, it takes three days to set a new course of behavior. It takes six weeks to make … Continue reading

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Gifted Kids

I was 44 when I drafted this sonnet, and my kids were 17 and 12. My interlocutor had sons age 11 and 4. Our biggest area of disagreement was parenting. My goal was to raise self-regulating individuals who could handle … Continue reading

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A Future Memory

As cool as foliage, this morning feels, as sweet as cantaloupe and light as fern. I walk to downtown Berkeley and my heels don’t ache, my neck is loose; I do not yearn for anything beyond my limbered reach. Mature … Continue reading

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