I prefer to think of “Lack of Motivation” As a quirky town one visits Not unlike The North Pole or Reno, where brick streets Coo under your tires Where coffee cafes Serve decaf in recliners to Where snack waiters weave Through the Lazy Boys with Free samples everything with Cheese, the spreadable Kind with wine,…
“The middle way is wide open, but it is tough going…” Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart One of the loneliest feelings I’ve ever felt is feeling lost in the middle of heartache. That heartache has taken all kinds of shapes in my life. Right now it’s the shape of unresolved family issues. They continue…
A list of things the might happen to you when you read poetry you finish quickly you don’t feel full you encounter nature odd feelings come up you go somewhere else, on a trip of the mind everyday objects reveal themselves language unravels and twists around you feel uncomfortable, but not unhappy about that you…
For Karen, The Harbinger But baby I’ve been here before, I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor You know, I used to live alone before I knew ya And I’ve seen your flag on the Marble Arch And love is not a victory march It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah Here…
In the course of driving to Ontario for Christmas, we encountered a lake effect snow squall. Neither Colin nor I are strangers to snowstorms of any size or might. We are both veteran snow drivers. However, this was our first encounter with a true, pop-up blizzard. Along Interstate 81, we were warned “Lake Effect Snow…
All weekend I keep thinking about the Rohingya baby in the fire. (And so this is Christmas. And what have you done?) The New York Times correspondant Jeffrey Gettleman reported on the violence and likely genocide of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. In one account he reported a Rohingya mother, Rajuma, whose baby was ripped…
Adoptive kids have a special layer of wonder in their lives. Why am I in this family? How did this happen to me? Who am I really? What might have been? This special layer of wonder undoubtedly will shape them and their life direction, as all mental efforts do. But as I worry this thread a…
In the face of the senseless Las Vegas shooting, how do we get through a day like today? I felt frozen most of the day, the horror buttressed by the president’s hypocritical and milquetoast response. How do I get through a day in which the acid undercurrent of anger and instability that has been pouring…
Because spring masquerades with us Because friends continue to report I can’t breathe Because although my heart drags Daffodils design to have their way. Because spring upholds its wretched promise to us Because friends scrabble to apologize If I’d only known Because passing sorrow remembers my shape Regardless of my shrinking wardrobe. Fill up the holes, the advice calls. Plug up all the places the…
We’ve got two lives: one we’re given and the other one we make, And the world won’t stop, and actions speak louder Listen to your heart, and your heart might say Everything we got, we got the hard way. –“The Hard Way” Mary Chapin Carpenter Chapin’s song “The Hard Way” was released on the album “Come…
What is the sound of your own voice? — I have this innate impulse to apologize. This is not a permanent disposition by any means. I just happen to be “going through something” at the moment, and I feel exceptionally large and bulky: a bit like a Macy’s Day Parade balloon trying to navigate through…
In the off chance that one of the three people who reads this blog notices, the answer is yes: I changed the tagline. The new tagline is: Culture. Angst. Love. Why did I change it? Because I am always wondering: Is this blog about me? Or something else? Even after all these years, I was not…
A Guest Post in Which New Haven Graphic Designer Jessica Ferguson Reveals Her “Blog Problem” “Most people are just afraid of putting pencil to paper.” That’s how one of my favorite art teachers started his “Introduction to Drawing” course. “When you’re a kid, you don’t care – you’ll draw anything on any surface you can…
On Accidental Meetings with Angst Today I was driving in the minivan across the river, when it hit me. I needed to screech. All these letter-perfect songs played themselves out over the speakers all day, telling me that the dull edged blade I was balancing on was tuned just right. I kept opening my mouth…
