POET | PLAYWRIGHT | TEACHING ARTIST
tanka
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Empty Hours
This morning I look in the mirror and see the swollen half-moons under each eye. I’m still dealing with insomnia. I grab a coffee mug and open the sliding door to let Leonard out into the yard. The snow is coming in nearly perpendicular to the earth, and half-melting the moment it touches anything. The…
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Of Mice and Men – and Pets
Leonard has something in his mouth after his trip around the edges of the garden. I don’t notice until he’s in the dining room, his nails clicking on the floor as he walks in circles – clearly unsure of what he’s supposed to do/wants to do. I press the sides of his mouth gently, just…
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Deadheading Poppies
Sunday morning. And sunshine. And resistance. There are so many things I should be doing and choose not to. It starts (or rather doesn’t start) with making my bed. Changing the sheets, walking the dog, vacuuming the entrance hall. All the things I will do today. Grudgingly. Unless I manage to adjust my attitude and…
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Bell Jar or Tea Cozy
This week for some reason, Leonard has been particularly intense on the morning walks. Birds are grabbing his attention lately. And he keeps burrowing into bushes before I tug him back. Something about spring I suppose. Maybe the rats are already leaving their nests? He was still wound up when I dropped him off at…
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Persephone’s Ambivalence
A cup of coffee and a clementine. In the 19th Century, fresh fruit was known to be a treatment for melancholy. I think this explains my odd habit of sniffing citrus rinds. I press them to my nose and inhale deeply. Over and over. Sometimes I forget myself and do it in public. In the…