As for that bucket list…

bucket

May this year be spent in noble pursuit of your dreams, met simply, one day at a time

am:)
photo: my beautiful daughter back before she knew anything of bucket lists or books with titles like, 100 Places to Travel Before You Die

Sometimes Painting a Dog

I hope you and your loved ones are well.

I believe every human being should paint a dog. This is our Mojo. My daughter, who will miss him when she leaves in August to study Sustainability, asked me to paint his endearing face for one of her blank walls.

Mojo


I’ve been on a personal mission to improve my word and art mind while trying to avoid deep media dives. I generally remain off-politic on this site, maintaining this space as my creative respite. But there’s so much going on out there, and I worry what this world will be like for my young adult children and their future families. The heat isn’t only climate-related.

I believe every human being is entitled to:
be whoever they believe they are
love whoever they choose
A woman’s body is her own as are her personal choices
I pray my daughter has the freedom to make her own choices
(Mojo’s background was originally purple, my daughter requested more earthly tones:) )

mojo purple

Clock Watching

Quarantine and social distancing have brought up a lot: anxieties, memories, and  even new observations.

 Throughout the week we’ll publish selected works on our website and across our social media channels (an audience of about 25,000).

 Share your stories.  —From Whispers To Roars

I’m honored to share my new piece in ‘From Whispers To Roars,’ a wonderful indie lit mag. Please click here or on image below to read other wonderful works of self-expression during these difficult days.

Stay safe❤️

NO -ly, a featured poem!

Incredibly honored to have my poem, NO -ly, as the featured poem, in the wonderful poetry magazine, Better Than Starbucks!

 

NO -ly

before touching the door
a kiss to my cheek
be safe leaping out my throat
drive safe
no -ly

off they go alone
maybe with friends   it will be dark later

            obvious-ly, mom

be safe
at the stadium, at school, at the mall, at the fair, on the street,
alone, with your friends, in the city, in the suburbs, in the building,
at the theater, on the road, at the beach, at his house, at her house,
at the airport, on the plane, on the bus, on the boat, in the Uber, in the lake, on the river . . .

be safe
drive safe
without -ly
SAFE
a magnificent bubble shielding their human flesh
a bulletproof amulet delivering them unscathed
be safe
drive safe

we know, you don’t have to tell us every time

yea, I do

a mother’s pride

thanks to people’s generosity, max’s friend has a round trip ticket for the holidays
top left (Christmas 2017, max’s beautiful sister Caroline holding Mojo the wiener dog and to the right – max)

bottom right (max’s 2017 high school graduation snap)

I Will Die at the Right Time

“I will die at the right time” new poem published on the fabulous Her Story Blog – I hope you check out this wonderful venue of expression

I Will Die at the Right Time

At this rate, there will be nothing left for my children. Too much
falling outside the body. A two-headed llama with no head
belonging to me.

all to them
unintentionally by them

Losing ability to see value by which aging matters. Watching
bone-slow deterioration. Using my frame to anchor relations.
Trying to deduce life’s meaning–endgame research.

Sowing seeds of pain in backward gardens planted with wrinkling flesh,
falling from porous skeletons.

suppleness
fire, grace, motion, lightning
gone

Stolen–

without remorse from each sunrise.
The silver-edge moon no longer sensual,
goading their last warm breaths.

Not doing this to my flesh and blood.
I will die at the right time.

acrylic painting done a few years ago

if only peace could be magicked

When I think of my children going into the world, I find myself championing humanity. I pray we never cease believing this: we are so much stronger than these acts of violence that steal innocent life and try to rip away our collective compassion for one another