Heart, Writing & All The Rest Of It

Women’s March On Chicago 1/21/17 (photo author)

It’s five weeks since Donald Trump assumed the office of the presidency of the United States.

It feels like more. A lot more.

President Obama was quoted, soon after Trump took office, as saying that he was heartened by the uptick in political activity that surfaced after the election, and exploded in the days immediately following January 20th.

I have lived through dark days in American history, and have witnessed, and partaken in, dissent, protest, and organizing.

But I have never seen what we’ve seen for weeks: an outpouring of agitation, discussion, organizing, and protest across the country. I have had moments of pride and amazement as I’ve watched resistance to the Trump administration involving every demographic within our borders and beyond.

Throughout all of this, I’ve struggled.

Dance Past It

Very pleased that my poetry–“Dance Past It”–appeared in the January issue of Front Porch Review.

And, further pleased that my poem “Maples” will appear in the April, 2017 issue of Front Porch Review!

Front Porch Review (http://frontporchrvw.com) is a nicely done and thoughtful online journal of skillful, smart, and striking short fiction, poetry, and essay.

Do take a look!

Dance Past It

The voice ‒ from breakfast ‒ eludes me now.
I toyed with it,
ignored its clamor
ran away.

That voice ‒ so loud ‒ is silent now.
It doesn’t pursue,
it does not wait.
It’s vanished ‒ like frost peeling from my roof in morning sun.

Moment by moment,
rain drips off the holly’s black branch,
slides into the cold earth,
and I, silly in the winter light ‒ dance past it.

The Morning After–Five Thoughts On The Election

(Photo author)

 

In the light of this brilliant, beautiful autumn morning, these thoughts occur:

Fear.

Fear, anxiety, and worry permeate the groundswell of reaction to the election. Fear is contagious and destructive. Please keep that in mind as you share.

Next, when did this happen–we’ve all become seers and crystal ball gazers of uncanny accuracy?

Climb And Climb Again!

Chicago Botanic Garden, 10/16 (photo by author)

Autumn, glorious autumn. Glorious or not, autumn is not always a time dear to my heart.

Well, it is dear to my heart, my everyday heart that absolutely loves autumn. But not dear to my writer’s heart. And perhaps, writers, you recall or can guess why.

Of course!

Reading While Writing

(Image by author)

Writers, I have put down my pen for much of this August and am reading.

It’s been wonderful, deliciously so, to allow myself big chunks of time each day to just read. I have a list as long as my arm of novels and stories I’ve been wanting to tackle, and am thoroughly enjoying working my way down the list!

But not all is delightful.

Wanderlust & Writing

Photo author

Like all writers, I have a life. That is, a life apart from writing. I know, it can be hard to believe that writers can find the time and resources to earn degrees, land jobs, fall in love, marry, buy houses, produce children, pay taxes, unclog drains, and weed the garden.

That our lives, on the outside, can appear so boringly, or brightly, normal to the casual viewer.

Can You Dance?

Blue Dancers, Edgar Degas, c 1899

What happened on Wednesday?

For starters, bored with a story that wasn’t coming together, at least not in the way I want, I took an abrupt writerly turn and with little planning or forethought, pulled out of the dusty bins of my laptop a story that I wrote some time ago.

Some time ago? I wrote this particular story years ago.