I talk to trees. I haven’t always. I’d like to think ever since I’ve been nature-cognizant I’ve appreciated them. But now I tell them so. Yeah, this is where it gets a bit off the conventional track, so if you want to check out now, go ahead. When the Druids said trees were sacred they …
Ovid said, “Note too that a faithful study of the liberal arts humanizes character and permits it not to be cruel.” Hmmm. Liberal arts is a big category, but includes some of my favorites, theatre and writing. I know people, call them friends even, who think very differently about these things than me, and no, …
Beware the dreamers, for once they have imagined a better world they will no longer be satisfied with this one. Beware the artists and writers, for they will put pictures and words to the dream for the masses who are dissatisfied. Beware those who watch and read, for they are not afraid to learn, to …
Sometimes I, and I suspect other poets, get an idea or a phrase or a line that I think is really interesting, really intriguing, and needs to be in a poem. And I save it by slipping it into a poem where it feels awkward and of less value than originally thought. Then along comes …
The rehearsal period for a play is a funny thing. After auditions, which deserve an entry all their own, there’s the first read-through. You meet your cast mates. Maybe you know some of them already. Maybe you’ve never met the ones playing your family. You read the script and think, “OK, I see what this …
The light slipping through the cracks, making ordinary objects glow is, perchance, there to give us pause, to whisper, “Notice this, there is a small miracle here.” Everyday inattentiveness is an unkindness we inflict on a world of color where we choose to see gray. There is music in small spaces, stars that …
Resurrection They are good or bad They are young or old They stop bullets or schrapnel with their good/bad young/old bodies and flags are lowered They live on an island or a continent They have a house of wood or brick They feed fire or water with their ocean/valley stick/stone house and prayers are …
You have an idea. Or a phrase. A line. A whole stanza. And it’s banging around in your head. You have to get it out and on paper. Before you forget. You think you know where it’s going. Where you’ll end up. You’re off, headed in that direction, approaching your destination as if you were …
