November tosses and turns, moans in hellish tones. It coughs rain and sneezes hail. It chews on leaves that have dropped to their knees at its feet. November picks them up, then spits them out as mud. It complains that October has not kept his promise and has been defeated. There it stands at the […]
moreMy son’s day care center celebrated St. Martin’s Day today. A grand rehearsal for tomorrow I suppose. It was the same as last year: the kids had all made lanterns, the teachers were nervously trying to get everyone outside and into the park on time, while we – the parents – tromped around with our […]
moreIf you happen to drift by, fly here, wondering where I'm wandering, pondering my whereabouts. An unpoetic climax: email is down. Frown.
more“I used to play violin,” said one of the three women in the office adjacent to mine, “and before that flute.” The second woman mentioned she played piano, like I had. “That makes me so jealous, my parents never inspired us to play any instruments,” said the third. “But you must have done loads of […]
moreIt happens. A woman falls out of her window. She lives around the corner, on the top floor. When the sun shines, she sits in her open window. She props a pillow up against the iron bar and reads. She must read a lot, I catch myself considering, as it is a good summer. One […]
moreMy sister’s 40th birthday. It has me sneaking through her house when she’s not there. Hanging up balloons. Going through her basket of photos. I know where to look, she’s had that basket since we were really young. She got it when we lived in the Philippines. And it has always been where she keeps […]
moreShe is about that same middle age, still far enough removed from menopauze. She has hot flashes though, fits of rage. She doesn’t particularly like herself anymore. She wonders, even, whether she ever did. But she only has now. And now is the day she wakes up thinking she may well be happy. She knows […]
moreOctober, you with your manic moods and misty moments. You steal my breath and use it to blow kites against skies where frantic flocks of swallows wonder which way you are telling them to go. Left, you say but then shout right and smile at the confusion. You, October, mess with my hair, like you […]
moreA man in his early fourties, in front of his desk-top computer. He has set up an office in his home, which is far away from everything. When he looks out the window, he sees green instead of grey. A rabbit’s tail. His dogs. The red sprinkles of wild strawberries. His heart pounds. He wonders […]
moreI’ve been wondering about this nasty little word called manipulation. Somehow, it is always seen as a negative and indicative of some dangerous psychological disorder such as borderline syndrome. Anorexics, as we all know, manipulate. As do drug addicts and so on. To be told that one is manipulative is therefore an insult. Moreover, it’s […]
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