I think I may need to unfriend my country Or begin cussing online Maybe hurl my bras off a cliff, toss the razor And just live in the nude on this mountaintop I may need to slice a watermelon and bite into that sweet … Continue reading Unexpected Growth
Poet friend, Beth Myhr, named the experience perfectly by writing that the pandemic has taken away our ability to look forward – “…moving from one room to the next in a house with no door.” Yes, that’s it, exactly. And I remember the longevity advice … Continue reading Somewhere, Over the Pandemic
I seek relief in Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on the day Trump tells four women of color to go back to where they came from. I walk the gravelly path, canopies of live oaks and loblollies shading the way – cicadas in full song … Continue reading Monkeywrenching in Lower Alabama and Other Confessions
I am weary of my worn out sentences that begin with “I” – those crutches I lean on while the voice of an old writing instructor lets slip from the corner of her mouth, a grimace – her clear indication of disappointment, and perhaps this … Continue reading Rock-Making
On at least one occasion, he donned a bathrobe and appeared in the living room to discourage a date from lingering. He still wears his rayon shirts from the 80s, and I love this. I’ve seen him teary, maybe, a half dozen times, … Continue reading A Few Things I Know About My Dad
Dedicated to the Free Range Writers of Missoula, Montana Black bears and back alley compost bins Rogue apple trees in the Bitterroots The dead raccoons hanging from branches Shootings stars, lupine, and phlox Cultural appropriation Ponderosa sap tucked in the cracks Air so dry, … Continue reading Stuff I Can’t Fit Into a U-Haul
I wrote the sentence, Petit Jean feels like Home; Montana is my best friend. And then, talking with a friend, we wondered about the truthfulness of this statement – if there is a word for being rooted in multiple places. Even the trees outside Goodwill … Continue reading Procrastipoem #6 (While Packing)
Teaching Risk Dedicated to Roger Dunsmore and the 2018 Wilderness & Civ Cohort I asked my students to sing And instead, they taught me new songs. Learning is teaching And teaching is holding the hand of the unknown – We sometimes worry together, notably … Continue reading 3 Montana Goodbye Poems
Each time I sit down (let’s get honest – crawl into bed and prop myself up with four pillows), all writing notions evaporate. I should tie a small notebook around my waist and jot sentences down as soon as they strike, rather than the usual, … Continue reading Pandemic Inventory in Missoula, MT
And then the snow. On the cusp of Advent. I mop and vacuum, just in case the paramedics may need to carry one of us away. It is the season of preparation. Since watching the Great British Baking Show, we’ve taken to eating shortbread in … Continue reading Black Friday
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