Still not much pain well, but feeling quite hungry. I feel very lame saying that, since there are truly starving people in the world, but there it is. Since the procedure I’ve had a milkshake, some broccoli soup, a yogurt, and a Boost. Meanwhile a Church Saint brought over dinner for R and the girls–stuffed […]

I’m in that lucid sweet spot where the novocaine hasn’t fully worn off but the codeine hasn’t kicked in to make me loopy. Better make this quick—I have two work things to do before I crash.
It wasn’t bad, though aspects of childbirth are better—namely, the ability to get up and move around. The ick factor […]

I’d like to keep the poetry format going but I’m not feeling inspired in the least.
Tomorrow is my oral surgery. I’m getting the first of two installments of gum grafts and have no idea what to expect. I’ve read every variety of experience, from Not That Bad to The Worst Experience of My Life. I’m […]

C: I don’t feel Jesus in my heart today.
R: That’s OK. Sometimes we don’t.
C: Well, maybe he’s the one making it go ker-thump, ker-thump.
Had Easter dinner this afternoon with The Traditionals, a wonderful family who seemed to invite truly random people to their house. You could tell there was none of that dinner party, “Whom […]

we mulched today—
laid a smelly shag carpet
under the trees, smothered tiny maples
that did the best they could.
amid bushes that flourished
in spite of us, tiny sprouts also
dot the landscape,
ground cover that never took off.
they were supposed to spread their arms, hug the earth;
instead, they spring up,
here, there, but not everywhere.
an avalanche of mulch covers one,
and i […]

It’s Holy Week and snow is on its way;
I guess new life will come ‘mid blustery day.
Today is Maundy Thursday; let me say,
I giggle when folks slip and say “MaunDAY.”
I’m sad to say, the sermon kinda bites.
(We’re washing feet—I ought not wear my tights.)
Tomorrow is a day off ‘til the eve
When we nail our sins, […]

Every so often I explore,
like an archeologist:
I drill down, down,
dig back in time,
recall how I heaped
one passion upon another.
The top crust is like a brulee,
thin and easy. But eureka—
Here’s where I thought I should read more novels.
Here’s where I wanted to knit better.
Here’s the parenting section,
when a stomping toddler drove me desperate.
Here’s where I graduated,
resolved […]

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world…
Love someone who does not deserve it.
As the group collected purses and sweaters,
the retired librarian tugged at me.
They’re clearing ten acres behind her house—
single family homes from the low 600s.
One morning, over coffee,
she heard the chains, the phlegmatic grunts of machines,
the roots, ripping […]

So I read last night about the importance of titles in poems. Which is bad news because I rather suck at titles. A title is good for conveying information quickly rather than letting the poem get bogged down. Or, it might provide the “final thought” or response to the poem. I tried my hand at […]

So it’s National Poetry Month, and here’s a poem inspired by Ted Kooser’s “Abandoned Farmhouse”. Fun format.
our weekend

the girls had a sleepover with MaDear,
says the pink suitcase lying in the hall.
R & I decided to spend Friday night downtown,
says the protest cat puke in the family room.
this weekend was the peak of the cherry blossoms,
says […]