Falling

Falling

by | Jul 9, 2023 | Words into Letters

We all fall   out of cars when we’re three – when the excitement to climb down ourselves puts our center of gravity in front of our skill level, our little forehead in front of our feet,   out of windows in Moscow for talking trash about Putin – and that’s...
The Creek

The Creek

by | Jun 25, 2023 | Words into Letters

the creek swollen with snowmelt, glacial blue tint not long removed from the winter stores layered over months by winter storms, burying granite cliffs in shimmering white – releasing, an inevitable thaw, as the sun moves north again, birthing spring, bursting greens,...
In Case I Forget

In Case I Forget

by | Jun 1, 2023 | Words into Letters

1. She used to ask me in her later years, “Why do you think I’m remembering that … after all this time?”   In protest, she was, perplexed and pained. She had no idea how “just don’t think about that” would one day become a memory stack, a backlog, an archive of...
Pie Crust

Pie Crust

by | Jun 1, 2023 | Words into Letters

“Pie Crust” “Pie Crust” was one of my first poems. For anyone who saw the first cut, you’ll see I’ve taken a deeper dive in the true pain of the competitive relationship with my mom…which yielded a profound space in my heart for her. Writing is not for the faint of...
Grief and Grace

Grief and Grace

by | Jun 1, 2023 | Words into Letters

The Three Sisters, Oregon I’m lucky to have many decades-long relationships with women from Michigan to California. Wishing you many sisters-of-choice – soul-sisters – those you share your heart-felt intimacies with. Relationships sustained with a seemingly endless...
Friendship at 8000 Feet

Friendship at 8000 Feet

by | Mar 19, 2023 | Words into Letters

Summit Creek, Salmon-Challis National Forest, Sun Valley, Idaho, September 2022   “I want to go back. You know the hike … The one where we saw the moose and her young.”   Had been years since we balanced across that log, made the hill climb up to the ridge,...
There’s a Pianist in My Hands

There’s a Pianist in My Hands

by | Nov 13, 2022 | Words into Letters

I feel her. Disciplined and precise. Hands that glide effortlessly across ivory, up to ebony, and back again. And yet,   I have no such musical mastery. Elevating notes and chords, tension and tempo – offering an otherworldly rescue from the crowded conversations...
With Each Breath

With Each Breath

by | Sep 25, 2022 | Words into Letters

The Sh’ma is the centerpiece of Jewish prayer. As Rabbi David Cooper wrote years ago, “God is a Verb.”  Breathing is an act of prayer…  With Each Breath שְׁמַע Sh’ma “Hear”   Hear …the beating of my heart, the breath of a lover, hear the ocean pound, the...
The Leprechaun

The Leprechaun

by | Aug 31, 2022 | Words into Letters

Sitting there in isle-seat 9D, he was. A smallish fellow, buckled in like a scout ready for adventure. I gently motioned my interest to occupy seat 9F – you know, the one against the window. Gave a smile intended to soften the imposition… when he furrowed his brow and...