With my older daughter home from school for the week, my mom and stepdad braved the long car drive down to the Outer Banks with me and the girls, for a few days in a hotel by the beach. Though the girls wanted to spend most of our visit at the indoor pool (and I … Continue reading Spring Break: heading for the sea
Asking for what you want: submissions and gender
My two daughters - let's call them OD and YD - resemble me in many predictable ways. Seven-year-old OD has hair that relentlessly tangles in the same spot as mine, loves writing and rhyme, and is a tomboy in the best sense of the word. Three-year-old YD has my oversized cheeks, laid-back manner, and love … Continue reading Asking for what you want: submissions and gender
My Favorite Irish Poets
I won't be one of the many imbibing on St. Patrick's Day this Sunday. But as a fan of Irish poetry - at least that written in English - I wanted to share a few of my favorite moments. Contemporary Irish poet Eavan Boland beautifully extracts a place from its political past in "How … Continue reading My Favorite Irish Poets
A season of waiting
This winter, most of my quests for excitement have collided with a paralyzed will, or body. Yesterday, my mom offered to babysit the girls so Jeff and I could enjoy a kid-free outing. Jeff now has the cold I had a week ago (and older daughter ('OD') had a week before that), so we decided … Continue reading A season of waiting
My top five anti-love poems
After last week's Valentine's Day love poem offerings (which you can read here), I thought a look at the flip-side was in order. So let's get a little Alanis Morissette for a moment, and look at how some of the masters have handled the uglier moments. Because we've all been there. đŸ™‚ 1) Afraid to make … Continue reading My top five anti-love poems
My top five love poems
I've selected my top five love poems - one romantic, one intellectual, one humorous, one passionate, and one familial - in the hope that these will fill your Valentine's Day needs. Here they are: 1) Romantic - "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" by E.E. Cummings I first heard this poem in the 1980's Woody … Continue reading My top five love poems
Snow Poems
For the past two months, my older daughter ("OD") has badgered me daily, asking, "When is it going to snow?" Snow finally arrived in our area about a week ago, and we rejoiced at the intermittent, lazy snowflakes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Just as we'd begin to focus on a book or puzzle, one daughter … Continue reading Snow Poems
A Poetry of Conviction
Today, we celebrate both the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the public swearing in of President Obama for his second term on the National Mall. Perhaps to emphasize how our world has changed since Dr. King's passionate movement for equality, President Obama has selected a Latino, gay poet, Richard Blanco, to read … Continue reading A Poetry of Conviction
Review of “Between Gods,” now online
There's a review of Between Gods - beautifully written by Cort Bledsoe - now up at Coal Hill Review. If you're interested, you can read it here. Hope you're enjoying this long weekend! D
Renew, Reuse, Recycle…
We live in a fairly eco-conscious area, so when my older daughter (OD) started kindergarten, she began talking about the importance of "renew, reuse, recycle." We have a great recycling program in our city, so very little goes to waste; our recycling container is usually twice as full as our trash container. I realize now … Continue reading Renew, Reuse, Recycle…
Between Gods 