Reentry: A Love Poem

Last night I attended a poetry workshop on writing love poems– it’s focus was on writing love poems that aren’t grandiose, sappy, saccharine, etc. It was a fun conversation with some fellow women whose wordsmithing impressed and inspired me. I imagine I’ll keep playing with the piece I started during the workshop, but for now,…

In the Blink of an Eye

I don’t want anotherI just want youAll over again I’ve never felt such longingFor a past lifeGone so soon They say, In the blink of an eyeSo I cover mine–No luck Except the Unbelievable luckOf beingYour mom

Only

I watch new pages falling open in front of me with curiosityMy story shifting from “we can’t have more” to “we have chosen to have one” And I wonder if soon, I’ll be able to say these new, cumbersome words aloudTo the curious minds who can’t comprehendHow we could possibly chooseTo have only one I…

Baker’s Meditation

Several months ago, I had the idea that I wanted to adapt some mindfulness and meditation practices into something that I could start teaching my two-year old, Baker. I quickly realized that I had nothing to teach her about mindfulness– she was the one teaching me about being present and aware every day. Young children…

Screaming for Smiles

Today I encountered a woman screaming at her children because she wanted to take a photo of them smiling in front of a lake. Her kids were grinning at each other, at passers by, up at the cloudless sky, across the gleaming water– they were smiling at everything except for their mom. In fact, they…

A Poem for School Kids in the Age of Covid

I wrote a poem. It’s geared towards elementary school-aged children…the kids who are going back to school virtually, or doing a hybrid model. That is…until the schools get shut down again and everybody is virtual. It’s hard on parents. It’s hard on teachers. It’s hard on the kids. It’s just hard. Feel free to print…

The Kid Who Eats Alone

I’ve cried at work before. There was that one time at the Dolphin Research Center that I was walking out of the fish house and slipped on the glassy, wet sidewalk. I fell directly onto my knee and when I finally got the courage to look at the damage, I discovered that my kneecap had dislocated.…

Replacing Empathy With Superiority

A trending news story right now is a tragic one, as most seem to be these days. In Cincinnati, a 4-year old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure at the zoo, and after being dragged around by the 400-pound gorilla for 10 minutes, the zoo made the decision to shoot and kill him. The gorilla, not…

Smelling the Fear

Throughout elementary and high school, I struggled with bullies. Most of the time they were not physical bullies. Sometimes they were. But mostly they were of the mental and emotional sort– my least favorite kind of bully. If you think I suck, just hit me. Give me an Indian burn or a titty twister. Pull…

Michelle Obama’s Sloppy Joes

There is a hashtag trending right now that our nation’s finest middle and high school students are utilizing to show the world how deprived and unfortunate they are. #ThanksMichelleObama Because of the First Lady’s efforts to reform school lunches and battle childhood obesity, public schools have altered their serving sizes and menus. Apparently, public school lunches have gone…