Christmas Dream
Christmas Dream By the time we had finished unwrapping my father, we were all very old and yet for all that he still blinked and smiled and said, “We need more wood on the fire.” Songs and Letters, December 24, 2008 [ 228 ]
Tag Archive for ‘Poetry’
Man in Black
If I were planning to be away from home for a long time, I would close the doors and windows, make sure the lights and stove were off, and stop delivery of the mail. I would not plant anything that needed water or attention to survive. It strikes me, though, that with this journal and writing space and place for drawings, I’m doing just the opposite. Expecting to be called […]
December Notes
Walking as much as I do, I also notice the way, or style, in which I walk, how it changes and develops, and what I think it reveals about my physical condition and general outlook. These days, several things strike me as significant: first, my posture is much better than it used to be; second, there is a soft, cushioned feeling, a feeling of lightness, where my steps meet the […]
Comfortable Assumptions
These entries, however poetic, abstract, direct, or imaginal they may be, also reflect my understanding of the science of the day. And that understanding, as extensive as it is, is really quite limited. It’s also full of comfortable assumptions, gaps, fictions, and inaccuracies. It is imaginal, abstract, direct, and poetic, like the interwoven fibers of a beloved old coat. Many years ago, my parents gave me a simple but beautiful […]
Daylight Journal
There’s an abiding sense that this work will occupy me for the rest of my life, and I can’t help but smile at the meaningful, meaningless, childish pleasure it brings. But there’s no urgency in knowing the process can be interrupted or ended at any moment. What could be more beautiful and natural than a man struck down mid-sentence in a state of dream and delight, or realizing his life […]
Crowku
Quite often, later in the day, I’m apt to think of something I’d like to write about the following morning. In some cases, the urge is strong enough that I’m tempted to begin right away. But I rarely do. First, I’d rather wait and see if the following morning does come. If it does, and I’m blessed with that bit of good fortune, I make coffee and read Spanish for […]
Silence
Would I be a good public speaker? Even at my advanced age, I don’t know. I’ve never sought the opportunity, which might be a way of saying I’ve avoided it. And if I have avoided it, I’ve probably done so for the usual reasons: fear of failure, fear of making a fool of myself, fear of embarrassment. And if these are the reasons, they must have their origin somewhere in […]
Hands
I remember the night our first child was born, and how her hand wasn’t big enough to wrap around my finger. I remember watching my wife’s hand in its weightless caress, communicating with this new life. I remember, too, being patted on the head for my youthful idealism, which I have since learned is an acute form of common sense. Hands Imagine a world where faces and voices are […]
Knowledge and Doubt
It’s true that in terms of my past, I have not written about everything. And it’s just as true that I have. I might not have written about this or that directly. But what I have learned from my puny struggles in life sheds light on what I do write about, and ultimately choose to preserve. The challenges, incidents, and embarrassments are all well represented. And this is not a […]
Face to Face
The owl I heard down the street a few weeks ago has taken up temporary residence in the fir trees behind our house. I hear it often in the evening when returning from my walk, and I hear it again this morning. Of course, I only think it’s the same owl. There seems to be only one in the neighborhood. And from my poetic-unscientific perspective, thinking and seeming are enough. […]
William Michaelian 