It’s Christmas morning. I’m back in Philadelphia, but will be driving back to State College in a few hours. It’s another Christmas that doesn’t quite feel like Christmas. I didn’t decorate my place – mostly because I wasn’t going to be there and partially because I figured the dog might pee on the tree if…
Category: Life
Family Gathering(s)
Today, I’m getting together with extended family. I haven’t seen many of them since Christmas of 2018. There was a wedding in 2019 that I skipped. My engagement had just ended, and I couldn’t imagine attending, much less being happy. Then I moved to Memphis. Then the pandemic hit. I’d be lying if I said…
Poetry, Books, and Broccoli
I have a few hundred books. Most of them sit packed away in boxes downstairs in a room I seldom visit. I have a nice bookshelf made from a repurposed door. That’s where the unpacked books stand mostly at attention, snug and shoulder to shoulder: poetry, books on Buddhism or relationships, a few novels and…
Waiting, Patience, Urgency
I probably spend too much time analyzing life: past events, future plans, decisions, relationships, moments in time. I suspect in terms of poetry or creative writing, that habit might serve me well, but in terms of… life? it might be a bit stymieing. I also spend too much time flip-flopping on concepts like duality. No…
I Like That
It’s Sunday morning slow and I like that. Down the street someone is using a leaf blower. On the sofa opposite me, the dog is breathing heavy but not quite snoring. I’m sitting by a lamp, wearing a gray winter hat that was given to me as a gift a few years ago. I’m fighting…
Fart Around
Thursday. It’s a little after 6 am. I’ve already messed up the timing of everything. I overslept and have too many things I want to do or need to do and the clock is ticking away. My mind is backing out my schedule for the morning. I have a 9am zoom. If I do that…
… and Me
Two nights ago I got a work email… My phone buzzed sometime around 7pm. I can’t remember exactly what I was doing at the time, but I decided to read it. It said that the husband of colleague who works at another agency has gotten COVID despite being vaccinated and that he has spent the…
Yes, You
Hey! How’s it going? Just want to say that I’m thinking about you. Or more accurately, if we actually know or knew each other, I’m thinking about you. And guess what? They’re good thoughts. If we were more than just a passing acquaintance, I probably tried to think of something we did together or a…
Details Both Blurred and Fine
I’m surrounded by mountains and haven’t hiked very much. This morning I wrote a poem based loosely on the image of the sunset and hues of purple in the sky and in the hilly silhouettes that I often see when I’m driving. For now, I feel more content to be driving through these mountains as…
Thanksgiving 2021
You haven’t truly felt the holiday spirit and warmth of the season until you’ve spent part of your Thanksgiving in a room at the Red Roof Inn just off the highway with a 65-70 pound dog whining at you because he’s bored and, like you, doesn’t really want to be holed up in a room…
Yellow-Light Matt
I’m convinced that my timing is worse than what most people experience. I wish I could say it was part of my aw shucks, hapless sap type of charm… a Charlie Brown lovable loser vibe… but some days it feels less charming and more loser-like than others. My ex-wife used to call me yellow-light Matt…
The Car: One More Year?
The dog is on the floor a few feet away chewing on a bone. Every time I look over, he wags his tail – he wants to play. We’ll be taking our first long-ish trip together when we head to Bucks County for the Thanksgiving weekend. I’ve never traveled with a dog before – let…