Friday Morning
During one of my earlier quiet phases – one of those one- or two-week unintentional hiatuses from writing when I wasn’t sure what the point was or just felt tired and confused
Category: Relationships
Thoughts and Readings on Being in a Healthy Relationship
Purpose Like a Ham Sandwich
There’s no way I can get this right. Quite literally, no way. So instead, I get up and water the plants. That’s how I’m beginning a poem of the same title. It won’t go very far – so few of them do. Already, I’ve walked away from the poem like a half-eaten sandwich. From a…
Not Enough People and All that I Need
I say in lectures in 1996 that fifty percent or more of American marriages go bust because most of us no longer have extended families. When you marry somebody now, all you get is one person. I say when couples fight, it isn’t about money or sex or power. What they’re really saying is, “You’re…
One man in his time…
A long and lean woman stood naked in the doorway. The faint light from the kitchen outlined her silhouette casting the rest of her in shadow – almost spectral in the 3am night just before she came back to bed. Later, this same woman, someone I once dated, was with me as I submitted fake…
Sick Day
By 3pm on Wednesday, I knew it was coming. I could feel that soreness in my throat that walks a few steps ahead of its slacker cousins the stuffed up nose and groggy head. I was getting sick. Dammit. What started as “oh, I know this feeling…” steamrolled into certainty shortly after dinner. It was…
Dismissive, Independent, Avoidant Johnny and Sometimes Anxious Sue
I want to write about a guy I used to know. We sometimes ran into each other at one of the bars I frequented. We would talk or share stories. I wouldn’t say we were friends, but we were friendly. In fact, I think if we ever got to talking politics, I suspect we wouldn’t…
Failure to Launch
I started this post almost two weeks ago. It was cold then. I revisited it and revised it, the weather got warm, and now it’s cold again with snow on the ground and more on the way… During one of the revisions on a warmer day I wrote: In the predawn hours, the morning birds…
Cutting Carrots
I want what I want when I want it. In that regard, I’m a selfish (and normal) human being. I try to be mindful and keep that selfishness in check, but I am amazed at how often I slip back into the daily grind thinking that “the world is all about me and everyone is…
Skirting the Surface
Yesterday was tough. For a good part of the day, I had this empty, sinking feeling. It felt worse than the usual Sunday/Monday work anxiety… which shouldn’t have been much of an issue because I have the day off today (though I have a few work things I need to do). The day started off…
You Don’t Know Me
One of the morning’s headlines read, “COVID-19 is linked to more diabetes diagnoses among kids, CDC study finds.” My first thought was, I’m so glad I’m not raising kids during this pandemic. It was a selfish thought, but I can’t imagine the stressors… Parents have to worry so much more about the health of their…
The Car, Again: So It Goes
I walked across the strip of grass on the side of the repair shop cursing that I can’t seem to catch a fucking break. Really, this is how 2022 starts? Not more than three or four miles into my morning commute, the car nearly stalled out in the middle of an intersection approaching the highway….
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…