She calls them discount Magnolias. There’s a small copse of them at the edge of the park next door. She is my godmother. We’re making a lap around the expansive green field, her first outing since the surgery. It’s a sunny 16 degrees. Celsius. I revert to metric when home but really I’ve been unconsciously code-switching since the age of 5. We make a curious pair amidst the young couples pushing strollers the size of Read more
I could make you, now, a detailed list of all the coverings, large and small, that I constructed to keep myself hidden…I used this passage as a prompt a few hours ago. An 8 minute writing exercise to hopefully initiate further creativity. Reading back I realize that the result was more auto fiction than flash fiction. I had described an incident eerily close to a defining life event. An event that prompted me to hide Read more
She leaned over, drawing me into her side. I fit with my head sitting on her chest. The hymn finished and she pressed her lips to my crown. “You’re just like me, you can’t sing a note.” Bestowed with lack, but bonded too. I squeezed my shoulders into mum’s side body, as if I could cleave it and return to the beginning. This tone deafness was one of many traits gifted to me. A list Read more
Resurrection time. I’ve been her before. It’s the nature of cycles and seasons. I thought I’d be ready to surface with the start of Spring, but even the grizzlies are late this year. It’s still the season of Spring cleaning, which means a purge of the camera roll. Imposing an expiration date on this cache of selfies seems appropriate. The photos were to be part of a long aborted project – a daily snapshot of Read more
That’s the caption of a New Yorker cartoon. The image is of an actor on a stage looking out past the footlights at rows of folks standing and applauding but there’s a spotlight on ONE person sitting and scowling. I barked a laugh of recognition. Oh boy, did I feel seen. I think there are more than a few fellow artists that would recognize that alignment with the inner critic; the majority loved it, but Read more
There’s lots of scratching out and “try that again”. Good it’s not an actual race because I’d have been eliminated due to all the false starts. But, it’s not all for naught. And honestly that’s the most soothing thing I can tell myself, otherwise I’d spiral into metaphorical covers pulled up over my head. Mistakes are de riguer. It means I’m still trying. It means I’m still exploring. I’m still curious. I’m still saying yes. Read more
Hello cursor. Hello screen. Hello random reader. Hello subscriber whose spring purge I managed to evade. I’ve debated the wisdom of resurrecting my musings after these many months of dormancy. Perhaps I have unwittingly arrived in that good night. I’ve certainly been quiet long enough. But the timing feels premature; there have been many instances where I was inspired to share but couldn’t find a pause in the day. And when there was, the idea Read more
How long does it take to fall in love… with yourself? Do you love yourself? When did you know you loved yourself? In the movies love happens in a tight hour forty five. Day and night collapse and time is a magical construct. I’ve experienced the time bending power of love with a partner. But what if I became my own hype person and best friend? It could be the greatest love of all! Interviewers Read more