She outlived herself but seemed to die younger than her fifty-eight years. Which seems strange since she chased the worm from her teen years on. I’ve heard that drunks grow hard and worn before their livers give up, but she never looked that way; I guess I didn’t know her the way I thought. My second sister and the closest of four to my heart … Continue reading Marianne, Part I
🙂 This should be hummed to a happy tune 🙂 (but I didn’t need to tell you that ❤ ) When I was a young boy, I wished for the world When I grew up I found such a beautiful girl She loved me and I loved her And our love made the world a wonderful blur Around and around and around we danced Oh, … Continue reading She Loves Me and I Love Her
I come to Fox Island to meditate, to reflect as I gaze across the water. The hypnotic sound and motion of sea and wind, crashing wave and crying gull become a lyric in the song of the universe.The earthly presence of the granite beneath me, the salt air and the pungent odor of decaying sea-wrack give way to the ethereality of thought and I wander … Continue reading Fox Island, revisited
Continue reading “Reblog: Memorial 1 and 2, by Stephen McGuinness”
No boy is raised by only one mom. He’s raised by his friends’ moms too. Happy Mother’s Day to all of my second moms. Continue reading Second Moms
I knew you had something on your mind When you had nothing much to say; When you spoke I could feel the worry, You nearly lost your way; I read the breath between your words For what I hoped I wouldn’t find; There’s always something left unsaid When we’re trying not to be unkind. I searched the places in your head Where you run from … Continue reading The Breath Between Her Words
One day, close to tax-filing deadline, dad was sitting on the edge of his bed. He was sorting W-2 forms. There must have been twenty of them. Maybe more. Twenty jobs. Five children to feed and clothe. Dad was the ninth of ten kids. He was born in the middle of the depression. I never knew we were poor. Continue reading Rich
The thought occurred to me a few minutes ago that I wouldn’t know how to respond if I were asked to describe myself in one sentence. Oprah: “Welcome Will, and congratulations on the publication of your Great American Novel, A Wished-For Love, debuting at number one on the NYT, LAT, ChiTrib, WSJ, Sing Sing, and Tampa Bay Voc. Tech High School Best Sellers Lists! What an … Continue reading In One Sentence
The old, old house stands brooding, silent, empty, shuttered. Peeling paint, peeling memories, peeling years, decaying. Squeaking gate unhinged, cracked stone steps, black holes gape between them, Give way to wild rose and dandelions, crabgrass, spurge and apples. Skinned shins on broken porch boards; cobwebs make me shrink. Ancient knocker of green-tinged brass, dolphins dancing on their tails. Quiet the knocker, there’s no one home, … Continue reading Home. With me.
William Goodfellow was a man, not an animal. William dashed the hoe from his hands and stared at the earth packed beneath his torn fingernails. “This is madness. I am a man, not an animal,” he cried, and fled his field of corn and the blazing sun that burned his head. William’s farm animals howled and barked, and mooed and clucked in amazement, stamped their paws … Continue reading William Goodfellow
Leaving the anger-filled pages of Facebook and Twitter and coming to my WordPress blog, is like finding a sun-dappled forest glade, and lying with my back against an oak tree, chewing on a blade of grass, and listening to the leaves rustling in the breeze. WordPress Reader is my sun-dappled forest glade, and your posts are the leaves. Your emotions, expressed in prose and poem, … Continue reading I Am Here
Like two red eyes, the imperfections in the ruby blinked in the sunlight. He pressed the jeweled medallion to his chest to keep it from swinging on the necklace. The sun burned his back as he walked along the rock-strewn beach hunched over looking for seashells. The best ones he placed in a red, plastic cup that smelled of San Miguel. “Look, Aida.” he called. … Continue reading Sam and Susanna & Tom and Aida
“Because they understand that love is the gift of giving one’s self unreservedly to another; that the giving of love is also the receiving of love, and that the spiritual renewal from the physical act is possible only after the giving up of self to one another.” “I love you, William.” “I love you, Susanna.” Continue reading Love is….
Sam and Susanna Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam They say you don’t hear the bullet that kills you. How could anyone know that? Because, they also say, bullets move faster than the speed of sound. By the time you hear the sound of the bullet in your back, you’re dead. What if you’re only wounded; you’d hear that bullet, wouldn’t you? Well, you’re not dead, are … Continue reading Invocation
Many summers ago, I went to a church picnic at Rowlette Park in Tampa. I was about thirteen or so. We played softball while the burgers and dogs were cooking. I was a pretty good baseball player and played little league throughout my youth. I wasn’t a pitcher, but a first baseman and centerfielder. I played catcher once when Robbie Ochs was sick, but didn’t … Continue reading Duck
“I think I fell in love with you this morning, dear lady.” “You think you did? You are not sure? Perhaps we should try again. Shall we meet for an apple in the morning?” “I had already planned to meet you for an apple tomorrow. And the next day, and the next, and the next, and every day until….” “Every day until what?” “Every day … Continue reading Susanna Avila
“We had each other, yes, but even that doesn’t describe what we had. We didn’t choose each other, Frank. We found each other. It’s hard to explain.” Sam leaned forward in his seat. He stared at the floor. His hands were clasped, and he trembled. “There could only be one Susanna, Frank. My life began when I met her.” He fell silent as he collected … Continue reading Dream, Love.
I’ve had it with Facebook. It’s become a forum for posting garbage that nobody gives a damn about. For every decent post and photo my friends post, I have to sift through dozens of other posts that carry the message “I hate you and what you stand for.” I’m tired of photos of women wearing body parts costumes; I’m tired of posts that reinforce the hypocrisy … Continue reading I’ve Had It With Facebook
William? Yes, Susanna? Why are people so angry? Why are people so angry? Yes. Why are people so angry? Why do you ask, Susanna? Because, William, I see angry people everywhere, and it hurts me. How does it hurt you? Anger hurts my heart. Why does it hurt your heart? Because anger gets in the way of love, William. It does, Susanna? Yes, William. How … Continue reading Susanna Avila VII
Servicemembers we lost in 2016. Share this in their honor. From: http://thefallen.militarytimes.com Senior Chief Petty Officer SCOTT COOPER DAYTON, USN November 24, 2016 42, of Woodbridge, Virginia; assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Two, died in northern Syria of wounds sustained in an improvised explosive device blast. Staff Sgt. MATTHEW C. LEWELLEN, USA November 4, 2016 27, of Lawrence, Kansas; assigned to the 5th … Continue reading Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen We Lost in 2016
Why do you love me, William? Because you’re beautiful, Susanna. Is that the only reason? Because you’re a perfect fit in my arms. What else? Because I can carry you as I run. Oh? You weigh less than a feather, Susanna. Oh. Because you’re a wonderful cook. Yes? Because you meet me at the door when I come home from work. Because you sing when … Continue reading Susanna Avila V
My parents were the genesis Of all I have become, Their hopes and dreams, Immortality, Vested in the son. Father gave me purpose Skill at work and play, Mother gave me love, Home, And held me every day My parents made the sacrifice To help me find my way, Their toil and sweat, Prayers, Inspiration to this day. I haven’t always met those hopes, I’ve … Continue reading My Parents Were The Genesis
Writers Envy 