Monday, February 27

dark closet

Stuffed with wool coats
It's quiet and dark
A safe little space
For big dreamers to park

Ships sailing seas
Across wide stretches of blue
Far foreign faces
I know to be true

Now that I'm reaching far
Fetching dreams of my past
I'm hiding in closets with
New questions to ask

Not yet so sure of myself
As I should
I seek dark quiet spaces
And the graces of good

Friday, February 10

go fish!

Punkone was sick this week.
Yea, remember him? Sweet little guy is in FIFTH grade. Yeoza. He's so amazing, such a sweet soul and seeming in a constant struggle to cope with the crap that life dishes out.

Sounds a bit jaded, I know.

But the US version of 4th and 5th grade have not been easy on this guy. More specifically, homework is sucking his will to live. As you can imagine, this doesn't sit well with me and I keep myself up a good many hours, devising how I might reverse the tide and inject the joy back into our weekday nights.

OK, so just for clarity... this isn't about "do your homework" kind of stress. This kids does his homework. He's organized, he plans ahead, and just gets to it. It's amazing to me he's related to me at all.

This is about having our time as a family being delegated to providing a right environment for him to do homework in. The environment that we spend a great deal of energy shaping to mean "family" for us. The space where we share stories, act silly, discuss news, laugh at bodily functions, connecting with each other in a way that only we can.

School has him all day. So, yes, it irritates me that it hedges in on my time with him. It irritates me that we can't have a few hours, everyday, in which we do just what we damn well please.

We're evolving. I got us a huge dining room table and it's surrounded by boxes of pencils, glue sticks, rulers, scratch paper... we sit around it all night and chug away at our homework together. We still act silly, discuss, and laugh at our farts. But we all have a bit of sadness in our hearts. A longing for nights when we could sit around the table and play a game of "go fish!"

Thursday, February 9

U - O

umbrella open
colors cast
respite in the rain
with you at last


ombrella aperto
i colori sono cascada
riposo nella pioggia
finalmente con te

Wednesday, February 8

you don't win friends with salad

This tune plays through my head
As I reach for the salad tongs
Pile high the spinach leaves
And then almost a bit giddy
Pick my way through the bar...
Beets (always!), carrots, celery
Beans and seeds
Cabbages too, both red and blue
No, not blue
Potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms
Slightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower
Radishes to salt
Drop of guacamole on top
Maybe you can't win friends with salad
But I love making friends with me