"The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen."
~The Little Prince

 I wanted to write a eulogy for Suzy, but she already said it better in her last posts than I ever could. She was the passionate wife of Amy and the loving mother of… Read full post »

As some of you may know, Safe Bet (Suzy) has passed away. Her wife, Amy, wrote about it today. 

I joined this community about a year ago, but I didn't really start connecting with Safe Bet until August. Her first post and introduction was in July 2009.

I was immediately attracted… Read full post »

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.     ~ Bilbo (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings)

* images.quickblogcast.com

I think I was born… Read full post »

I wrote this poem when I visited San Francisco during my spring break in 2003, which was when the US government "declared" war in Iraq.   

city lights and downtown heights. just
between you and me, i think this may
be close to home. (is it me or is this
city intoxicati… Read full post »

Caroline Hagood asked me if I would write a joint post on the body theme with her and I jumped at the opportunity. Read it here!

Laura Anne Stuart is my guest blogger today. I knew I'd like her right away when she was hired by Northwestern because she's a fellow redhead. Laura also has a tattoo of blue stars that make up the Gemini constellation. I'll let her introduce herself.

Read full post »

Dear Body,

I’ve known you for almost thirty years, but it seems like there’s so much about you that I don’t know. Each day brings new experiences with you. I learn so much when I actually pay attention to you. You have so much to teach me.

I want to… Read full post »

“The soul is born old but grows young. That is the comedy of life. And the body is born young and grows old. That is life's tragedy.” ~Oscar Wilde

Damn body. Here I am spending the month of January creating a positive space to discuss our relationships to our… Read full post »

(I wrote this poem in college. It can be read either as a dialogue between two people or as an internal dialogue.)

"this is me"

Cat saw the shooting star and decided it was a sign. She buzzed her hair and moved to the City by the Bay. She bought a 49ers baseball cap and got a job at Borders. She lived out of her car for two months before she found a room for the… Read full post »

Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes.

If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed.

Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings.

- Rumi

Read full post »

Holy is the hard-headed father. The priest, the holy master. The godhead. Holy is the bitter-broken mother. The wise woman. The teacher-friend. The goddess. Holy is the way-ward child. The student, the learner. The god-child. The babe in the manager. Holy are the lovers. The sex in the heat and passi… Read full post »

Wishing you and yours a magical holiday season and a joyous new year!!!

*illustration by David DeRosa Read full post »

This is another guest blog post. My good friend, Kyle Erickson, is a poet and writer. He moved from Oklahoma to New York City two years ago with his brilliant wife, Leslie Goshko. He writes about his experiences and observations.

This essay was originally posted on Kyle's blog in February of… Read full post »

 This is a repost and an update. After hearing that Oral Roberts passed away yesterday, I thought I should say a little about my experience with him and his ministry. 

Oral Roberts University is a school shrouded in mystery and legend; a school which boasts alien-spaceship buildings, the i… Read full post »

That’s what Dad decided when I was five years old.

I blame the Jehovah Witnesses. They knocked on the door and Dad let them in because back then he actually liked people. (No, really, he did.) He enjoyed having discussions about religion. Back then, Dad wasn’t… Read full post »

A few years ago, David & I made all of our Christmas cards with markers. David made a series of them with a penguin couple. Enjoy!

 P.S. For more artwork, check out David's website. Read full post »

I've wanted to have a guest blog post on here for a long time. This post was written by my good friend, Robert Messerli. We went to Oral Roberts University together and, with a myriad of others, shared a beatific summer in 2003. 

Robert wrote this post in April 2008, after he… Read full post »

I've wanted to have a guest blog post on here for a long time. This post was written by my good friend, Robert Messerli. We went to Oral Roberts University together and, with a myriad of others, shared a beatific summer in 2003.

Robert wrote this post in April 2008, after h… Read full post »

There is a myth of the isolated writer. The writer shuts herself off from the world, curls up in a dark attic, and furiously pounds away at an ancient typewriter. Okay, the furiously pounding part is real. But a true writer cannot build a fortress of solitude and hide… Read full post »

I will be writing about the reading and book signing last night at The Book Cellar. But, until then, enjoy this lovely post by Jim. It was a delight to meet him last night. I must say that OSers (when met in real life) have yet to dissapoint me.

I am a powerful woman
I eat things 

I open my mouth
and eat
all the darkness outside
I open my mouth
and chew
on the bones of broken dreams 

I am a powerful woman
I eat things 

Between my lips is a wide hole with teeth
I bite down
on hard, evil things
I bite down
and convert them into potent… Read full post »

Growing up as a non-denominational Christian, I heard a lot of preaching about the origins of mankind. I liked the story of Creation. It had a wonderful mystique about it and made me feel that God, as the Creator, really loved the world. But I had some issues with the origins… Read full post »

 Venus and Mars get ready to go out into the night.

Venus and Mars in brilliant array.

Venus is wondering if she has enough glitter. Read full post »