Make sure you don't fall in love with my hair. However

it looks on the day you fall for it? You will never see it that

way again. I can't wash, rinse, and repeat. I can wash and rinse,

but I can't repeat. Each day is a… Read full post »

I didn't wash my hair when we met for the last time.

You reasoned that a final goodbye in person would

somehow make me feel better (it didn't). You were so

happy there in that college town coffee shop, telling me

about your new fiancée. Somewhere in my mind I… Read full post »

I can't remember it, that

feeling of a hand in mine.

It makes a comfort that

reaches in. A heart responds,

a scar heals, a layer

gives way.

Once I saw a hand leave the steering

wheel to find my hand in my lap.… Read full post »

for Erika 

Your husband walked in with your children's

hands in his, their pace swift, as if he had to

force himself to enter, pass all of us,

and take their seats there in the front. A 

mission that defined solitude.

Your son wore his red jersey, his… Read full post »

Every few weeks she leads me to the back room of the

salon.  I relax into the recliner and close my eyes, ready

for what she will give, a little pleasure, a little pain.

She heats my brow with the hot melted wax letting

it sit for… Read full post »

From our opposite corners

we approached each other,

one degree less than tentatively.

I watched him displace the air that

sat between us, a gentle leave-taking.

“Do you know about the continuum?” he

asked quietly. "My brain isn't

made just like yours. So,… Read full post »

It wasn't that I didn't work, I did.

But, as you always said, "You work for

your heart, not for money." Because you

sent those checks our kids could thrive.

It helped me keep them in winter boots and mittens,

haircuts, doctor's appointments and with

a present… Read full post »

See, I have this heart (I think) but

it isn't where it used to be, it moved,

so it's un-situated now and sometimes

it won't do what it used to do, like,

I don't know, love. And because it moved

to a new spot I can't always find

before my… Read full post »

Summer’s term finally finished. Enough

with all that dark basil, the outdoor

concerts, pink and yellow petals blooming

along the roadway, barefoot walks

in the sand. Their deceitful affection

wasted. (You don't love me.)

Autumn sits in the yard daring me to be

st… Read full post »

The false darkness beckons

like the last glass

of wine, the note I

shouldn’t send,

the call I know better than to

answer. You wait

behind the door, drapes

drawn, making the room

night-like at noon.

My heels push down… Read full post »

We co-mingled at the magazine stand near the gate. I

 stood behind him in line while the clerk slowly refilled

the soda case. We smiled at each other once but it was

a washed-out smile, the type you use for people you’ll never

see again. He bought… Read full post »

Senate Finance Committee Hearing

CSPAN Senate Finance Read full post »

SUBJECT WARNING 

This is sad and about my father's death, dear readers.  Please avert your eyes  and click away if you aren't up for this content. I completely understand.

It was the moment we had waited for and why

we were all there (I guess) in your hospice room:… Read full post »

 I didn't walk by the synagogue today.  My

daily walk

edited. I knew the cars would fill the

surrounding

streets, emotion urging out of the

tall wooden doors. 

(You're inside, that I know, even if 510

miles away.)

I envy these holidays you keep. The offer of

celebration,… Read full post »

You tell me year after year that

you go for the loons. The Common Loon who

calls and lures you with her tender, forlorn

plea. Every trip you come back with a new 

tribute, a story of how the loons sang

to you, secrets discovered.… Read full post »

Delivered to me on a 

surgical tray, it sat still,

sterile and red.

Bound tight. The main artery

scored exactly in the spot where

it (you) should be joined

to something, someone,

your life, a force, a life force, to me.

 … Read full post »

Toe to toe.

Ankles wrapped around

ankles.

 Twined.

Thighs on thighs, with

a little give

here

and then

there.

Hipbone to hipbone.

Just so.  A sublime

match.

Chest to chest.

(heart to heart)

Necks marbled around each other.

Lips giving up

lip to lip.  Read full post »

I believe we agree on these facts:

It happened 730 days ago. 

That first kiss, at the airport, should have 

been warning enough to stop.

We did not stop.

Your chest moved my heart over two inches.

My breasts made your shoes grow a size. 

My… Read full post »

With all due respect, meet me early.

Age is lovelier than beauty.

Please ignore anatomy.

You are my last hope that my promiscuous ways are monogamous. 

In her, he's at his best.

Why can't God crave rhyme?

Never do this.

Art should prance and… Read full post »

I didn't know

I presented you with a

surface, unmarred, yours

to scale.

I felt your touch an inch deep.

I didn’t know

it alone could melt

my skin down to the bone.

When you urged my… Read full post »

You may have been perfect, as lovers go.

Me in your bed, clothed and then not.

Rushed and then slow.

Beguiling and then shy.

You asked my name and I gave you a country.

I asked for your country and you gave me

your lineage.

Your eyes

still… Read full post »