… … I’ve been going through papers and found a piece I wrote on June 11, 2001 called The Last Day of School. I was teaching at a public school then in a federally funded program helping inner city parents who’d been high school dropouts … Read More →
Category Archives: Sonnets
In my words, May 27 – June 2
… I am sorry, but it’s been a sad week pretty much from beginning to end. Days went from chilly to hot. The allergies I’ve been avoiding all spring kicked in and I developed a sore throat where every swallow’s felt. Friday, I went to … Read More →
In my words, May 13 – 19
… I was looking through photographs, all in a mess, not looking for anything in particular, and found the one above taken, I think, around 1987. At first I thought it was Life Cafe, but the closer I looked I could see it was probably … Read More →
In my words, May 6 – 12
… The photo above is Life Cafe, or what is left of Life Cafe, 10th Street and Avenue B, NYC. (Oh those were the days!) Confucius—or was it Lao Tzu?—said that we should never be too happy on a good day because a good day … Read More →
La Beauté par Charles Baudelaire
… Je suis belle, ô mortels! comme un rêve de pierre, Et mon sein, où chacun s’est meurtri tour à tour, Est fait pour inspirer au poète un amour Eternel et muet ainsi que la matière. Je trône dans l’azur comme un sphinx incompris; J’unis … Read More →
In my words, April 1 – 7
…. On April Fool’s Day, a friend, Dustin Kelly, who has become a berry farmer and producer of jellies, announced on Facebook: “Hey everybody, great news! It was kind of a back up plan, but I got an acceptance letter for a summer internship with … Read More →
In my words, March 18 – 24
… Sorting clothes before washing, putting them into piles, pulling out the socks so they aren’t balled up, making sure it’s not all been twisted into clumps, but loose and free to move and be cleaned; I never stuff a washer full; that soapy water … Read More →
In my words, March 11 – 17
… Observing Children Yesterday afternoon, after school, I approached a group of children, teacher in front, the kids straggling behind but together like ducks, all excitedly talking (quacking) at once. I overheard some boys. One of them said: “I catched them last summer!” I never … Read More →
In my words, February 18 – 24
… I met my friend Bill Kushner on Friday at 9th Avenue and 23rd Street. It was high noon. I jumped off the bus and there was Bill, hood of his parka up over his head carrying his bag with his pen and notebook in … Read More →
In my words, February 4 – 10
My friend Tony came home from work, unlocked his door and saw his cat sitting by the refrigerator, not paying any attention to him as it usually did meeowing its greeting when he came in, but like an Egyptian statue, the silent cat looked straight … Read More →
In my words, January 21 – 27
… Roman augurs … The word inauguration comes from Latin. An augur was a Roman priest who studied the flights of birds to predict the future in their patterns. The prefix in can mean no or not: immeasurable, incomplete, immoral. It can also mean a … Read More →
In my words, January 7 – 13
This morning things return to normal; break is over: time to teach. It’s early now; well not so early, a little after seven. I just woke Akram up with a cup of coffee, black with sugar, which he’s drinking leaning back into the pillows looking … Read More →