Category Archives: In my words

Janis and Me

… I got a fan letter from Janis Joplin once about a decade after her death. How is this possible? Her friend and lover, Linda Waldron, whom I knew through my friend Patti, was a psychic and sometimes, especially … Continue reading →

April Blossoms 2013 (remembering the Boston Marathon Bombing)

9 Apr ’23

… Friday I walked through Central Park with two old friends. We began on 96th Street and walked along the stream and little lakes on our way to the Conservatory Garden. There was a slight drizzle for about twenty minutes, … Continue reading →

Fame

12 Mar ’23

On Valentine’s Day, I handed out my haiku postcard to my High Beginner ESL class at LaGuardia Community College. I had been teaching the class since October, and this being the second semester, some new students were added. Jing Yi, … Continue reading →

On Sketches by Matisse

26 Feb ’23

When I was eighteen, I saw a film of Matisse sketching his grandson. He did sketch after sketch, each time simpler. The portrait never became abstract, it simply became a face with fewer and fewer lines needed to give … Continue reading →

Tulips

6 Mar ’22

I brought tulips home to lift Akram’s spirit, and he took two photos of them that lifted mine.

The English Garden around 11 oclock in the morning

4 Aug ’21

Yesterday, August the third, my friend Tom and I took our walk through Central Park. We always meet at 96th Street Central Park West and walk east from there through the ravine to the falls where we sometimes go … Continue reading →

Hound Dog

27 Dec ’20

Hound Dog, a twelve-bar blues by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, was first recorded by Willie Mae Thornton on August 13, 1952 in Los Angeles. I, whose birthday was on August 15, would have been turning three at the … Continue reading →

The Water’s Work Song

16 Nov ’20

I wrote the words to this song when I was twenty-three; it came in a burst of writing three other songs as well, just the words, not any music. Over the years as I learned to play the guitar (always … Continue reading →

Seven Books

4 Aug ’20

… … I … … I will only write about books that are on my bookshelves now; if the book is not here, then I won’t mention it, so I won’t be mentioning books like The Idiot, which may have … Continue reading →

James Baldwin by Carl Van Vechten

2 Aug ’20

… On September 13, 1955, Carl Van Vechten photographed the fairly well unknown James Baldwin who had just published his first collection of essays, Notes of a Native Son. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, was already … Continue reading →

La Plaza poems for the Rites of Spring

26 Jun ’20

… In celebration of New York City’s parks and gardens, Felicia Young asked me to contribute to the annual Rites of Spring, which is usually held with costumes and a parade through the Lower East Side. This year because of … Continue reading →

First Walk During the Pandemic

2 Apr ’20

… I went to the Post Office today, the first day I’ve been out in ten days. I was wearing a mask and was aware of my own breathing because it was totally quiet—all the construction that has been going … Continue reading →