Loose Leaf Notes

1. Illumination 2. Social Graces 3. Bold Faces

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” ~ Richard Bach   I have no problem starting poems or stories (like I have no problem filling up closets). It’s ending them that’s hard. Endings should look like they’ve always been there, as though there were no possible other conclusion. […]

1. A friend of a friend, named Pet Pet Ping Pong. 2. Breakfast at Alwyn’s, where I recently spent the night. 3. Someone saved a seat with their flat footing dance shoes for the Friday Night Jamboree. 4. Chalk on the sidewalk in front of the Blackwater Loft. 5. Is that a six word memoir […]

This story was published in The Floyd Press on May 1, 2008. It was also featured on the newspaper’s website HERE. “This is getting to be a real good smelling poetry reading,” said visiting poet Jim Webb in reference to the scent of popcorn coming from the front of the Floyd Country Store. Webb and […]

The moon is a mutiny a one bubble revolution escape from the sky-sea of sudsy clouds It floats across the heavens like a flower child pagan in peaceful demonstration against the status quo Post notes: The photo was taken a few nights ago. The poem is one of many in a moon series written over […]

1. Black tea is like whiskey to herb tea’s wine. 2. I don’t like chocolate for the sake of it. For me, chocolate is like a condiment to go with mint, peanut butter, ice cream, or cherries. 3. I never had a baby shower or wedding shower. But I do love baths. 4. I have […]

AKA: Can we have a Word? 1. A Blog Quote Contest: Blogtations, a site that posts daily quotes taken from blogs, is hosting a Mother’s Day Quote Contest, of which I am one of the judges. The deadline to submit your best saying about Motherhood, taken from your blog, is May 2. The winner will […]

I had planned to interview my friend, Mara, sometime during the two day poetry symposium we attended recently. I knew I’d be blogging about it, and if she won for her either of the two presentations she was scheduled to give, I’d be writing a story for The Floyd Press. I thought maybe I’d ask […]

The 7-9 time-slot stretched on to 10:30, with several new readers, a full house of attendees, and a line-up that resembled a Spoken Word variety show. After Greg opened the evening with a reflective essay about photographs and memories, Mara (pictured left) and I shared our very different Scrabble poems, created using words we played […]

1. A puddle of petals 2. A litter of yellow 3. Not crying over spilled flowers

I enjoy the distillation of words. I believe less is best, and when writing I try to leave out the parts that most people skip (as recommended by novelist Elmore Leonard). I love the one line poem, the picture that’s worth a thousand words, and cutting back the rose so more blooms will grow. But […]

1. Tongue twister created after I played AI (a three legged sloth) twice in one Scrabble play, which caused Mara to squeal, “Two three legged sloths … Two three legged sloths … Two three legged sloths.” 2. When I tried to say “two three legged sloths” three times fast, it kept coming out as something […]