Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it. from “Digging” by Seamus Heaney For Seamus Heaney Many years ago now I wrote a poem about my father inspired by Seamus Heaney’s “Digging,” the first Heaney poem I ever read. In the same way the poet continues his father’s workContinue reading “#56: For Seamus Heaney”
Category Archives: Poetry
#55: Ode to the Handyman
I can barely hammer a nail into a piece of wood, but this guy comes over to repair glass, wire things up, lay tile, fix the plumbing, pour pavement, measure twice, cut once, hang finish carpentry and restore old lamp fixtures to their original glory. I never developed these skills or had the inclination toContinue reading “#55: Ode to the Handyman”
#54: The School Year Begins with a Crash of the Hard Drive
The School Year Begins with a Crash of the Hard Drive on which my entire life’s work as a teacher was “saved.” My technology guy, bless him, was able to retrieve nearly every last god-forsaken item– except any kind of organizational feature previously attached. So all perhaps one thousand assorted folders, documents, presentations, audio files,Continue reading “#54: The School Year Begins with a Crash of the Hard Drive”
#53: On the Last Day of Summer Break
On the Last Day of Summer Break I’m home alone, cleaning house, sweeping, dusting, mopping, emptying the trash, doing small errands that have been waiting a long time, like those framed drawings of France that needed hanging, and that boat painting; now they’re up. I put away all the piles of rags and brushes andContinue reading “#53: On the Last Day of Summer Break”
#52: Stupid Human Facebook Tricks
(with apologies to all my friends guilty of the following) I think one has to earn the right to post pictures of one’s food. First, it must be good food, carefully prepared, photogenic food, artfully arranged, economically described. Otherwise, I don’t want to see anybody’s food. And I refuse to respond to posts that testContinue reading “#52: Stupid Human Facebook Tricks”
#28: Did You See The Moon?
Originally posted on michael jarmer:
Did You See The Moon? More luminous than your computer screen, shining in through the window of your study, full, full of fury, brightening the night sky like nobody’s business. Landing on the moon was not nearly as special as it was to look at the Earth from that vantage…
A Talk at the 30 Year High School Reunion
Note: I include this as a post on my blogsite mostly for those classmates of mine who would like to see it. Don’t know if it will make sense for other readers–parts of it will, perhaps, others not so much. For example, to get the opening gag, you’d have to know that I now teachContinue reading “A Talk at the 30 Year High School Reunion”
The Power of Retreat
The truth of the matter is I didn’t read a single word of Moby Dick. I remain today on the same page I was on a week ago. Thanks to the generosity and kindness of my wife and son, I have been on retreat for a week at St. Mary’s College in Moraga for theContinue reading “The Power of Retreat”
#51: Benefit Car Crash
I misread the advertisement for a benefit car wash as a benefit car crash, honestly enough, my eye glancing quickly over the headline, eliminating the ‘a’ in car and the ‘w’ in wash, the brain filling in some redundancy so that sense could be made–because no one would advertise a benefit crash without specifying theContinue reading “#51: Benefit Car Crash”
#50: On Trying Again To Read Moby Dick (Again)
I’m not reading again, but instead, trying again to read for the first time, the problem being, as I’ve said before, not one of starting but of finishing, which, I fear is, but hope is not, a general pattern in my life. Call me Ishmael. What a great first line. I read it twenty timesContinue reading “#50: On Trying Again To Read Moby Dick (Again)”
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