Always Present

In response to my Papa Larry's poem: "Just One More Time" Remember what Eliot wrote, that โ€œWhat might have been and what has been Point to one end, which is always presentโ€ And so your โ€œhave-beensโ€ of driftwood fires near the sea Are, dear Papa, my present. Might I remind you-- Time is like the … Continue reading Always Present

Grave Flowers

We stood at my grandma Karenโ€™s grave on Palm Sunday, the wind matting the grass and making all the fake grave flowers tremble. Dad brought a bundle of daffodils from Papa Larryโ€™s garden, and as he tucked them in the granite vase, I said I hoped they wouldnโ€™t blow away. But itโ€™s early April and … Continue reading Grave Flowers

Aunt Emma’s Kitchen

A True Story from Home Marilee and her sisters cooked up a storm in Aunt Emmaโ€™s kitchenโ€” checkerboard cakes, popsicles made from fresh cow cream, and Aunt Emmaโ€™s squirrel dumplings. Theyโ€™d haul vegetables in from the garden, eating the asparagus on their way back to the farmhouse. Marileeโ€™s family lived in a Missouri suburb but … Continue reading Aunt Emma’s Kitchen

Winter In Her Womb

A True Story from Home It happens every eight seconds, they say, but itโ€™s no less weird and wonderful. Iโ€™ve never seen a baby be born, but my big sister hasโ€” twelve of them, actually. She earned her birth assistantโ€™s certificate because sheโ€™d grown up the oldest sister, the babysitter, the Meg March of the … Continue reading Winter In Her Womb