I hold a sunflower in my heart,not in golden bloom, but filledwith small, dry seeds,a desiccated husk of a disk, brittleand brown. I hold it hereas a reminder some giftslook unwanted at first.I remember the autumn afternoonI went to pull the dead remainsfrom the garden, then watchedas the Stellar’s jays landedatop the tall dark stalksand […]| A Hundred Falling Veils
hours agoI lit a golden candlesticknow only honey-scented space— years since you’re goneeverywhere I go,the perfume of you—| A Hundred Falling Veils
As I cry chopping onions,I imagine the onionscry for me, too, andwith each slice, theywonder when I will everpeel off all these layers I’vebeen adding in the nameof growth. When I addthe onions to the pan,they become more clear.You can do it, too,they seem to say. Let the world open youand weep with the giftof […]| A Hundred Falling Veils
teaching our voicesto kneel to each other—such a genuine way to listen| A Hundred Falling Veils
Through the throngand past the chatterwe slipped into a smallblue sitting roomand there at the edgeof the chaos, she told mewhat the doctor said.The world becamewhirlpool, no shorein sight, andwe met in a perfectstillness, holdingto each other, ourfriendship like driftwood,no way to steer, butfor that moment, wefloated, floated! no small thing asall around usuncertainty crestedand […]| A Hundred Falling Veils
Like a river in flood stage,her smile broke its banksand changed the landscapeof the room, or perhapsher smile was more likea night-blooming cactusthat charges the duskwith honest perfume.That moment she stood thereand let the cheering in,receiving our appreciation like rain,oh, her smile then, may I never forget it,so rare, this gift released,the girl untamed.| A Hundred Falling Veils
I thought the wayto hold youwas by foldingmyself around you,gentle but tight,the way the handwraps around pebble,acorn, coin,and now thatyou’re not here,the love no less great,I stand outsidewith my empty,upturned handsand understandopening themis the only wayto hold light.| A Hundred Falling Veils
Sometimes a prayerarrives like a stock phrase—like well-worn beads of syllablesothers have strung into smoothand beautiful strands.But the prayers that have saved meare the ones that arrive like burrs.They hurt a little, hook into my skin,such stubborn, dogged prayers.They make me a living agentof spreading their seeds.And with every move I make,they don’t let me […]| A Hundred Falling Veils
I like your costume,the woman said, and I said,Thank you. Thing was,I wasn’t wearing a costume.I was dressed as me,a middle-aged womanin tall black boots,black yoga pants,a long gray sweaterand my dad’s gray hat.It wasn’t till after she leftI laughed, delightedto be called out ondressing up as myself,a person I’ve beentrying to be my whole […]| A Hundred Falling Veils
I do not love it, the tensionbetween us, dark-viscous and thick,or red-spined and prickly. I don’tlove the way a fat fist formsin the softness of my belly,then fossilizes into righteousness,or unr…| A Hundred Falling Veils
September 24, 2025 6-7 mountain timezoom, recordedsliding scale How do we live fully in the face of catastrophe? Last night I read this quote from Puerto Rican poet Aurora Levins Morales, and I tho…| A Hundred Falling Veils
a solstice song Nothing to do but open,nothing to do but close,nothing to do but undo,nothing to do but love.Self as wind in the forest,yes, self as both forest and wind,self as unfolding unselfth…| A Hundred Falling Veils
