A blood-red cardinal lies murdered in the garden, dropped by hawk or cat. Daffodils and hyacinths that emerged too early shiver and regret. The lenten roses, soggy, droop. In times such as these, one turns to poetry… Heavy by Mary Oliver…
Pepper and Poems
110 Articles
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As Winter Storm Izzy whirls through the greater region, with its glaze and spit and powder, a dream of summer comes to me. Meet me there, if you’d like, with poet Mary Ruefle, in my mother’s backyard… Mary Ruefle is…
A bee in winter travels into the new year finds open flower * * * Happy New Year, friends! I took an online haiku class this fall through St. Mary’s Sewanee. You might want to check out their offerings for…
My friend Mary Jo gave me a beautiful book of Christmas poems, and I’d love to share three of them this morning. Whatever else the day holds for you, I hope you find a moment of peace and stillness in…
Alice gleams in the mad, mad world while parents teach their young to share a rock in the sun – the sparrow bold and sharp finds crumbs – and the moth believes herself beautiful. Black eyed susans flirt by…
The Corona Gardens (I) Once upon a time (in the Time of Corona) a grand old pine perished, felled by tiny beetles which seems kind of tragic but not as tragic as it may have seemed once upon a time. Among…
Often you have a choice to make in the woods: you have to choose your trail. Keep in mind that you must not turn and run, no matter what. You must keep your eyes open and see what you see……
Sometimes I am really late to the party. Will someone please text me when there is important breaking news? I didn’t realize until Wednesday afternoon that Colonial Gas supplied Nashville. When my younger daughter told me, we drove to…
My father, who loved my mother so deeply – and imperfectly – finishes this way. He provides, more than generously. The fruits of his labor reach into the present. Yet he nearly wrecks her with his decline. For five years…