Goodness! The first line of a poem, that first line ending in “the old masters.” Auden, looking at a painting by Brueghel, sees a field with a plowman, a sea, and a fine ship, while, off to one side, a…

Oh, this day. I jolted out of bed to an alarm that came much sooner after I'd set it than what is fair. My work calendar stretched out before me looked like a violent act. There would be no space,…

I remember that session in therapy, decades ago, back in my NYC days, when a lightbulb flashed and I realized there were two places from which I could function: my intellect was one place…the other was my emotional self.....and the…

The difference is pronounced, even sublime. (pronounce== announce with emphasis? A noun, a thing. Pro, going forward—so put that thing forward, in this case, “difference.” Sub—under; lim—the frame of a window—a place only the gods could fit under, thus worthy…

She was now 101 years old, and existed in the current daily world at least some of the time....on the whole, her brain was still her friend, though every so often long dead relatives came to visit and she had…

Time really does pass. Saying yes to one thing is, in fact, saying no to another. I've always wanted to squeeze everything out of life, not noticing until around four decades in that not everyone does this. Many people understand…

“You know, I feel my fate in what I do not fear.” Tessie leaned on her elbow, chin propped on her wrist, and stared through the window at a hummingbird fluttering like a little motor over a geranium. We were…

Agatha lowered her head and pressed on. Her curly hair was tucked up in a bun at the nape of her neck. Still, she was self-conscious. Curly hair was an indication you were a Jew. Hitler’s venom had gnawed at…

Taken men always look better than the ones on the shelf. I am not saying I'm into married or otherwise spoken for men. That's a line I've never intentionally crossed (those who are taken don't always announce themselves), nor ever…

For actors, it’s the most welcome spot in the world: center stage of a brightly lit performance space. So brightly lit that anyone standing in that warm glow is rendered blind to anything else, especially the darkened audience that stretches…

In a dark time the eye begins to see. In such a way Elinor “saw” Anna. Anna had been sitting across from her, or in a circle next to her, as the six people in the group silently arranged themselves…