yellow ciiiiiiircle. He picks up the pastel green chalk to trace the yellow. green ciiiiiircle. The lines intersect and it's more of a C than a circle, but it's perfect because he doesn't know what that means yet. He's onto…

Events conspire, Hearts combust, A flame of moment. A life, an empty space Awaiting the imprints of others’ Colors and lines. Brushes with Fate, Kisses of red oil On soft white breasts, Wanting to support the artist’s head, Heavy with…

My husband Kenji and I were in a little town at the end of the road in the Alpes Maritime, looking for toothpaste. Two older French men went up to Kenji, who is Japanese American, and asked, "Américain? Américain?" I,…

After you've kissed me the last time by the back door, after you've flicked your sword and caught a bit of my skin, after you've drawn the line *here* that I can no longer cross? What is there, then, after…

Your nails are uneven. And you're hungry. She looks at her calendar and wonders why nobody ever told her about this part. Why did nobody ever tell her about the boring bits where you don't really want to do what…

Stupid hard chestnut thingies littering her driveway were her literal downfall, since it was on one of those that she stepped, stumbled and fell face down onto her impossibly hard driveway, breaking bones as she crunched into the inescapable truth:…

I thought I heard a voice, thought Vince. My own voice! Crying in the wilderness, in Glen Canyon. Another endless war! Again. A nightmare world. Each side blames the other. Kill! Rage! Rape! Revenge! Kill, or be killed. Die, die,…

I got a job once, dubbing a Drag Queen. It was on a tv movie and Stacey Keach, the lead and also my ‘romantic’ lead was such a gent that he came into the dubbing room and re-recorded just so…

It’s what everyone zeroes in on, what all “mature” writers advise aspiring ones: “find your voice!”!! All those who seem to have found theirs preach “ Let your true voice EMERGE!”…..or my favorite: from every workshop participant who’s just as…

When my kids were little I used to read a lot of women’s magazines – Family Circle, Women’s Day. Sometimes I subscribed. I tried recipes, I read articles. Even then (1980s), these were really anachronistic. Feminism had reached far enough…

Stevie's celebration of life is tomorrow. Most of my family is already here in Oregon. Some of the long-time friends who were my "bonus kids" when they were all teenagers will camp at my neighbor's house, some will stay at…

Who is the reader? Who reads these words? Who thinks about what is seen and heard? I am the reader! I long to learn. For adventure and mystery I yearn.