This week I plopped down on the piano bench to muse with my fingers on the keyboard about what to write for today’s Staying Power. One song led to another, and eventually I came to “What Happens,”…
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A Rafter asked me to muse on the topic of shame and self-forgiveness. This poem is what emerged. Thank you, anonymous friend, for the prompt! THE SCAR’S APPEAL Phyllis Cole-Dai Look at me: I’m what…
Way back in January, I introduced to you the practice of writing centos. Here’s a refresher: A cento is a literary work, usually a poem, created exclusively from lines or phrases lifted from the work(s) of…
I grieve the horrific mass shootings that occurred while I was recently out of studio. Had I been at home instead of traveling, I’d have offered you a timely word instead of material scheduled in…
Spanish-American chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen have been on the ground in Ukraine and neighboring countries since war broke out on February 24. They work with partner restaurants, community kitchens, and…
Here’s a dirty little secret: Our house has a beautiful baby grand piano, and it scarcely gets played. That’s on me. I’m the lone pianist living here. Want to know why I don’t play? Read…
I’ve been out of studio this week. No worries, I’m fully recovered from last week’s kidney stone attack (thanks for your well wishes). But with Jihong’s university on spring break, we’ve headed for the hills—the Black Hills, that is, on the western side of South Dakota.
The Black Hills are in the middle of a March thaw. They still have enough snow for Jihong to ski, but the season will likely end next week.
My goodness, what an outpouring of reader responses to “Gentle Way Home,” the cento I offered last week! The feedback has prompted me to do a follow-up, especially since you, like so many others, might…
On this second day of 2022, I have to admit I’m emotionally drained. COVID is surging again. Rampaging wildfires have displaced thousands of people in Colorado. Thousands more are without power after record snowfall in…
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