On September 4, Jihong and I delivered Nathan to college for his sophomore year. An hour after we unloaded his stuff at the dorm, Nathan auditioned on his cello for a seat in the symphonic…
Imagine yourself holding a hammer. Now, strike your hammer against a big pane of tempered glass. Watch the glass shatter into thousands of crystalline pieces, dropping all around your feet. Hear the initial crash of…
Eden is nine years old. Her family lives across the street from Annette Langlois Grunseth, a dear friend of mine who, in her seventies, is a beautiful ball of energy. Eden and Annette have turned…
In the July 10 edition of Staying Power, I told you about “Humanity Present,” an opportunity for shared, silent gazing that I intend to offer in a public setting, here where I reside. Planning for…
One wintry day, long ago, I had the privilege of visiting with a woman I'll call Rose. Ninety-five years old, she was recovering from a broken hip at the home of her daughter, a good…
This weekend I’m retreating at the home of my friend and co-editor Ruby Wilson to assemble the second volume of Poetry of Presence (forthcoming, May, 2022). Without question, this is my favorite part of creating…
Dear Julie, Thank you for your sweet note concerning my work. Thank you, too, for entrusting me with this question that’s been weighing on your heart: “How does one hold both grief and joy at…
This is a follow-up to last week’s musing, titled “Would You Sit in the Chair?” In case you missed that, or it's fuzzy in your memory, let me quickly recap: I intend to find a public…
Wending your way through an art museum, you come to a gallery with two wooden chairs in the center. A small table separates them. White tape on the floor delimits a large square around the…
On the same Friday that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, my family headed to a weekend jazz festival in St. Paul, Minnesota, around four hours from home. We needed distraction. We needed music.…
Every day is one-of-a-kind, special in its very own way. But last Sunday was extra special in the U.S., where many of us celebrated both Father's Day and Juneteenth. To honor the occasion, I offer you…
Don is a 90-year-old retired firefighter. He lives in a condo on the 10th floor of an apartment building in a bustling suburb of Washington, DC. Five years ago, Don sent me an email—another stranger,…