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This Moment

You ever gone through a long stretch where major responsibilities were pulling you in several directions at once? When all you could do was breathe and keep going, trusting that you’d get to the end of it?

Well, I’m happy to say, I’m just about to emerge from such a stretch. Whew.

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What is Given

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…

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Reminders to Remember

A friend shows me a beautiful potted mum. Its rich orange-red buds have burst open with vibrant sprays of sun-yellow at their center. The plant—of a variety called “Autumn Sunset”—is simply gorgeous. “The garden center…

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Less Is More

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 orchestra, a premier touring group comprised of highly skilled student-musicians, most of them majoring in music.

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Lay the Hammer Down

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 their fall. Hear the gentle tinkling in the silence that follows, as bits of glass sink and settle.

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Of Poets and Moss Piglets

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 into a dynamic duo. You see, Eden, a fourth grader, wants to be a writer someday. And Annette just happens to be an award-winning author and poet.

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