Yeah, yeah, I know. Mother’s Day in the US isn’t until next week. But when I began this poem, I didn’t know it was going to be about mothers. Or about tree rings. That’s the beauty of…
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Today I’m sharing an original song with you. Enjoy my home recording. LIKE THE SEA Phyllis Cole-Dai A song of blessing When the day is wide And the road is open and clear like…
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It’s night-time in Baltimore, Maryland, a city with its fair share of troubles—high poverty rate, high unemployment rate, high crime rate . . . But if you scan the city skyline, what you see there…
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Imagine that a family’s life is a tree with lots of branches extending from its trunk. Some of the branches on the tree I’ve been growing with my husband and son include “Trips,” “Celebrations,”…
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As the dream opens, I’m in Grand Central Station in New York City. (In dream-speak, call it a grand place at the center of things. Maybe even the heart itself.) The station is bustling with…
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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…
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Geoff stands on our snow-covered side stoop, bundled against the single-digit cold. Grinning through his frosty white beard, he delivers me a gift on behalf of his wife, Sue: a big, warm pair of mittens,…
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In my dream, I’m visiting a dear friend whom I don’t often get to see. Each hour of our time together is precious. As our reunion is nearing its unwelcome end, we hear a soft…
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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…
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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…
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