That evening I was miserable. The eye was throbbing with pain as the anesthesia slowly wore off. I couldn’t sleep.

We followed the coffin, and then I sat in one of the chairs next to the coffin.

He pointed to a chair and told me he’d have my watch fixed in a couple minutes if I wanted to wait.

I wasn’t only uncomfortable. I was blessed and challenged.

I take off my metaphorical glasses so I can’t see the problem areas in my life and the world around me.

It wasn’t until later, after my encounter with the letter carrier and when I looked up the lyrics, that I realized I did get the words wrong.

Her face is written with pain and uncertainty as the doctor brings more pills.

Over dinner she said, “Neither of us is Christian, but we wondered if you could do our wedding anyway and take out all the religious stuff?”

“a prism of leaves drift in cool air / whirling dervishes on their way down”

You are brave, and your spirit endures.

A poem about a bittersweet memory.

A poem for these troubled times.

Today I am thankful and have to give praise for time and the timeless and the shortness of days …

After 54 years of zestful living, the remainder of my brother’s life was now defined by this sentence.

A poem of suffering.

No sooner had we taken our pictures than dark clouds socked in the mountains and their valleys.

Eventually, Kathy would decide it was time to go to bed. She’d walk over to the couch and say to Soren, “Let’s go say good night to Derek.”

From where I stand, I can see a chicken farmer, an entrepreneur, someone who uses a wheelchair, a university professor, an elderly widow, and a homeschooling mom.

Sitting under a cloudless sky with an afternoon sun baking my skull and turning my balding head bright red didn’t sound like anything I wanted to do.

Social capital and the “good ol’ boys” network gave us power to float through people, doors, and walls.

A stone struck Paul so hard on the head that he was knocked unconscious.

Convicted of their past sin and consumed with the ensuing guilt, they experienced the same crushing concerns.

The phone was on speaker, so we all got to hear a bit of her friend’s attempts to console her.