Tag: Writing
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A Civil War Envelope
First time I wore a corset I became a woman. Before that I was a person not at home for trying to be too many different things to too many people. I had felt responsible for the world’s destruction since I was five and put before the TV to watch crying Indians and baby seals […]
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Stop Crying
Do you cry too much? My father used to reward me for staying in and being safe. As a police officer he coolly handled blood, insanity and anger, but he could not handle threats to his children. He could not handle the idea of them making mistakes or being shamed. His heart was in the […]
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Flowers in the Window
Bring in those flowers and put them on the windowsill where you wash the dishes. You pass them every day, but you’re so busy and there will be new blooms tomorrow. My mother once said she felt sorry for flowers picked and put in a vase and didn’t need them. She said this because she […]
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The Moon
Who are you in the dark when no one is looking? What is the magic moonlight of you that you keep covered in clouds of blue? Those dark places when shared make you more like the rest of us. Sometimes those flaws are the very things that lead you on your mission. Sometimes those flaws […]
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Your Life on Canvas
How would you want your life to be depicted on canvas? Would your painting be a sedate and beautiful portrait, with lush carpets and Victorian drapery, small dogs panting on your lap? Would you want to find yourself in the vibrant energy of a Van Gogh? Or how about a military masterpiece with you leading […]
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A Haunted House of Dreams
You are attached to a mystical tangle of ribbons–other people’s dreams and desires. A flirtation. A wedding. Children. A funeral. And all over again. With blue eyes running along one thread, alcoholism another. Love is tangled in there too. This is my 3x great grandfather’s house. I want to burrow into the collapse to find […]
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Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats
Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of silence and slow time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme: What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape Of deities or mortals, or of both, In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What […]
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A Writer’s Calling
You should not expect a return on your love. The idea that you deserve anything in life leads to disappointment. How many times must we suffer disappointment before we make peace with the idea that it’s a sorry part of life? It’s our lot. We expect so much from others and fine things from ourselves […]
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Quilting a Life: A Conversation About the Value of Making Art
“Everything you can imagine is real.” Pablo Picasso My daughter-in-law and I chatted all weekend about the creative life, raising children and genealogy as somehow connected to our life’s purpose the last time she was up for a visit with my son and grandson. On this visit Sam brought along a current project she is […]
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Do You Have Theme Songs For Your Life?
Today feels like a day to listen more than to talk. I’ve noticed when writing novels that random music will stop me in my tracks — as if the characters in the books are begging me to listen to another layer of who they are. I write about BROKEN HEARTS so I don’t think it […]