(Photo by James Eades on Unsplash)
My brother-in-law got called the N-word yesterday. My sister, Koko, and he were house hunting in a tiny little Oregon town. They were walking out of a cute house in an affluent neighborhood when they heard it.
A couple of Caucasian teenagers yelled from across the street. “N–!”Continue reading“3 years.”
I’ve been feeling out of sorts lately. A general meh and what have you. Like I’m stuck in molasses, trapped under one of those dull yellow filters Hollywood uses for movies set in the middle east or Mexico. Continue reading“This has to change.”
There are stars of varying sizes all over the sky. Nestled between are crescent moons, silver, and rose. The stars move, and she follows them with her eyes, waiting to see if they come back.Continue reading“Within her eyes.”
(Photo by Alexandru Acea on Unsplash )
It was just a car. 4 wheels, bent wipers, and some fading paint. A hulk of metal and rubber and old shiny leather.Continue reading“It was just a car.”
(Photo by Charisse Kenion on Unsplash)
I read somewhere that it takes three to four generations for a person to be forgotten. Their names lost, their existence erased in its entirety. Memories don’t last forever — even the deepest roots we put down are often pulled out by time. I don’t know who my great-grandparents were or what they looked like. And all I leave behind for my children will be diluted and washed away by my great-grandchildren, who will never know me. That’s just how it works.
(Photo by Ambitious Creative Co. – Rick Barrett on Unsplash)
Babe,
This is a promise you made yourself a while back. But the last year has muddied the waters, and you appear to have lost your way. So here’s a reminder (and a loving kick in the butt) to put things in perspective.Continue reading“The bad is the good – a letter to myself.”
I died when I was 28 years old. Continue reading“Cinnamon”
(Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash)
Kids his age bike down our streets. Flipping back their faux hawks, all lean shoulders and easy smiles. They chatter about Fortnite and Roblox and things I am too uncool to know. They yell and joke, their laughter carrying faint traces of the men they will soon become. Their parents worry about grades and missed projects. After school piano classes and weekend soccer practice. Pre teen boys, caught between disappearing childhoods and middle school crushes. How complicated they seem to me!Continue reading“Uncomplicated.”
(Photo by niklas_hamann on Unsplash)
After 8 months of the new normal, pandemic fatigue hits hard. I often ask myself – what’s the point? Does it matter if I smile? Does the world stop spinning because I’m too sad to put pen to paper? Do birds stop chirping and oceans screech to a thunderous halt, because I feel hopeless?
We won’t know what happens. Not for a while. Maybe tomorrow? Maybe next week?Continue reading“Terrified.”
