Piano Lesson
“In Mary Oliver’s “Music Lessons,” the piano teacher exchanges places with the student. As her fingers hit the keys, “Sound became music, and music a white / scarp for the listener to climb / alone…..”
nonfiction
My Father – A Song
Memories of my father drift and ebb like the movements of the Seine: my childhood with him, the way he glowed when his favorite song played on the radio, and stories he told me of his time in France during World War II…
Searching for Cranberries in February
In this piece of flash nonfiction, I draw upon the complexities of searching for berries out of season, and how this simple task can become a part of a mother’s love and desire to soothe the yearnings of her pregnant daughter, as well as the grandchild within her womb.
The Ballad of My Cousin
Although my cousin, “Zoey” died almost sixty years ago and I had often wondered what our lives would have been like had she lived, writing this essay helped me process the terrible loss that overshadowed the lives of so many.
In the Bleak Midwinter
I love the relatively mild Pacific Northwest winters. But I couldn’t let on to my mother that I missed my Seattle home as much as she thought I would. Life happens and who wants to be judged for their life choices?