Dear Anonymous,
He is telling me a story about a friend slitting his wrists. I look at his forearms. The inside of his forearms show long white scars running about 6 inches long. One arm carries 3 or 4 crisscrossed scars.
I pause.
He looks up at me.
'I have disassociative disorder. One of me was telling me to cut. The other was being cut.'
I am still pausing.
Thank you for teaching me to look a bit closer. Look a bit longer. Both into the light. And into the dark...
Thank you for teaching me to look a bit closer. Look a bit longer. Both into the light. And into the dark. There are treasures everywhere. Happy Birthday Anne Madden.
Away from this drama or that, the mist collects on your leading edge regardless of any notice of this...or that.
Away from this drama or that, the mist collects on your leading edge regardless of any notice of this...or that.
So, it's tender. I think about, and name the long litany of names...
So, it's tender. I think about, and name the long litany of names and feel all the ones I know personally who have died from fatal overdoses. The ones I loved. And still love. I think of so many folks I know who have lost count of all the people they have lost. Imagine that? LOST COUNT. They can no longer remember after the first 15 or 20 deaths.
And the ones that struggle now. That struggle mightily. The siren call of the drug de jour that doesn't give a sh**. But, oh, the call away from pain. The call toward a tremulous relief. Like these little raindrops. Clinging and temporary. Beautiful and at a different scale no different than boulders.
Inevitable falls. And maybe that is the rhythm of a life that is chosen.
All I can do is collect raindrops in my own folds and know they drop like boulders on some.
and she realized all that color blindness was a blade that stabbed again and again.
and she realized all that color blindness was a blade that stabbed again and again.
it was a tender bridge. and much could go awry. still...
it was a tender bridge. and much could go awry. still...
holding up
holding up
she hung her dress out to dry.
she hung her dress out to dry.
Yarrowed
Where are you standing
That you pluck
What you love
From the flood?
-Gregory Orr
Yarrowed
Swimming
Swimming
her beautiful skirt. she danced. regardless.
her beautiful skirt. she danced. regardless.
and there was rain and the earth was able to drink.
and there was rain and the earth was able to drink.
It is a solid forty degrees cooler than 2 days ago here on the Coast of Maine...
It is a solid forty degrees cooler than 2 days ago here on the Coast of Maine. The relief is palpable. Plants sip up what they can, reserve what they may and offer a chance to carry on.
And you would hold me.
And you would hold me.
All there was to offer
All there was to offer
Lady’s Day
Lady's Mantel. Alchemilla. Long history of use as a medicinal herb. The name alchemilla comes from the word alchemy. Apparently alchemists thought the water droplets collected from the leaves could turn some metals into gold. Sometimes called 'dew cup' due to the way it collects water.
Lady’s Day
life
life
Lady Mantle lived behind a picket fence.
Lady Mantle lived behind a picket fence.
A glint of light, a pattern not quite in keeping, old eyes with faded nearsightedness...
A glint of light, a pattern not quite in keeping, old eyes with faded nearsightedness. Then a lens that let's me see what I could not.
The value of 10,000 mg of wonder.
The value of 10,000 mg of wonder.