Walt Whitman and Dear Layla
Dear Rebecca, Sarah, Matthew and Patrick, Joanie French and I took the Amtrak train to Texas in the summer of 2005 for a family wedding. Along the way and back, I read the Library of…
Month: March 2016
Safety First
Royesha told me Since her brother’s come back from Iraq He’s been having nightmares At family gatherings, parties He always positions himself in the far corner in the biggest room To be able to see…
The Lesson of a Tree by Walt Whitman
for Ale Vazquez Sept. 1.—I should not take either the biggest or the most picturesque tree to illustrate it. Here is one of my favorites now before me, a fine yellow poplar, quite straight, perhaps…
Aspiration
20 years old She was in the Adult Learning Academy To brush up on reading, writing, and math skills I offered feedback and encouragement on her writing After graduating from the ALA She wanted to…
For K. L.
After his own New York show in 1988, his work dried up. He moved many times and every time he moved he dumped what little work he had produced. But he didn’t stop thinking of…
How One Person Saw Hồ Chí Minh
In Hồ Chí Minh, everybody finds the noblest, most simple, and dearest member of his family… Compared with weapons, that does not yield to all the weapons of the Seventh Fleet… Hồ Chí Minh’s image…
Guest Speaker
You came to class to tell your story As you surely had done many times elsewhere How you became a serious Muslim While at a West Coast Jesuit university I’d heard many stories about you From…
Be in Love with Yr Life
“Neighbors, friends, colleagues, students, fellow poets, and artists all came to her home where they were greeted with exuberance, shared in her bursts of full-bodied laughter, and were sent off with her signature Buddhist bow….
Support a Gaza Cancer Center
It’s an honor to know Dr. Zeina Kiblawi; please consider making a contribution to this project. She writes: “Hi everyone! On April 1st, I’m running in the Palestine “Right to Movement” Marathon (I’ll be doing the 10K!!)…
Birthday Greetings to Matthew Hyde
Thich Nhat Hanh says “Interbeing means You don’t have a separate existence You inter-are with everything else” Happy birthday, Matthew-and-cosmos!