What we think is lovely

shapes what we think

is not.

What we think is good

defines the bad.

Life defines death.

Long defines short.

High can't exist without low.

The Spirit-filled teacher

sees clearly,

is not trapped

in the pull of opposites.

She teaches

with her mouth shut,

nurtures others

with non-possessive warmth,

setting them free.

...

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It's hard to live a making, hard, hard to make a living

even without the exorcist interferes. I've been a fog

harmer, a hog harmer. I have hogged farms all my life

and my father's life before that. I'm so mad I can't talk right

and the priest will probably say I'm witch crafted too.

I've already paid the lawyer more than the pork

is worth. The lawyers available to represent ...

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My health insurance got cancelled last week.

This

I do not want to hear.

I do not care that I can

reinstate it today.

I do not care that I emerge

five days later, insured

and unscathed.

I am not grateful for the miracle

of good health which

is not a small miracle.

I do not want to hear

that I have to do it all

now alone.

My back-up man is gone—

the one ...

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I remember hearing my father's voice

      from beyond the grave.

      No dream—a single, scratchy vinyl

      had captured his characteristic

      lilting, homiletic style,

      that seemed,

       in and of itself,

       to be the message—

       no surprises there,

       nor flights,

       yet a resonance

       that touched

       and stays with me

...

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Clubs, ace to king, prepare for a day of wicketness.

Yoga (downward dog) helps. Limbering ointment

promises more flex, less ache. If cards crease, it's

Off with their heads!

Diamonds are dispatched to capture

hedgehogs. They trek into the woods with hedgehog

horns and nets. Problem is, hedgehogs who've played 

croquet past years are not invited for rematch.

The mo...

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Player piano in the empty funeral parlor foyer cranks

out old standards with a Dixieland flourish. The old

wooden cross. How great thou art. Take my hand precious

Lord. No one hears it. No one is here to discuss pre-planning.

No one peruses coffins for his aunt who has been sick so long

the family forgot she would die. No one is scooped out

by grief at the accidental death o...

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Less Than a Second

Less than a second

is the time it takes to fall in love.

             That summer night

             you walked out of the bright house

             on to the dark deck

             ready for the next day's wedding,

             already celebrating every damn thing

             anyone could think of,

             laughter floating out of your pores

...

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