I am sitting with my last student of the day and we are writing for ten minutes. I’m going to use this opportunity to write for my blog since I know the rest of my evening and the next several days are going to be busy. Let me first say all the papers are done…
Category: Timed Writing
Flash Essay Prompt: When Will This Quarter END?
I am knee-deep in a term paper with daughter Rachael on allegory in Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown and Poe’s Ligeia. Dear Lord have mercy. I am ready for this quarter to END. I can’t say that I’m not being challenged intellectually by my students. I am. I am stretching and growing and learning a lot….
Flash Essay Prompt: A Knock at the Door
Lately, there have been a rash of burglaries in Beverly Hills. Someone comes to the front door and distracts the homeowner while accomplices sneak around back and steal valuables. In the case of our house, this wouldn’t be much of an accomplishment since the back door is always open, at least during the day when…
Flash Essay Prompt: My Sister’s Eulogy: To Joke or Not to Joke?
I have been working today on my sister’s eulogy for her memorial service this upcoming Saturday. I have done this once before, giving the eulogy for a sibling, and it is a tough task under the best of circumstances. How is it possible to convey how one feels about a beloved sister or brother? In…
Flash Essay Prompt: Birthday
My husband’s birthday is tomorrow. I spent the evening making two lasagnas: ground turkey and spinach, plus chocolate cookies and a pie crust for a coconut meringue pie. We are having a little party with two of our three kids, their friends, and a few of our friends tomorrow evening. My husband is a good…
Flash Essay Prompt: Losing My Sister Twice
Today, I’m sad. I feel a weight in my chest and a general heaviness in my whole body. I just want to lay my head down, stare at the wall, or go to sleep. Of course I know why I’m sad. It’s reasonable to be melancholy when you’ve just lost your only sister, your oldest…
Poetry Prompt: Good-Bye to My Sister
I see her lying in her hospital bed Dark brown eyes half closed Square jaw tight Can she hear me? I lean close “Hello, Sister.” Her pale lips shift Into a half-smile Her skin is smooth Her body warm Her legs toned From constant walking But I know this body Is hiding the truth That…
Revisited Prompt: Edward Weston Photo: Wrecked Model T
The car looked like a Model T, or what was left of it. It was more rightly, the carcass of a Model T with no wheels or tires, no engine, no seats. Only the body of the old car, rusted, bent, and disheveled, like an old woman with too many miles and too much booze. …
Haiku: My Husband is Back
My husband is back Back to his home and his dog Eating my brownies Half of our marriage From one state to another Coming and going Almost two decades Texas or California Yanking to and fro Country or city Big sky or azure ocean Enticing us both My husband is back Back to his wife…
Haiku: California Daffodils
A field of bright gold Like thousands of caution lights Atop grey green poles Triangular flags Surround fluted golden orbs Shimmer in the breeze Gray skies and storm clouds Winter tree limb silhouettes Swathed in golden cloth
20 Minutes a Day 