My daughter Rachael graduated yesterday with her Master of Arts in English with an emphasis in Literature from Loyola Marymount University here in Los Angeles. She has worked two part-time jobs and gone to school full-time for the past two years while maintaining a 4.0 GPA so, needless to say, our family is very proud…

I have a student who wrote in her medical school essay, “My grandmother grew up in a country that had been westernized before it became radicalized.” That country was Iran before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, which took Iran from a modern country back to the dark ages, especially for women and the gay community….

“How do we do this?” Lois asked as she pushed the baby stroller up the hill to her San Francisco home. “I mean, we both know getting Harold to agree is going to be a nightmare.” “Harold, Smarold,” her best friend Chloe said giving her graying ponytail a defiant toss. “Since when have we done…

Life is a teapot, wide in the middle and usually a bit on the short side. The teapot’s long spout keeps hot stuff at a safe distance, unless, you splash willy-nilly, being someone who doesn’t mind  messes. A good handle also helps, particularly when handling copious amounts of hot water. Unless, of course, you tend…

Earth’s endless hills and dells Symbolize life’s parallels Rising high, sinking low Shining light and dull shadow Water’s gentle ebb and flow Cradle and rock my very soul The shallows and great depths Reflect my deep and rhythmic breaths Fire’s constant flicker and flame Burn away both fear and shame Hot-dark red and cool-light blue…

Girl, you work too much. Where’s the fun? she says as she picks up a cookie. The way she brings the ginger snap  to her frosted pink lips and carefully, gently nibbles its edge, shocks me. I assumed brazen meant voracious, over-indulgent. I munch on my own cookie, inhaling awakened spicy sweetness. Still, I don’t appreciate…

How can I love you better What is it that you need How can I help nurture your soul So your true self can be freed Tell me the truth Don’t be afraid Loving means asking So your joy can pervade Your true spirit glides   through the sky with ease Dipping and cavorting Bolstered by the…

Helen Leatherwood There are two of us in our family I am a Junior of sorts Though I don’t have Marie as my middle name The two Helen Leatherwoods have a few things in common: a love of literature a deeply spiritual side a passion for learning a left-leaning political persuasion a deep interest in…

Undergrowth,  where the secrets are hidden. Down in the moist soil next to where the doodlebugs cluster together, rolled up in their little balls,  luxuriating in the dark and the damp. Secrets like the dark and  the damp as well, where they can tunnel deep and feel safe. Where they can burrow to spots where…

I found this poem I wrote to my sister back in 2012.  It seems fitting tonight so I decided I would share. Sweet Leslie, I love her so even now. Good-Bye to Leslie I see her lying in her hospital bedDark brown eyes half-closedSquare jaw tightCan she hear me? I lean close“Hello, Sister.”Her pale lips shiftInto…