I live on a street where many of the homes are owned by people who do not inhabit them full-time. When the pandemic necessitated escape from the city, many moved into their second homes for those long months.
Read moreI'M EIGHTY
It happened a few weeks ago. Okay, I look the same as I did the last day I was seventy-nine, but I don’t feel the same.
Not at all.
It’s big and sobering moment, the awakening that birthday morning. The seventies were good to me, one of the best decades of my life, actually. I felt fit and energetic, published four books and a number of poems, some of which received awards, and was lucky enough to get many fellowships to residencies that gave me precious time to write and reflect.
Read moreMOTHERS of UVALDE
I am surrounded with beauty, here at the beach. Birds trill, hydrangeas are beginning to bloom as peonies and rhododendrons surrender their brilliant petals, sand and sea are everywhere, and our small cottage allows a simplicity of living that is not possible at home.
It’s pretty wonderful, and I am grateful for the respite.
But it’s impossible to get away from the news. And as I have written here many times, I choose not to, as I believe it’s crucial that I/we bear witness to the travesties and injustices in this unsettled world, even if we can do nothing about them.
Read moreTHE SKY IS FALLING
I have read and thought and talked so much about Alito’s draft opinion since it was leaked over a week ago, that my mind is overfull of thoughts and feelings about it.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Read moreROOTS
When I was growing up, and even into my young adulthood, I was not interested in pursuing information about my ancestry. Of course, I knew that I was born of 2nd generation Polish and Italian parents, but in the 50’s and even longer there was great prejudice against both ethnicities, causing me to feel shame about my heritage. Some areas in West Hartford, CT, a town in which I attended a private Catholic girls’ high school, banned those of Italian background from buying homes there.
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