bus-ku
great big yellow bus
new shoes bouncing kids drivers
joy tears school’s coming
—
‘you can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.’
-carol ann duffy
Sep15
Sep14
totem.
walking the neighborhood
totem stands
waiting to be discovered
neighbor’s yard
an artist
who often
has something
to say
with his work
the details here
lightning bolt at the top
red fish
dragonfly
compass rose
238 miles to manistee
in the upper peninsula
how do they connect
what is the message
art puzzle
feels to me like
an ode to our state
michigan.
—
‘you must be absolutely honest and true in the depicting of a totem for meaning
is attached to every line. you must be most particular about detail and proportion.’
-emily carr
*Emily Carr (1871 –1945) was a Canadian artist who was inspired by the monumental art and villages of the First Nations and the landscapes of British Columbia. She was a vivid writer and chronicler of life in her surroundings, praised for her “complete candor” and “strong prose”. ‘Klee Wick’ her first book, published in 1941, won the Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction and this book and her other writings are still much in demand today.
Sep13
true north.
stopping to ‘fuel up’
with my six-pack of grandies
on our road trip to the north.
—
“never go on trips with anyone you do not love.”
-ernest hemingway
—
a road food break above, posted ten years ago, 2016
chilling out at the pool, below
now all are in high school/college
to all the grandparents on grandparents’ day
it’s such a great adventure
Sep12
‘the world needs people who save lives.’ – frederick buechner
after a day of remembering and honoring
those who were
lost, helped, survived, changed forever
a calming evening walk in the park
brought soft pastel skies
trees full of life
if you look very closely
you’ll see
a survival flight helicopter
where every minute matters
on it’s way
to rescue
move someone
pick up or deliver something
that will save a life
when i hear one or see one
in the sky above me
i know they literally
hold lives in their hands
the weight of this
heavy
yet fragile
hope is in the air.
—
‘part of my life is saving life.’
-dith pran
*Dith Pran (1942-2008) was a Cambodian-American photojournalist for the New York Times. He was a refugee and survivor of the Cambodian genocide and one of the subjects of the Academy Award – winning film ‘The Killing Fields,’ in which he was portrayed by Haing S. Ngor, a fellow survivor.
*Frederick Buechner (1926-2022) was an American writer and theologian. The author of thirty-nine published books, he has been and continues to be an important source of inspiration and learning for many readers, writers, preachers, and theologians. His work encompasses multiple genres, including fiction, autobiography, essays, sermons, and other nonfiction. Buechner’s books have been translated into twenty-seven languages for publication around the world.
—
beckley park, ann arbor, michigan, usa – late summer 2026
Sep11
the names.
Paper Hearts and SIdewalk Chalk, Flavia Binsam
———-
Remembering 9/11 – 25 years later
America’s poet laureate, Billy Collins, wrote a poem a year after the tragedy.
He called it ‘The Names’ about the 2,792 who perished that day.
Names etched on
the head of a pin.
One name spanning
a bridge, another
undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled
into the skin.
Names of citizens,
workers, mothers,
and fathers,
The bright-eyed
daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in
a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on
the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled
into the dim warehouse
of memory.
So many names, there
is barely room on
the walls of the heart.
Sep10
‘i’ve never had my hair cut by anybody, i do it all by myself.’ – keith richards, rolling stones
not me or my mom or my hair but similar situation
except for the smile
—
’tis the season
kids return to classrooms
it’s school picture day
mom looks at your hair
finds the sewing scissors
‘let me just trim it up a bit’
or
‘i’ll just snip the uneven part off a little’
or
‘let’s just clean it up a touch’
your bangs
have finally grown
to be the perfect length
a little long
a little shaggy
just
below your eyebrows
hint of a shadow
brushing
just above the top
of your eyelashes
clean-up/trim begins
when it’s ‘done’
your mom
smiles
looks at your hair
you
look so cute
beautiful
you take
a peek in the mirror
long and fancy bangs
have disappeared
‘just a trim’
has returned
your bangs
close to the top
of your forehead
very near
their place of origin
they are
a straight line
that’s for sure
cleaned up
no doubt about that
there is always
next year
when you
will have grown
your bangs out
perfectly.
you hide the scissors…
—
*when he was asked if there was a name for his haircut, he replied ‘arthur.’
-george harrison, the beatles
* The name is said to have honored his school friend from Liverpool, Arthur Kelly,
who used to tease a young George about his thick, unruly hair by calling it a “turban.”
Sep9
dropped.
‘when your first baby drops her pacifier, you sterilize it.
when your second baby drops her pacifier, you tell the dog: ‘fetch!’
*-bruce lansky
* Bruce Lansky is an American author and internationally known children’s poet, anthologist and is often called ‘the king giggles.’ He has a passion for getting children excited about reading and writing poetry. Lansky’s poetry books—including A Bad Case of the Giggles, Peter, Peter, Pizza-Eater, Mary Had a Little Jam, If Kids Ruled the School, and Rolling in the Aisles – are among America’s best-selling children’s poetry books. He is also the editor of the middle-grade fiction series Girls to the Rescue and Newfangled Fairy Tales. Lansky has performed in more than 300 schools from coast to coast and enjoys his quiet time at home in Maine.
Sep8
‘i should have had the pickle.’ – preston sturges
i’m always up for trying something new
after reading an article
about how to make
quick and easy pickles
i gave it whirl
so simple
tasted quite good.
—
here’s my recipe for what i call
‘Quickles’
buy a jar of your favorite dill pickles
store them in your refrigerator
eat them at your leisure
when you’ve finished off the jar
keep the brine
make your own new batch of pickles
prep/cut up
cucumber spears, carrot sticks, green beans, onions, jalopenos, etc.
pack them tightly into your jar of brine
make sure they’re submerged
seal the jar
give it a shake
put in the refrigerator
after 24 hours or so
open your jar
and
voila
enjoy your new jar of
QUICKLES!
—
tips for safe quickle-ling:
– only use the same brine for one or two new batches to keep it fresh
-always store them in the refrigerator
-if the old liquid loses some strength,
you can add a pinch of fresh salt, extra dill, or a splash of fresh vinegar
—
‘in the last analysis, a pickle is a cucumber with experience.’
-*irena chalmers
*Irena Chalmers (1935-2020) wore many hats in the food industry. The author of more than forty books, she regularly contributed to such publications as The New York Times, Food & Wine, Gastronomica, Food Arts, and Nation’s Restaurant News. She was a founding member and past president of both the International Association of Culinary Professionals and Les Dames d’Escoffier International, as well as a James Beard Foundation “Who’s Who” of Food And Beverage in America. Her first book won the 2008 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for the Best Book for Food Professionals in the U.S. and later, the 2008 Gourmand World Cookbook Award—Best Book for Food Professionals in the World.
Until her death, Chalmers divided her time between being a faculty member at The Culinary Institute of America, “The Last Word” columnist for Chef magazine, food essayist for WAMC/NPR Northeast Public Radio, blogger, consultant, and counselor to many about to embark on their own culinary adventure.
Sep7
a direct passage to the soul.
national cinema day 2026 is listed as the 5th or 6th or 7tth or 12th of september
depending on the source
in honor of the holiday
i plan to celebrate it a number of times in September
beginning with one of my all-time favorite films:
Cinema Paradiso/Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, (Italian), is a coming of age, nostalgic, sentimental, comedy, drama, all rolled into one, written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore in 1988.
Set in a small town in Sicily, it is also a celebration of films and comes right from the heart. Mostly told in flashback, it focuses on the friendship between a young boy, Toto((Salvatore Cascio)), and an aging projectionist, Alfredo((Philippe Noiret), who works at the town’s cinema. When Toto begins helping out in the cinema booth, he learns to love the magic of movies and develops a passion for films that shapes his life path.
Credited with revitalizing Italy’s film industry, Cinema Paradiso has been cited by some as one of the best films of all time, and a world cinema classic. It is particularly renowned for the ending , considered among one of the greatest endings in film history. It was a commercial success, received critical acclaim, and won several awards, including theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Prix, and 5 BAFTA awards.
—
‘life isn’t like in the movies. life… it is much harder.
whatever you end up doing, love it.
the way you loved the projection booth when you were a little squirt.’
-Alfredo to Toto
Ingmar Bergman described film as a direct passage to the soul.
—
credits: miramax films, 1988
Sep6
‘wild ducks and tomorrow both come without calling.’ -russian proverb
-before-
skies dark and murky
tornado warning screaming
strong winds blow the trees
-after-
sun returns, wind stops
clouds dot skies of powder blue
tornado moves course
—
the ducks, one not-duck
unruffled play near river
with tall friend, heron.
—
‘more rain, more rest; more water will suit the ducks best.’
*Historically, the saying was used by farmers and outdoor laborers who were forced to pause their work and rest when a heavy downpour hit. While the rain halted human labor, it provided perfect, thriving conditions for water-loving ducks.
(and sometimes a heron too)
—
huron river, ann arbor, michigan, usa – late summer 2026
I didn't have my glasses on.... 