Posted in my life, tagged garden, haiku, japan, peace, reading nook, summer, tree, willow tree on July 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I read a haiku today.
“ill-tempered I returned,
and then in the garden
the willow tree.”
There’s something about a willow tree, the way it extends a caring arm to hold you close. Protected, I read by its trunk as it swayed in the breeze.
It reached for the water, if nothing more but for a simple laugh, dipping its toes in with every sachay of the branches.
I took a garden walk today and that’s what summer is for.
Posted in short shorts, tagged cod, drawing, fish, Shakespeare, strangers, tree on March 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Hey, thanks. But a five-er would set me real straight, Nathan. Can I call you Nathan? You look like a Nathan. But yeah, there is a fish place gives you cod and chips, real good too, for six. Five more would set me real straight. You got it on you Nathan? Listen, where you from? Here? Not here, here, but around here? I see what you’re saying. Listen, you like it? I like it fine. Nice people, that’s what I always say. Always depend on the kindness of strangers? Who said that? Shakespeare? Well I guess me more than others, huh? Ha! Like here, look, let me draw you a little something in your notebook, a nice little drawing. There, like my tree? It’s one that used to be in my front yard. Listen, I have some kids I need to take care of. Hold on, let me put my name under my drawing. There, Emmanuel, Nathan, that’s my name. Emmanuel. I got good handwriting, don’t I? Taught by nuns. They’ll beat that right into you. Listen, Nathan, I love you. I need you. If you were a woman, I’d friggin’ marry you. Would you do that for me? I’m just kidding with you. But seriously, what’s your address? I’d really like to see you again. You seem like you got something to you. You know what I mean? Listen, Nathan, it’s been really great talking to you. Sure about that five-er? All right. Tell you what, I’ll be around, okay? Be seeing you then? You going to come back and visit soon? All right, Nathan. Enjoy that tree, okay? Nathan…. Nathan?”
Posted in Triple Shots, tagged bleach, car, expiration, lightning, lucid dream, sophomore, sweet 16, tree on February 18, 2009 | 3 Comments »
My friend Matilda was given a car for her 16th birthday. It sat in the driveway with a ribbon on it and that night, after the surprise, after the tearful thank yous, near two a.m. or so, a storm came. Lighting hit the 16 year-old tree the father had planted the day Matilda was born. The tree fell, crushed the car. Matilda still hasn’t gone to get her driver’s license. It’s been six years now. ”You just can’t ignore that,” she tells me.
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Bleach expires. Check the date on the cap before drinking.
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There was a kid in my college dorm Sophomore year who jumped out of a third story window shattering his left femur. After he came to, he said that he had been trying to have a lucid dream for months. He said that when he jumped, he thought he finally had done it.
