Category: Poetry

Poetry: The one that got away

If you write poetry, perhaps you’ve had an experience of reading a poem that makes you sigh and utter the words “if only I had thought of that first”.  What about consciously working a phrase or line of someone else’s into your own poem? Perhaps you’ve never done that, and yet found unconsciously a line… Continue reading Poetry: The one that got away

Meter and Flow

Sometimes I’m too quick to make a judgement. Up until recently, I have been quite biased and worming my way out of ignorance when it comes to the function of rhyming in poetry. If I had to put a finger on it, I think it might have something to do with ease and lack of… Continue reading Meter and Flow

A Good Friday Poem

I’m going to be honest in a way that might make you squirm on the other side of your monitor. Recently, it has come to my attention that I am angry at God. After my dad passed away, I was wracked with grief. My naturally extroverted self sought the solace of solitude more often than… Continue reading A Good Friday Poem

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Categorized as Poetry

Astoria by Malena Mörling

When I conceived of the idea behind the name of this blog, it felt a bit cheeky- an inside joke with myself of a life lived en route. At the time, I found myself a tea-wallah, jettisoning from one end of the country to the other all in the name of flavonoids and theanine. During… Continue reading Astoria by Malena Mörling

valley of shadow and ash by annelies zijderveld

valley of shadow and ash – first draft  in this valley of shadow and ash, i quake and tremble of the forward, the backward keening out of view. how to move on without losing how to let go without- to be present and awake to life in its simplicity : the iguana crawl, crab scuttle,… Continue reading valley of shadow and ash by annelies zijderveld

Persimmons by Li-Young Lee

A few weeks ago, I met some new friends in a coffeehouse in the South Bay. Cheryl and Beth were people whose acquaintance I’d made at a recent conference and we’d made a point to get together for a holiday catch-up. (Beth brought homemade rugelach; Cheryl treated to tea and tiny cupcakes. Somehow we began… Continue reading Persimmons by Li-Young Lee

Giving Thanks & an Elegy by Yehuda Amichai

Many people give up on poetry. They think it does not have anything to say to them after high school English class. Perhaps, they think, it is for a certain social tier or for people who have time. I’m not sure of the why, but one of the when’s of their return to poetry can… Continue reading Giving Thanks & an Elegy by Yehuda Amichai

Syrup, after Waffle: a conversation in poetry

Syrup after Waffle glass bottle amber sunlit  liquid. tip the bottle, drip, drip, sizzle: waffle and sticky sweetness. blade of knife to square, tenderly it gives to the blade, its gentle steam.   annelies zijderveld © 11/16/10     Waffle I can taste you in my mouth Your tenderness Your gentle steam Dripping with sweetness… Continue reading Syrup, after Waffle: a conversation in poetry

Let’s get social

Who doesn’t like a good story and when I mean a story, I mean a person. You’ve heard “don’t judge a book by its cover” and while the genesis of this phrase may have started with a book, let’s just say more often than not it’s intended for people. Journalism, waitressing, coffee barista, even librarian-… Continue reading Let’s get social