Humanity: Raw & Unfiltered
Dawn breaks into my bedroom like a baseball through a window. I am tired before I even get up, worn out from a game that has not yet begun. I manage the start well. I pack lunches, check emails, and schedule appointments as I should. I feel even and productive. Read more
I have experienced mood swings for over 25 years, rapid cycling from mild depression to 3-5 episodes of humanly manageable mania/hypomania. Until last year, I have been fairly ‘blessed’ with my manic phases: no drugs, no bankruptcy, no sex à gogo, though, a lot of bridges abruptly dismantled and painstakingly Read more
It was more like the crack of a shotgun, than an explosion. Breath caught in my throat. Flinching, I recoiled into a ball; my legs and torso bare; blankets lost sometime during the night, in a battle of siblings fighting for warmth. There was a storm raging outside our motel Read more
We were friends for 87 days before we started dating. Despite being told you should date someone taller, prettier, smarter, more religious, you asked me out. When asked why, you said YOU KNEW. We dated for 438 days before we were married. Despite being told we were too young, to Read more
During the summer of 1985, I swore I’d never wear my possessions in a pouch on my stomach. I was a goofy college kid preparing for a year abroad in Europe, and my sweet, safety-conscious dad came home from work one day, announcing he’d gotten me something special and important Read more
I was at a funeral the other day of a dear friend’s daughter and child. After many tears, the clergy stood to read us the eulogy. He told us of a poem by Linda Ellis called “The Dash”. He spoke of the date of birth and the date of death, Read more
I remember the fire. I remember the warmth of it near my skin. The night was cold. He was with me. I remember his smile. I remember his laugh. The night was dark. We stood close. I remember walking. I remember the path was dark The dirt was covered with Read more
Flick. The sound of the red Bic lighter. Inhale. Hold it. Exhale. Breathe air. Looking out at the Bay as if it were already a black and white photograph on postcard paper with tattered edges. Sad, waves invoked the gravity of my tears streaming down my cold and blistered cheeks. Read more