Writing
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crying in the bathroom: thoughts on grief
Throughout the day, I’ve been secretly crying at my desk or in a bathroom stall. And all day I’ve caught myself thinking, “You need to stop this. Get over the tears and do your job.” And only just now, in the quiet of my own home, has something occurred to me: I’ve been lying to myself all day. I don’t need to stop crying. Just the opposite, in fact. I need to cry right now. Grief needs to be felt! When it isn’t, when we stuff it away or shelve it behind “more important things” like a to-do list, what does it do but fester? Why are we as a…
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#worth1000words: The Ledge
Rumor had it that, in his younger days, Coleson Masters was a moonshiner, a racketeer, a man in cahoots with mobsters and hooligans. They said he spent a few years on the rails, and that he wasn’t a stranger to the strong arm of the law. He’d robbed, connived, beaten, lied, and, in all likelihood, killed. He was the type of sinner that even Jesus steered clear of. “Cuss and vinegar’s all that’s in his soul,†was the way Mama said it. And she knew better than anyone, as Coleson Masters was her daddy. Mama spent the better part of my life keeping us as far away from Coleson as…
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Rain = Poetry
We had a crazy rainstorm this afternoon, and as I ran across the parking lot to my car after work, this poem tapped its fingers on my brain. I’m no poet. That honor belongs to my Nana. But I offer up this little verse anyway. Call it a gift — one to inspire all of you more talented poets to listen for tapping fingers. Rainstorm Rain sings down around me; I hear your dancing feet On warmer, dryer pavement Through colorful, faraway streets. Rain sings down around me; I see your laughing eyes With stories weaved like fairytales Or a scoundrel’s alibis. Rain sings down around me; I know this…
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#worth1000words
I heart Twitter. I mean, really. I truly love it. I love how it forces brevity; I love the way it connects people; and I love THE PEOPLE. I wants to hug all my tweeps. Tonight, Twitter made me love it even more because it brought a super fun writing prompt idea into my life. Here’s the story: One of my tweeps (*waves at @bookishbritney*) posted a picture of her grandfather. It’s an awesome picture. I took one look at him and thought,”Now there’s a character.” She and I started tweeting about the awesomeness of said picture, and a brilliant idea fell into our laps. #worth1000words We decided to swap…