I think that, in the end, my mother died a peaceful death. I wasn’t there,missed it by forty minutes. The call came at 6:00 a.m. I knew before Ianswered. I showered and started the three hour drive I now knew by heart.The cleanup of coffee spilt in my lap delayed me. My two sisters were... Continue Reading →

Wouldn’t It Be Nice  (The Beachboys)It must have been June, when local berries tasted like summer sun. TheStrawberry Social was in a church basement, just over the hill from ourhouse, at the edge of the village. Brown brick. White wooden sign, engravedblack lettering. ‘Evangelical United Brethren’. We called them E.U.B.’s. I satwith my parents and... Continue Reading →

There had been a chill in the house for days, I don’t remember why. Somedisappointment, I suppose, some bitter unhappiness. We were small kids. Hersilence was our suffering. I remember the Saturday afternoon. I saw her comeout of the house into the brilliant sun, dressed up. I felt proud of her whenshe dressed up. She... Continue Reading →

(Lecce, Southern Italy)A soft feather drifts to the sidewalk where a woman rests her heavy frame onthe low concrete steps that lead to her small restaurant, the one her motherpassed on to her. She is on a break from the daily prep, dressed in cottontrousers cut at her thick calf and tee shirt. Her faded... Continue Reading →

it was not constant concernfor the troubled planetharnessing her thoughtsthat day so much as the weightof two oranges in a cloth bagslung over her shoulderthe careful keeping to theshade side of the streetvines flowering sun-stained adobecobbles slanting toward homewhere stone steps leadingto the street below markedthe edge of the hot day––it was the market womanfingering... Continue Reading →