Midway through “The Bridge,” one of Alicia Ostriker’s series of “mastectomy poems,” the speaker switches from the indicative to the imperative. “You never think it will happen to you,” the poem begins, and continues into a deftly rendered scene in … Continue reading
I have been waking early. Very early. When at last, after adjusting the pillow, pitching it overboard, lying on my stomach, my side, my back, trying to remember the lines of a poem, dithering over the to-do list, choosing a … Continue reading
Virginia Woolf reminded us that “Love has a thousand faces.” Oliver Sacks has taught me that curiosity is one of those faces. I think of the endearing way Robin Williams (playing Sacks in the movie Awakenings, with Sacks’ blessing and … Continue reading
“Be not anxious.” It’s the title of a beautiful sermon by the German theologian Karl Barth. It’s also good advice. It’s hard to follow. When I am anxious I get sick. Sometimes people say, “Be well” at the end of … Continue reading
What, rouse thee, man! thy Juliet is alive, For whose dear sake thou wast but lately dead; There art thou happy: Tybalt would kill thee, But thou slew’st Tybalt; there are thou happy too: The law that threaten’d death becomes … Continue reading
A PRAYER FOR THE YEAR TO COME May we be fully present to those who cross our paths. May we open space and time for surprise. May we change course when change is called for and be ruddered by our … Continue reading
A colleague began her Bible as literature class quoting a rabbi who said of reading Torah, “These words are my very life.” The connection between words and life energy, blessing, and well-being crosses traditions; as far as I know every … Continue reading
I remember a moment of pure, loyal, sad, focused outrage the first time I saw someone treat my mother—my lovely, smart, resilient, adventuresome, generous, imaginative mother—like a little old lady. The man at the customer service counter looked at her—or … Continue reading
Knowing enough to act responsibly as citizens and consumers depends on our answers to seven questions. The first of them in a sense includes all the others: 1) What am I willing to know? Am I willing to know … Continue reading
Think what you missed while you were doing what you were supposed to do. I often think of the moment when I first let go of the side of the pool. It wasn’t when my brother (who was teaching me … Continue reading