Category: Writing
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A Prayer for Los Angeles, USA
Rami Ammoun, Downtown LA at Sunrise The lights are going out in Los Angeles, USA,And, my God, I am afraid of what the night will bring.May my fear be an overreaction.May I wake to find that this past decade of bad news has all been a bad dream.But I know that I am awake,And I…
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Wisdom Walks
I typically don’t do things by halves. If I can graduate with a master’s degree one year after my bachelor’s by doing an accelerated program, I will. If I can hike Mount Washington up the Jewell Trail and down the Crawford Path with my cousins for a grand total of 13 miles in a single…
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Lemonade Stands and Cups of Water
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is…
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“It’s Just the Way It Works.”
In the wake of pandemic,In the midst of loss,And war,And war again,And heartbreak,Then more illness,And let us not forget all theDaily indignities that mark each day we get closer toDeath— My God, is it even worth it to keep trying? My God, can’t we just be? In the face of the world’s pain And in…
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Loved Ones: A Short Story in Eight Scenes
I have been taking some writing classes since January, and am happy to share a piece I wrote at the conclusion of the first one in March. I hope you enjoy it! Autumn My family lowers me into a hole in the ground near the edge of the property line. They pack the still-warm dirt…
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Things I Want to Remember
When my little sister was in early elementary school, she wrote a list that my dad has kept safe, titled “Thigs I Am Going to Do Today.” It’s as adorable now as it was then. So with that in mind, and since I tend to re-read old posts to revisit old memories, here are “thigs”…
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Playing In the Shelter of the Burning Bush
Puffy clouds drift slowly in the blue sky. The morning air is still cool as I cradle one sleeping niece and watch another play with her friends. The three of them giggle and whisper as they spy on me to see if I know their game. I warn the toddlers against breaking the small, low…
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Searching for Sea Creatures in the Desert
Merzouga Sand Dunes, Sahara Desert, March 2023 There’s something about Morocco that stays inside some people. “It gets under your skin and stays there,” I observed to my friend who has lived in Marrakech for four years now. “You love Morocco,” my former tutoring student informed me when I visited her and her family in…
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Despite It All
December 25, 2015. When I was a child, the week before Christmas seemed to last longer than the rest of the weeks of the year combined. My anticipation for the wonder of Christmas Eve and the joy of Christmas morning grew tortuous in the final push to that church candlelight service every December 24th. Despite…
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Memory.
One. My mom used to tell the story of my early childhood love for books with her signature blend of love and humorous self-chagrin: “I’d have just put all the board books back on the your shelf, Kate, when I’d turn the corner back into the living room and see you sitting there, with every…