It’s not often I quote something without a post to go with it, but time is short today and this is worth passing along. From Pedro Arrupe: Nothing is more practical than finding God,that is, than falling in lovein a quite absolute, final way What you are in love with,what seizes your imagination,will affect everything.It…

the word holds it’s own imagephoto (light) – graphy (writing)rays as old as the universecaptured on paper, lookinglike you and me one pastafternoon, another at sunset,and on through the stack of time that stays in the oldshoebox, waiting to be seenagain, to let the years’ lightcatch up like stars we canfinally see, the click of…

When I taught in the Boston Public Schools, one of my colleagues who became a friend was a man named Ed, who was a good eight inches taller than I was, in much better shape, and always had on a coat and tie. He is also African-American He told me a story of driving his…

I have been in poetry mode all this week, so it seems only fitting that I should discover, here in the dregs of this day, that today is W. S. Merwin’s birthday. In honor of his celebrating another year on the planet, I offer two or three of his poems. The first two I found…

there was something in the autumnal airto begin with: not a chill, an awakeningas soon as I stepped out of the houseI breathed in the crisp chill of possibilityand, as I turned toward the car, I sawthe sky – cloudless, clear, and colored inopen invitation blue; all that was missingwas a soundtrack, which I added…

at our church means saying where it hurts, or who it hurts, out loudwe call the names of those we loveand those we know who are sickor dying or have lost someone orare just lost and our pastor tells usGod is not waiting for her to repeatthe requests — our joys and concernsdo not require…

a story has an arc, the teacher told usand drew a line like a colorless rainbowon the blackboard — you remember, right? exposition, rising action — fueled by conflictthe climax at the top, and then falling actionfalling so far that we spoke French: denouement resolution to you and me and I wondered whatwould happen if…

Ray Charles was born today.My parents had an old LP of his,“Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music,”that I played over and over andI remember how I could feel“You Don’t Know Me” tearing upmy insides; I was seven, maybe.That song still kills me. Bruce Springsteen was born today.My senior year in high school he madethe…

so I ask myself this questionit’s a question I often repeatwhere do allergies gowhen it’s after the showand they want to find something to eat?Paul Simon, “Allergies” There once was a man who grew wearyOf the pollen that made his life dreary:“I’ve tried Netis and steamPlus antihistaminesAnd I’m still mostly stuffy and teary.” Peace,Milton

Part of my morning ritual right now is chipping away at Jimmy Webb’s book, Tunesmith, which is about the art and process of song writing. Webb is one of my favorites. In the chapter, “It’s Only Words,” he talks about the songwriter’s task, different than most any other written art form is “technological haiku,” being…