FLYING: Confessions of a Free Woman

“Does God talk to you?” I asked him. He paused for a moment. A few minutes before, we had both passed on taking communion. It could have just been me, actually–I was sitting closer to the aisle and I think he was waiting for me to move first toward the altar to […]

potential - from the root word potent - powerful - effective - able to perform (not necessarily sexually) - able to impregnate (normally masculine - see impotent)
As much as I may despise this particular word and its origins, I despise my own - my possession of this “trait” or whatever you may want to call […]

My mother, who is about to turn 80 years old, asked all of her children to spend the holidays with her and my father in Florida for her birthday. Three of her five children could come, along with children and partners. My parents rented a house near the beach and we spent five days together, […]

I feel as though my family is disintegrating.
My nonna, 89 years old, has been feeling the aches and pains of being that age. A healthy woman all her life, she is not used to it, but being on the outside, my family knows how lucky she is that her most serious ailments include, some arthritis […]

 Inspired by Natasha’s post “Birthdays”

As the year races to an end, I have been thinking a lot about the concept of stability. The outer world market has made it impossible to avoid. At the same time, I work with a lot of young people, fresh out of college, and I have noticed how hard it […]

Last post, I wrote about my visit to Santa Cruz to celebrate the launch of the new anthology, Sisters Singing: Blessings, Prayer, Art, songs, Poetry and Sacred Stories by Women.  Jennifer suggested that I share my poem from the book — so here it is! It is in the section called “Songs of a Luscious […]

I’m trying to get my thoughts together… I’ve actually been trying for the past two weeks. I’ve been waiting to have something to post about that doesn’t seem like a teenage girl’s diary.
With no luck, I free write hoping to have something suitable for public ingestion. I can’t get my thoughts together, more so than anytime […]

I had noticed a difference between them. If I were to name it, it was a precious melancholy. As if, they were saying good-bye before the other was gone. A conscious reverence like one might have when they know the other is terminally ill—making sure to honor every moment in the sacredness of it.
I saw […]

I had been to South Africa many times for work and I often told people that, “I had fallen in love with the country”. But what I never explained is that I had also fallen in love with a South African man and perhaps that affected the way I saw the country. As the saying […]

Sooner than I could fully open my eyes on Wednesday 5th November, I rushed to my computer.  It was 6:45 am in London.  While my computer was starting up for what seemed like an eternity, I had butterflies in my stomach.  The BBC page finally uploaded.  In a split second my eyes caught the link […]

Terminally unique.
Is that the phrase that I heard? Used to describe people so separated from the human condition by their individuality that it is not possible for them to believe others might possibly be capable of feeling the same way that they feel. Was the phrased used by a teacher - describing or questioning her […]

I am alive. I know this because my pen hits paper occasionally. I have been reminded time and again to write if for nothing more than the importance of staying present. Focusing on the here and now. I write to remind myself I exist, that the day before last actually happened and, that a month […]

Two years ago, I realized that my identity had been stolen. Credit card debt had silently been accruing under my name for a couple of years on purchases I never made. It was terrifying to face the possibility of being held accountable for thousands of dollars (which I didn’t have), but even more […]

It’s been seven years and it feels like it was yesterday. 15 November 2001, the day summer became winter and day became night: that was the day I first felt the impact of crime. Things were happening to other people, and I read about terrible deaths in newspapers and saw them on television. I felt […]

I was having a chat with my girls a few days ago… one of the girls had her heart broken and she was crying. She’d just found out that her boyfriend was seeing someone, and that the lady is expecting his child. She was really heart broken - they’ve been dating since primary school,and they’ve […]