Write about shoes. Your shoes, a baby’s shoes, or a grandmother’s slippers. A pair of shoes hanging by the laces on a high wire. A favorite pair of hiking boots. Ballet shoes. Sandals worn on vacation. Shoes.
Month: March 2021
Perseverance
By M.A. Dooley “Dad, why do people think the moon is made of cheese?” “Because of the holes, it looks like swiss cheese.” “Dad, what are the holes made of?” “They’re craters made by asteroids crashing on the surface.” “Dad, can an asteroid crash here?” “It’s possible, but not probable.” “Dad, is a shooting star a dying sun?” “No, they are meteorites burning up in earth’s atmosphere.” “But they’re good luck, right dad?” The Mars landing reminded me of days of infinite possibilities. I was born to an aerospace engineer who flew to Cape Canaveral for satellite launches. The morning of the Apollo 12 lift-off, our family huddled around a black and white picture box. My little brother was just happy in mom’s soft lap. I, the older one and already like my dad, asked innumerable questions before count down. Mom shushed me so dad could narrate the details…
California Winter
California Winter By Patricia Morris (with thanks to Ted Kooser) The wind turns the pages of rain As drops splatter on the skylights, beating a rhythm punctuated by the cracks of unmoored oak limbs hitting the roof. The rain chain dances, brass acorns jingling, water swooshing through its cups. The creek rushes over rocks, gushes into the culvert and out again, making its overground / underground way to the river. The thirsty earth soaks it in, filters it down into empty aquifers. One chapter ending, another beginning. Freewrite inspired by the poem, A Rainy Morning, by Ted Kooser Patricia Morris misses the summer thunderstorms of her rural Midwestern upbringing, but enjoys observing and writing about the California rains from her home in Petaluma. After careers as diverse as…