Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Holding Water By M.A. Dooley I remember the first winery I designed in the middle of a level vineyard. Construction began after the vines were removed and the earth was excavated for the foundation. A big storm hit the northern Sonoma County and lasted for days. At the jobsite meeting, the crew had erected a sign at the edge of a large body of captured rainwater where the future building would go. The sign read Lake Dooley, named after me, the architect. It was funny and I laughed. I had great capacity for everything, hard work, men and their jokes, life. My lake would evaporate, percolate, and be drained and no one would ever know of Lake Dooley. The spring of 2023 was too full to process. The snow and rain kept falling, the rivers were…
Tag: M.A. Dooley
Winter Solstice 2021
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Winter Solstice 2021 By M.A. Dooley This blessed day when the light returns, I stand on the mountain of my home Grounded at 7:59 AM and look up. The round moon wanes floating over Saucer clouds docked in the west. A soft haze hangs between me and my Shire, Layered hillocks of veiled emerald, Taste wet and lush as if the drought is over. The sun rises behind a filter of grey Cotton balls connected at fluffy centers like Fat caterpillars in the sky. When the time rings for a celestial split, A tear in the cotton, A thin sliver of blue blinks open And the sun sears my eyes Carving the womb of awakening. I am the field of green softened by one ray, I am the strong back of the moon, Light as the…
Dinner Lines
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Dinner Lines By M.A. Dooley Empty lines without a script, Two old lovers sit stiff like bricks Empty lines planked blue wood top, Inviting ages of warmth and weight. Warmth and weight, young bricks cool, Purpose wanted held at bay. Warmth and weight, mason’s hands Stack staggered bonds, build a wall. Build a wall, the server piles Flowers, wine, the table splits. Build a wall to be broken down With drink, pleasure, taste and texture. Taste and texture laughter blooms, Edges soften like molten stone. Taste and texture spills red wine Dripping, seeping fills empty lines. Empty lines, hushed hands held, Old lovers’ warmth and weight meld. M.A. Dooley is an architect and writer from the Santa Cruz Mountains, Sonoma County, and the Sierra Nevadas. Dooley has been…
Know Your Colors
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Know Your Colors – An Introduction to the Plant Mood Chart By M.A. Dooley Luckily, my face turns colors when I feel emotions. Whether I am sad or happy or embarrassed, angry, jealous, afraid, confident, guilty, content, confused, giddy, flirtatious, thoughtful, nostalgic, hesitant, determined, focused, agitated, brazen –or if I feel a song coming on–I can consult the Plant Mood Chart. Rather than grasping at some external label that’s not quite accurate, I hold up the chart at the mirror, or sometimes with a friend, to make sense of the inside of me. It’s quite convenient, saving me lots of time and effort. Much like the little cannister with the PH and alkaline hues used to test hot tub water, but far more complex, the color chart corresponds to feelings and can even suggest a backstory…