Land of English Only

I was born in a land of English speakers,where parents believed speaking Englishwas the key to success. My father was … More

Growing Soft

Sorry to say, but several things about you bother me.For one, you are cleverly invisible most times.I hear your soft … More

March, about those last three days you borrowed from April to warm you up.I can guess why you wouldn’t want … More

My legs are tired, heavy.Each step’s more a slog.The clock slows down.Someone forgot to wind it.Used to stay on top … More

You use your arms to disguise your breasts as elbows,to stop the wind from licking at them,or cross yourself against … More

For my last birthday, I made a donation to the Hawaiian Humane Society.I’d adopted a dog in May and wanted … More

My dad had a store of useful phrases for any occasion.Most memorable for me was, “I need X like I … More

At that insightful moment in this wall-building exercise,I flashed upon those muscles allowing me to pick upthe next stone, that … More

For a long time you have cultured all these seeds,sprouted them like Mother Nature puttering herself,transferred them gently from little, … More

This old house stands a ruin. To restore it would be nothing short of a teardown. The folks on This Old House would take … More

It’s the longest day of the year, in terms not about how your life is trending, but daylight hours. For … More

The convertible top was seven years old now. Under good conditions, Chris figured it would have held up for many … More

Many years have passed, and I still can’t get the image out of my head,all the broken glass I swept … More

Welcome, students, before we get started,I’d like to get to know a little about you.There’s an index card on your … More

A friend, a school band director, professional drummer, jazz fanatic, and high-end audiophile,reports he’s just back from a west coast … More

It was too good to be true, finally, my plan to retire on the Big Island.At 30 I settled on … More

I am but a lowly butter roll, sitting in this tawdry woven basket, on this threadbare pink linen napkin amid … More

I did not know what weather meant until I went to Wisconsin.Winter in Hawai‘i, more rain. Summer, more heat.Spring and … More

It was probably on a push-button phone.I remember how novel it felt to get one of those,replacing the rotary dial-up model that had … More