Living in the Past
I’ve always liked living in the past best, she said.
It takes less money than I make now.
Living Memory
I carry you with me into the world,
into the smell of rain
& the words that dance between people
& for me, it will always be this way,
walking in the light,
remembering being alive together
Little House
This used to be a mean monster until he got sick one winter with the flu & stayed in bed & watched too much Little House on the Prairie & now the littlest thing & he starts to cry.
Lists
When I was younger I used to keep all the stuff I had in my pockets. There were a lot of rocks & little shiny things. As I got older it got to be too much to carry & I couldn’t remember why I kept it anyway so I finally got rid of it. Now, I make lists
Listening to the Wind
Is there a lot of stuff you don’t understand? she said & I said pretty much the whole thing & she nodded & said that’s what she thought, but it was nice to hear it anyway & we sat there in the porch swing, listening to the wind & growing up together.
Listening Well (for Erik) (masc)
He had the gift of stopping time
& listening well
so that it was easy
to hear who we could become
& that was the future
he held safe
for each of us
in his great heart
you may ask, what now?
& I hope you understand
when we speak softly
among ourselves
& do not answer
just yet
for our future
is no longer the same
without him
Listening Well
the hardest thing is listening well enough to quit worrying about dying
Listening For the Future (Masculine)
I’m on my way to the future, he said & I said, But you’re just sitting there listening & he smiled & said, It’s harder than you’d think with all the noise everyone else is making.
Listening For the Future (Feminine)
I’m on my way to the future, she said & I said, But you’re just sitting there listening & she smiled & said, It’s harder than you’d think with all the noise everyone else is making.
Like-Minded Souls
I’m a Catholic, she said, so I know about suffering.
I’m a homeowner, I said.
She nodded. So, you understand, she said.
Lifetime
We’re here to end it, I said & she said, No, we’re here to begin it & then she turned & opened her arms & everywhere I could see, there were people, like bright birds, calling with a thousand voices & suddenly I understood. Here is where it begins with all of us, together giving our daughters a world worth loving for a lifetime to come.
Life Plan
I asked her what she planned to do with her life & she said she was way beyond that point already. I’m just happy I remember to be there when it happens, she said.
Life Machine
this is a machine that takes your life & does all the hard parts & leaves you all the parts you enjoy & almost everyone discovers they’re not the parts you’d think they were at first glance
Life Cycle
This is a special bike that’s not very good at listening to excuses, so it takes you exactly where you really want to go & if you kick & scream it makes you pedal harder & go up steeper hills until you’re too out of breath to complain & after awhile, if you’re lucky, you start to see that it doesn’t really matter if you laugh or cry, because it just wants to ride like the wind
Lemonade
It’s a nickel a glass, he said, because I can’t charge that much since I ran out of sugar & I asked if he’d had many customers & he said not yet, but he sure hoped so because he didn’t want to have to drink the whole thing himself. It’s a refreshing change, he said, but I think too much will make you sick.
Legacy
I promise you not a moment will be lost as long as I have heart & voice to speak & we will walk again together with a thousand others & a thousand more & on & on until there is no one among us who does not know the truth: there is no future without love.
Leaving Pieces
She left pieces of her life behind her everywhere she went. It’s easier to feel the sunlight without them, she said.
Leaves of Music
She seemed to move everywhere dancing & music followed her like leaves on the wind.
Leaks
places where the light & rain get in with no regard for your virtues or reputation
Leafy Pizza
This is a giraffe bringing a hostess gift of juicy leaf pizza because he is so tired of there never being anything he can eat at these functions.