Themes
Paradise
I could never live in Paradise, she said. I don’t look that good naked.
Partial Enlightenment
The problem with knowing everything’s going exactly as it needs to is that when you’re not having that much fun it doesn’t even do any good to complain.
Partial Virtue
She went everywhere with a basket filled daily with a fresh blueberry muffin. It’s either that or cigarettes, she said. I am only strong enough for a life of partial virtue.
Outsider
I’m an outsider by choice, she said, but I’m hoping that won’t be my choice forever.
Over Time
she reached over time to pick the flower since she wasn’t going to be near there again for a long while
Open Heart
He told me one time he forgot himself & his heart opened up like a door with a loose latch & he tried for days to put it all back in proper order but finally he gave up & left it all jumbled up there in a pile & loved everything equally.
Open to the Sky
The top of his head was open up to the sky & when he walked down the street he’d end up with strange things in there like the number of dogs in China, or the time it takes to cook a pig. It’s not really useful, he said, but I’d miss this stuff if it ever closed up.
Opera Man
My uncle told me once there were 3 rules for a great opera. Make it loud, wear flashy clothes & if it’s not going your way, kill yourself. It has no basis in reality, he added. That’s why I like it.
Opposition
I just tell them to do things they already want to do, she said, & even then, it’s like pulling teeth.
Options
I told him if he kept being mean to his brother he might come back as a rodent in his next life & he shrugged & said that’s the chance he’d have to take.
Ordinary Life
Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life.
One A Day
They don’t have very long memories, so every morning seems like a miracle.
One Child
I hope it will be said we taught them to stand tall & proud, even in the face of history & the future was made new & whole for us all, one child at a time.
One Piece Body
likes her body a lot, especially the way she can fling it all around in all sorts of directions & it still stays connected in one piece
One Us
Today all I could remember was the way your body held the ocean of my self & for a moment there was only one us in all creation.
One of Those Moods
I don’t want anything from you, I said, unless you want me to want something from you & she smiled & said, I knew you were in one of those moods.
One of Us
Someday, the light will shine like a sun through my skin & they will say, What have you done with your life? & though there are many moments I think I will remember, in the end, I will be proud to say, I was one of us.
Old Ways
Except for the running naked through the forest, there’s not a lot I miss.
On the Lookout
The two of them went riding off into the Future one day when they ran into a group of old people out looking for roots & when they stopped to see if they could help, all the old people laughed & said they had more experience. One woman said the Future wasn’t even there except for the bad parts, because the Future’s always worse than before & then the old people left, walking slowly, shouting at each other about the weather. The two of them looked at each other for a minute & then they said, let’s go off to the Future again & before they left they made a rule to keep on the lookout for old people.
Old Cat
Sometimes I think I’m going to end up all alone in a cold apartment living on cat food from a can but I guess that’s not so bad since I’m a cat after all.