Skip to main content

After Mary Oliver

By Peggy Coquet
June 3, 2017

Setting the table,
I place each item carefully
To make it pleasant for the people eating at my table.
The more intent I put in the task,
The more I focus on those who will share food,
The more pleased I am with the result.
Good conversation, honest friendship
And a true sharing of the gift of life.

Making the bed
Whether I am making the bed in the morning
Or making it up fresh with clean bed clothes
I try to honor its importance
As the place where we open to each other
Share secrets, laugh and remember
All the love that has grown
In the garden of our bed.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

White Face

White Face,  William Caldwell            a flash memoir  I’m on my way to interview Frankie Randle. She is an Aid to the Disabled client of my colleague Bob. I cover for him when he is out of the office. When he gets a call she is in the lobby asking for him, Bob’s usual smile slouches to a grimace. He groans; picks up his note pad and releases a long, thick breath that wants to unravel the tapestry of his chest. Slumping past rows of desks and across the office, he trudges down three flights of stairs to the interview room. On his return, he usually wears a deeper slouch along with a thin, sour, scowl. Although my desk is next to his, I never listen to Bob’s debrief with the boss to get any details. The one time I do ask about her, he scoffs, raises his eyebrows, gives me a blank face and turns to stare out the window, searching for a glimpse of the placid bay, I expect. Since Bob is on vacation, it’s my turn. When the call comes, I ru...

Youngest Sibling

Youngest Sibling There is (or was, a few years ago) a thing called “the youngest sibling effect” – or something like that. The idea is that the oldest is smart: he has to teach the second, and the second has to teach the third, on down to the last. * They all learn, because you have to put your thoughts in order to explain things. The last one has no one to teach, so doesn’t learn so well. The nuclear physicist Richard Feynman touched on then this when he said that if you couldn’t explain a concept to a fairly bright high school student, you didn’t understand it yourself. It’s an old concept. Heinlein uses it in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. The protagonist hires a teacher whose first question is, “Well, what are we going to learn this time?” I Have also had it happen to me. I was with this fairly bright administrator at work and commented that it was pretty neat that you could just look at heavy equipment axle assemblies and know how many planetary gears each one had—large ones...

Jesus: Messiah and Lawyer

Vern Schanilec January 13, 2018            Willie Nelson and Waylan Jennings both recorded the song Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys . The lyrics advise “Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such.” Joseph and Mary may just have taken their advice, anachronistically of course, judging by their observation of their son Jesus and how he later matured. “You’re a bright boy son, why don’t you go to the Temple and pursue doctorates in Messiahship and Law."            He followed their advisement, submitted to Temple teachings, and upon returning to Nazareth hung out his shingle (metaphorically speaking) and began a career as an itinerant spokesman for God which would test both his ecclesiastical and legal knowledge.            How do I dare speak of Jesus in such earth-bound and mordant terms. The evidence will sp...