P’u-Hua Fei Hua A flower and not a flower; of mist yet not of mist; At midnight she was there; she went as daylight shone. She came and for a little while was like a dream of spring, And then, as morning clouds that vanish traceless, she was gone. Po Chui Translated by Duncan Mackintosh …
Month: October 2006
A Whisper
The day after I wrote about the miraculous recovery of Caleb’s goldfish, the damn thing up and died. We had a funeral service in the back yard, beside a tiny redbud sapling. I decided to make it a dual funeral, and include Eli’s goldfish, who died in the middle of the night some weeks before. …
Goldfish and Miracles
I promised my subscribers (that’s right – if you send me your email address I eventually add you to my notification list, which means that you’re updated when I post, usually in the form of a snarky little one-liner direct to your Inbox) that the next post would involve little boys and goldfish. I’m not …
None of the Above
Last month we got a letter from an organization that calls itself “People to People International.” They were writing to invite our daughter to attend, at our expense, be sure, an educational experience in Australia. The letter assured us that “Caroline has been named for this honor by a teacher, former Student Ambassador or national …
On Willful Ignorance
I’m 30,000 feet above vast stretches of empty American land, thinking about how our legislators want to protect us from Mexicans willing to do the work we’re too fat and lazy to do for ourselves, and I’m wishing we could make a swap: one Mexican family for every elected U.S. official. Only then might I …