Yesterday the smoke detector in our apartment started chirping that terrible chirp that you can’t ignore, and saying in a woman’s voice “low battery.” “Chirp. Low battery.” “Chirp. Low battery.” My husband replaced the batteries and she kept chirping and asking for a battery. He pushed buttons to reset it, which resulted in squawking, something … More And I wondered,
The sunrise is a reward for waking up, the universe saying, “hey good job, you’re here another day” (except those cloudy mornings, when even the universe wants to stay in bed.) Spring flowers are a reward for making it through winter, through the polar vortex, when it was so cold that pipes burst, sending a … More Narcissistic Me
…if the power that comes from bearing up and bearing down were translated into a coinage, with a womb on one side and an umbilical cord on the other—my God, that coin would be more valuable than any gold on the earth. … More Those Men
the sound of those wings— eight, ten vultures circling East to West, sawing the air— whorls between swirls of clouds and Star Magnolia’s nascent blooms
The wind is rearranging things today– the March lion is roaring early (this being February), stirring shadows as if it could alter the dance of life itself. On Facebook, I see an old woman in Chicago almost blown away, then helped into a cab by two young strangers. Beside the road, an old … More This Being February
Last weekend I attended the 2015 Indiana Faith & Writer’s Conference (which, by the way, was wonderful.) Part of the small registration fee goes toward time with an author, agent, or publisher, and I was fortunate enough to find time on Tania Runyan’s schedule. She is the author of two books (among others) titled How to … More Urbs in Horto – Revised
If I lived in Chicago, I wonder if there would be a constant tug from the neat, locked stream that runs through the Lurie Garden– if I would wake up every morning and think about arranging my day so I could lower myself onto the smooth, gray-planked walkway, remove my shoes and couple them nearby, … More Urbs in Horto*
Last November I participated in NaNoWriMo, an online community challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. It was my second NaNoWriMo and I really enjoyed it. But when I got to December, I yearned for another writing challenge to take advantage of all the momentum from November, so I made one up: … More Poem-a-Day
I remember seeing Robin Williams once, at the Seattle Art Museum. I was at the café, looking out the window at the street in one of those seats that is for people who are alone, just a stool and a counter. I heard a voice behind me and realized it was familiar. Familiar, here in … More Exercise #1
Fog is like the valley pulling a blanket over itself and hitting the snooze alarm— “Not yet, sun.” This place must have had a hard day yesterday, all that grass to grow and leaves exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen— all those birds to support on branches (but the orioles sway on slender reeds, showing off … More Snooze Alarm
Susan Fuchtman 