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SHADOW
I want to be your shadow,and not in your shadow,but the shadow itself,so that I might be with you,often unnoticed, forgottenbut present in the lightof day and night. It is a closenessI deeply want, withoutintruding, a presenceyou have with you always,for that is what loverscrave in silence, something morefor which they dare not ask.
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PROPRIETRESS
The cat has progressed to the point where she runs the household. In fairness she does a fine job of it, but we believe that is because she has hired superb help. She knows what needs to be done, and when it needs to be done. She willingly reminds us of what we need to…
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FRUITED PLAINS
As I was cutting up our breakfastfruit this morning, the name Lynette“Squeaky” Fromme came to mind. I would have thought it would beCesar Chavez, given half the fruitwas from California, and I had no thoughtof Gerald Ford or any Republican President,never before at least one full cup of coffeeand generally not even then, but there…
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WHERE
If you desire to getfrom here to there,it helps to knowthere is, andfor that matterwhere here is,for if you do notknow where here is,you cannot getfrom here to therefor with one stephere has moved.And if you do notknow where there iseverywhere you gois there even if itis not the thereyou wanted to go.
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INSTRUCTIONS TO MY ENGLISH LIT CLASS
First, read the syllabusand buy the books we will read.Note that I have carefully selectedworks for which there are no Cliff Notesor their equivalent, so if you werecounting on that consider yourself screwed. When you write an essay, do not ever,let me emphasize EVER, begin by sayingin my opinion, for if I wantedan opinion on…
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ENDGAME
He knew it was timeto call it a career whenthey handed him the listof what he could not say,what terms were verbotten,what topics were off limits. Once upon a time he watchedthe fight over textbooks,how they approached sensitivesubjects like race, war, equality,but he could teach aroundwhatever strictures theywould ignorantly impose. But now whole topics,entire aspects…
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Santa Cruz Wharf, September
The quieter you becomethe more you can hear.— Baba Ram Dass Orion lies over the wharfstaring at the moon, danglinglike an unyielding eye, barring sleepwhile below the waves washonto the shore, licking the pilingsand tasting the sand, a calming roarbroken only by the barkingof the harbor seals.It is not a night for huntingthe bear has…
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SHOWERS
We sat on our lanai last nightin our twin rockers, the catcurled close by but carefullyremoved from the rockersand stared into the sky hopingmeteors would grace uswith their fleeting presence. The moon did appear, shroudedin thin clouds, spectral ghostwaxing slowly in hiding, butthe stars had fled this night,fearing the rain thatthe cloud mantle promised. We…
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UNGAN’s NOT ANY SINGLE WORD
The youngest child,her mind uncluttered,can answer any questionunburdened by words,her answers reboundacross the universe.If you stop strugglingto hear her, letthe silence surroundyou both, you cannotescape the answers A reflection on case 84 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)
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EASY, I SAID
I had great plansfor the day, a simple project,easy install said the instructionsand an hour in, nothing working. Of course it was a weekendso I called for help andthe professional workedanother two hours beforeannouncing nothing doing. We concluded the productwas dead on arrival, as werethe plans I had madefor the bulk of thd day, but…
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an old writer and his words 