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PICTURE THIS
Words failed him again. They did so ever more often it seemed, but it was possible it was merely that he was trying to express ever more complex ideas ideas in terms others would comprehend. A picture might not be worth a thousand words, but if you had that many, odds are some would be…
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LADDER
You have to stop and wonder,the child said, why peoplecan take joy in killing, whypeople can scheme each other,why people can cheat if they can. Birds, the child added, onlytry and scheme people for food,why they cheat for the sakeof cheating, kill for pleasure,yet we say we are the higher species. Perhaps, the child concludes,it…
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BEARDED
It is growing more common for menof a certain age, one I have attained,to grow beards, and that was beforethe pandemic made them ubiquitousamong those of the male gender. I noted this aloud and a young childsmiled at me and said, “of course,you have to have a beard becausethe hair inside your head has to…
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BEFORE YOU LEAP
She always told himthat he should, no must,“look before you leap.” He said he understoodand would do so, almostalways, he was after alla child and no promisecould be that absolute. When he came outof the anesthesia,his arm and legin a cast, he saw herscowling at him. “I did,” he said, “I did,I looked for quite…
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LIGHTS
For eight days each Decemberthey call out to me as the flameof the candles flickers out,“Remember me” they say in unison,“remember me”, in the voice of the child,an old woman, in Yiddish,in Polish, German, Czech, Latt.I want to remember but I cannot seea face reduced to ash, blendedinto the earth of a farm field outside…
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WHY NOT
Today in odd places,at the most unexpected moments,a child will smile without reason,a young girl will laugh,the young boy will strokethe neck of a wandering cat,and in that placeat that momentthere will be a simple peace.Only the children will notice this,though it gives lie to thosewho deem peace impossible.A child knows that it isonly preconceptionsand…
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FROM THERE
The middle, she said, is whatis all important, for everythingextends from that precise point. It’s something we learnedas children, a lesson sittingin every good playground. Buddhists know it certainly,it is the way we want to find,the route to peace and compassion. And let’s face it, when it comesto everything, we all knowthat’s the place you…
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LESSONS
The most important lessons he taughtwere in those moments when he wasabsolutely silent, the smile acrosshis face shouting across the backgrounddin of everyday life, his eyes widewith a sort of childish awe that I hadlong since given up as adolescent. The child sees everything for the first timeregardless how many times she hasgazed at what…
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A VISIT
I’ve always imagined that one of these nightsI’d see my mother’s ghost. I would welcome the sightwelcome she that bore me, not she that stepped inin a way,absolving my birth mother of her sin,while assuming adopting me would make her complete. She hasn’t visited yet, neither has done so,but I hold out hope, it is…
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TREPIDATION
I approach it slowly, overcomeby fear and desire, warned to stepcarefully over the uneven earththat on this hillside haven set behindthe rusting wrought iron fence , itsmaster lock dangling askew, peersout through the trees to the Kanawha riverflowing unknowingly through the valley. The stone is set in line with the others,neatly incised, a name, Englishand…
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an old writer and his words 