• Purple Sage

    “Purple sage?”  My cousin stared at me blankly.  “That’s what the note said?  Is it supposed to be some sort of code?”  “I have no idea,” I said shrugging.  “If it wasn’t some sort of code, what would it mean?”  Justin and I were pouring over our grandparents’ old books and diaries of their life…

  • Life

    I knew about the ups and downs  I expected them  What I wasn’t prepared for  Was you.  I didn’t know I was waiting for you  Until I saw you.  Your smile Your eyes  The way you made me feel  Made everyone feel  Now you’re gone  And I am over. 

  • Woodland Creatures

    When I told my sister about the conversation I had with the fox, I could tell she was jealous.  She didn’t want to admit yet that I could talk to the foxes before she did, but here we are.  We had started school a few weeks before and had a new headmaster and he was…

  • Singing Stones

    The singing stones greeted me like an old friend  I looked for them every day  As I knew they looked for me  Their steadiness soothed me  Helped me  Calmed me  Every time I heard the   Singing stones  I was fortified  My strength returned  My eyes opened  I was home 

  • First Impressions

    I loved going to the beach every year.  I loved the beach from the very first time my toes sank in the sand.  Every weekend I begged my mom to take my brother and I to the beach since it was only a short fifteen-minute drive away.  She was a freelance writer who often whisked away for stories and interviews, but was able to schedule…

  • Shining

    The water was calling my name.  Brilliant, vast and scary  It called and I screamed  Water knew my name, but  I just wanted to forget  our relationship.  Forget we ever met.  But I was blinded  By ambition  By mercy  By fear. 

  • Mother of Beauty

    I always wanted to be exactly like my mother.  She was the nicest person I had ever met and was always surrounded by people.  I wanted to be just like her, but the more I tried, the more I felt my own spirit drifting away.  Drifting away to drown.  I found myself drowning in regret…

  • Horse Drawn Carriage

    “Last night I dreamed we left town on a horse drawn carriage,” my sister said from the backseat of my minivan.  I hated driving the old beat-up rust bucket, but if I wanted any life at all, it was in this minivan.  And if Gina was to get anywhere, I was most often responsible for getting her…

  • Schoolhouse

    Thousands of little words  Open to me as I sit  In silence, enraptured  By the beauty of my spirit  The expanse of my learning  The places I can go  Just by learning the words  How they go together  Rest together  Adventure awaits  Full of hope and resilience 

  • Sanctuary

    I always felt like the park next to my house was my sanctuary.  When my parents started fighting or I was feeling claustrophobic in our tiny house, I went to the park.  There were plenty of benches to do my homework and for the most part, the families who frequented the park were dog friendly. …