Toile de Jouy

You save me
every day
from being one of those lost souls
with hollow eyes
and a hungry heart
prowling for love

So blown open
so transparent and miniature
proud and distant
searching

Seeking the horizon
the borderline
between your life
and where loneliness begins
a line seldom crossed  

Safe at Home

There is something to be said for routine. In my younger days the idea of settling into a repetitive pattern sounded like a slow death. Change and growth drove me forward like a colonial settler heading for the Pacific. Nothing was ever good enough, no one could really hold my attention, no place felt like home.

When my child was born I realized I needed to stay in one place for a while. This seemed like the right thing to do, and felt terrible. I struggled with my gypsy need for adventure and felt guilty every time I left town for some camping trip. It took years before it started to feel like me.

Now I am quite content here in my corner of the planet. It is pretty where I live and the people are interesting. My daughter is happy here, she has friends and things she likes to do, she is engaged in her community and I am too.   

lucky in love?

by Madeline Laughs

Over lunch one afternoon with a dear friend she remarked to me, “How do you do it? You ended up with such a great guy. How do you make such great choices?” As she reached over to pat my arm with admiration, my entire dating life passed before my eyes.

How did I do it?

Indeed.

Thinking back to all of the potential suitors I had before I met my future husband might give some clues. Allow me to take you on a trip down some of the most memorable parts of my memory lane.  

supersize me…with happiness

by Madeline Laughs

The past two weeks I’ve been writing about a personal situation. It’s one that involves a person I mistakenly thought of as family. I say mistaken because I found out that I am the main topic of conversation, and not in a good way either. She has had some nasty conversations where, most recently, I was referred to as a farm animal.

Block Neck

you left me one too many times and it has broken my heart
now you have taken me back and I am here
like a paper doll
thin and dry, unable to support weight

needing your hand to move, to feel
needing your voice to speak

you return to your solitary routine and I sit
wondering why you feel gone when I see you
so clearly like a ghost I cannot touch
gliding just beyond my reach and turning to dust
under my hands like a butterfly
each time I touch you it takes away some of what makes you fly