The Tree at the Gate
The tree, so perfectly silhouetted, a likeness of Form: once prefiguring, then fastened with God, and now foreshadowing, it pines for the...
Two Combatants in the Meantime
Morning time in the swamp pours like honey. The first hint of light serrates the darkness; shadows pliantly chip into opaque shapes....
The Cone of Uncertainty
If I had known I would be digging graves in my backyard, I would have evacuated for the hurricane. We did what everyone does when a...
An Amy Dog Eulogy
My house smells like a pet store. Or maybe a dog kennel. It is the smell of three dogs who dislike baths but love to play, shed, and nap...
Walking on Water
A languid mood occupied Wrightsville Beach at seven in the morning. A few cars paraded the streets. Shopkeepers unlocked grocery marts...
Creative Droughts and Spiritual Famines
The creative life is the greatest life you shouldn’t bother with if you have a choice. It comes at you, stampeding down the slopes of...
Kindred Spirits
You would think birds would be the main attraction on Bird Island. But they aren't. The main reason most people hike to Bird Island is to...
Phineas Gage and The Fully Human Jesus
I’ve run out of ideas. I bounce from one notion to another. Maybe, I think, I’ll write a on flowers. But no, that’s dumb, another essay...
Lamentations
I am sitting where hatred and indoctrination rest against each other like two sleepy dogs lying on a sofa. Here, in this no-man’s-land,...
Birds and Turtles and The Garden God Still Walks
The more I think about it, I’m really quite extraordinary. This may seem a radical departure from my regular Ash Wednesday demeanor –...