Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: grief
Book Mark
When my friends’ son died by suicide, I bought them a book. I can remember standing in a bookstore near the San Diego harbor, pulling book after book off the shelf, looking for just the right one that would speak to my friends’ terrible… Continue Reading “Book Mark”
The Incredible Endurance of Grief
A gift-wrapped, autographed copy of Diana Nyad’s book Find A Way came in the mail today but I don’t know from whom. For a minute, I thought maybe I’d ordered it in some drunken haze but I quit that business a long time ago. Drunken glows,… Continue Reading “The Incredible Endurance of Grief”
Minnie and BowWow Discuss Sadness
BowWow: There’s been a lot of death talk talk around here lately. It’s a downer, man. Minnie: I know what you mean. It seems like everything is downhill from here. BowWow: Way to cheer me up, Minnie. Minnie: Sometimes you can’t get cheered up,… Continue Reading “Minnie and BowWow Discuss Sadness”
Dangerous
Anything can happen. I remember my daughter telling me this. It was after the apartment next to hers in Palm Springs blew up in the middle of the night. She’d been in her new place just a few days, unwittingly moving next door to… Continue Reading “Dangerous”
Elegy Updated
Stand with 10,000 ghosts Hear their last words Hurrying to the river Running into the trees Shedding this life for new Drop your envy and yearning on the ground Nestle your love in the rocks’ mortar Be part of the wall that stays behind… Continue Reading “Elegy Updated”
After Your Funeral
When you’re gone Your things stay They breathe And live Replace you Speak you What you were Parts in stacks In drawers Things forgotten Now precious Pieces of paper You touched are golden
Witness to War
My parents never came. If they had come, things would have been different. My mother would take up her spot next to the kitchen sink. She would stand with her arms folded and a dish towel over her shoulder, the smoke from her cigarette… Continue Reading “Witness to War”
When Your Mother Dies
When your mother dies, you will take care of things. You’ll call her friends on the phone and tell them one by one that their friend has died. You will listen as they nod and wait for them to tell you stories about her… Continue Reading “When Your Mother Dies”
When Your Father Dies
When your father dies, you will be at a loss for words. If it’s a surprise, you will burst into tears. You will cover your face with your hands and cry like you were six-years old, like the time you got lost on the… Continue Reading “When Your Father Dies”
Happy is a Razor
The tiny box of razor blades was right where I knew it would be, buried on the second shelf of the linen closet, amidst hotel bottles of shampoo and bubble packs of cold medicine. It was on my walk that it came to me.… Continue Reading “Happy is a Razor”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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