A simple place for essays, experiments, and useful ideas.
Notes and essays, organized by date.
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659 published posts across 11 pages.
April 28, 2022
I had William Wordsworth open with a marked envelope nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in…
April 27, 2022
Berkeley Heights looked ordinary from the road, which is usually when a place is easiest to underestimate. Union County keeps a lot of its memory in street names, rail crossings, old storefront shapes, and the odd bend…
April 26, 2022
The thing that stayed with me was not a headline but a kitchen detail: rationing, blackout cloth, a careful hand with what was left. World War II can become too clean in memory if it is only told through victories. The…
April 24, 2022
I had Christina Rossetti open with an old pen nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the cha…
April 15, 2022
I had William Blake open with cold coffee nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the chair.…
April 14, 2022
The thing that stayed with me was not a headline but a kitchen detail: rationing, blackout cloth, a careful hand with what was left. World War II can become too clean in memory if it is only told through victories. The…
April 11, 2022
Said a short prayer in the evening before walking into the next thing. Nothing dramatic happened. It still helped to stop arguing with the day for a minute.
April 6, 2022
The late hour started with a grocery receipt curling near the sink and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next.…
April 4, 2022
A simple plate can feel like a relief when food has become too loud. I understand why people are drawn to fewer choices. It can quiet the bargaining for a while. That does not make it magic, and it does not make it righ…
April 2, 2022
Clark looked better from the side street than from the main road. That is usually true of New Jersey towns. You have to miss the quickest way through.
April 1, 2022
I had William Blake open with gas-station coffee nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the…
March 31, 2022
Read Proverbs 3 while the house was still half-noisy. I did not get far. One sentence was enough to interrupt the mood I was carrying.
March 29, 2022
Passed through Westfield and caught one small thing: a sign, a doorway, somebody carrying coffee too carefully. That was the whole note. Some towns are mostly made of things you only see while stopped at a light.
March 23, 2022
The old war notes I was reading made me think less about speeches and more about boots, mud, and mail. World War I becomes too large to hold if it stays only on maps. The smaller details bring it back down to human size…
March 22, 2022
I had Robert Frost open with an old pen nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the chair. I…
March 17, 2022
Gas-station coffee sat next to the open page, and Ecclesiastes 3 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only…
March 12, 2022
Union looked ordinary from the road, which is usually when a place is easiest to underestimate. Union County keeps a lot of its memory in street names, rail crossings, old storefront shapes, and the odd bend of traffic.…
March 12, 2022
An old pen sat next to the open page, and James 1 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks past it.…
March 9, 2022
The morning started with a church bulletin folded in half and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next. Prayer is…
March 5, 2022
I had George Herbert open with a pocket notebook nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the…
March 4, 2022
A pocket notebook sat next to the open page, and Psalm 121 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks…
March 1, 2022
The table in Plainfield had a paper napkin under one leg and coffee that had been sitting too long. That is not a complaint. Some meals are remembered because the room makes room for a tired person. Neighborhood food is…
February 25, 2022
The receipt was too long for the meal, which somehow felt right. A good counter can forgive a rushed lunch.
February 16, 2022
The receipt was too long for the meal, which somehow felt right. A good counter can forgive a rushed lunch.
February 15, 2022
Scotch Plains looked better from the side street than from the main road. That is usually true of New Jersey towns. You have to miss the quickest way through.
February 14, 2022
An old pen sat next to the open page, and Psalm 121 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks past i…
February 12, 2022
A chipped mug sat next to the open page, and Ecclesiastes 3 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walk…
February 11, 2022
A library receipt sat next to the open page, and James 1 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks p…
February 8, 2022
I had Robert Frost open with a library receipt nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the ch…
February 7, 2022
Linden looked better from the side street than from the main road. That is usually true of New Jersey towns. You have to miss the quickest way through.
February 7, 2022
An old pen on the kitchen table caught my attention and then the day kept moving. Not much to say beyond that. I wrote it down because small things disappear fast.
February 7, 2022
A mourning dove held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban N…
January 30, 2022
An old pen on the kitchen table was enough to slow the evening down for a minute. Most days do not announce what they are going to mean. They leave small evidence and let a person decide whether to notice. I am trying t…
January 29, 2022
Union looked ordinary from the road, which is usually when a place is easiest to underestimate. Union County keeps a lot of its memory in street names, rail crossings, old storefront shapes, and the odd bend of traffic.…
January 29, 2022
A simple plate can feel like a relief when food has become too loud. I understand why people are drawn to fewer choices. It can quiet the bargaining for a while. That does not make it magic, and it does not make it righ…
January 27, 2022
Stopped near the edge of a local lake long enough to check the water and make one bad cast. No fish. No tragedy. The wind had better timing than I did.
January 23, 2022
The late hour started with an old pen on the kitchen table and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next. Prayer i…
January 22, 2022
The table in Berkeley Heights had a paper napkin under one leg and coffee that had been sitting too long. That is not a complaint. Some meals are remembered because the room makes room for a tired person. Neighborhood f…
January 21, 2022
New Providence looked better from the side street than from the main road. That is usually true of New Jersey towns. You have to miss the quickest way through.
January 21, 2022
A heron held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban New Jerse…
January 6, 2022
A simple plate can feel like a relief when food has become too loud. I understand why people are drawn to fewer choices. It can quiet the bargaining for a while. That does not make it magic, and it does not make it righ…
January 4, 2022
The line went out badly near a small pond, and there was no way to pretend otherwise. Fishing has a way of making impatience visible. The water does not care how clean the cast looked in a person's head. I watched the w…
January 3, 2022
The table in Cranford had a paper napkin under one leg and coffee that had been sitting too long. That is not a complaint. Some meals are remembered because the room makes room for a tired person. Neighborhood food is n…
December 31, 2021
Roselle Park looked ordinary from the road, which is usually when a place is easiest to underestimate. Union County keeps a lot of its memory in street names, rail crossings, old storefront shapes, and the odd bend of t…
December 30, 2021
There was a time when late coffee felt like a normal bad idea. Now even bad ideas seem to need nicer lighting.
December 30, 2021
A mourning dove held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban N…
December 28, 2021
The table in Clark had a paper napkin under one leg and coffee that had been sitting too long. That is not a complaint. Some meals are remembered because the room makes room for a tired person. Neighborhood food is neve…
December 22, 2021
The old war notes I was reading made me think less about speeches and more about boots, mud, and mail. World War I becomes too large to hold if it stays only on maps. The smaller details bring it back down to human size…
December 19, 2021
Psalm 121 showed up again today, this time with cold coffee on the counter in view. No big lesson. I just noticed that the line had more patience than I did.
December 15, 2021
I had Walt Whitman open with a folded napkin nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the chai…
December 14, 2021
New Providence looked ordinary from the road, which is usually when a place is easiest to underestimate. Union County keeps a lot of its memory in street names, rail crossings, old storefront shapes, and the odd bend of…
December 11, 2021
A library receipt sat next to the open page, and Ecclesiastes 3 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only…
December 5, 2021
Romans 8 was the page I opened to, and I almost closed it too quickly. Some days a familiar line only needs a second chance.
December 4, 2021
The receipt was too long for the meal, which somehow felt right. A good counter can forgive a rushed lunch.
November 30, 2021
I had Christina Rossetti open with gas-station coffee nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in…
November 30, 2021
Read Romans 8 while the house was still half-noisy. I did not get far. One sentence was enough to interrupt the mood I was carrying.
November 29, 2021
Read Psalm 121 while the house was still half-noisy. I did not get far. One sentence was enough to interrupt the mood I was carrying.
November 26, 2021
A pocket notebook sat next to the open page, and Psalm 23 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks…
November 21, 2021
I had William Wordsworth open with cold coffee nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the ch…
November 20, 2021
The thing that stayed with me was not a headline but a kitchen detail: rationing, blackout cloth, a careful hand with what was left. World War II can become too clean in memory if it is only told through victories. The…