athesaurus.com

…breathe deeply and often…

  • Bridal White

    Say yes to the dress. There’s power in the dress. I remember my sister standing in the dressing room as she stepped into the puddle of white satin on the floor. The puddle became an armor of white. Bridal white.  At twenty-three, I was reluctant to get a wedding dress. I couldn’t bear to go Read more

  • The Tree

    Once upon a time, I felt like I was separate from everyone else, standing off to the side by myself. I felt ugly and freakish. I just didn’t feel like I was in the forest with the rest of the trees. I felt like a different species that had been planted in the yard as Read more

  • Kinship

    The artists couldn’t have been more different. One used a palette knife to sculpt landscapes of heaven. He caught the flickering glint of stars and swirling clouds of gas and light with oily pigments. He imprisoned the light and wonder of Orion, caught his bow in mid-aim. His kin captured the magnificence of the heavens Read more

  • Jung Smung

    Jung says, “No matter what the world thinks about religious experience, the one who has it possesses a great treasure, a thing that has for him become a source of life, meaning and beauty, and that has given a new splendor to the world.” I’ve experienced many denominations of religious faith in my life. The Read more

  • Ceraunophilia (n) loving thunder and lightning and finding them intensely beautiful

    “The lightning webbed and arced across the black sky. Thunder of a thousand sonic booms shook the whole house. It did it again and again and again. “I got it on my camera, look. It’s phenomenal. I bet it goes viral. “What do you think?” asked Sadie. “Look, here it comes again. James Weldon Johnson’s Read more

  • Mommy’s Angel

    I begged for a guitar for Christmas. I got down on my knees in supplication to Mom one Saturday morn when the snow was knee deep outside, I remember. That’s all she heard that year. I did every chore she gave me with glee, on the outside at least, three quarters my best instead of Read more


  • Delight Risk

    Either you will fall, or will be taught to fly.

  • High School Gossip

    “I heard they broke up and Tom was going to ask Janeen to the prom,” Becky announced it in Social Studies class. “Betty was all upset about it in English this morning. She was so mad she was crying. I’d hate to be Janeen,”  “How do you know that’s why Betty was so mad and…

  • Anticipation

    Anticipation, sweaty palms shaking; Jittery, bouncing a foot on the floor Trembling legs crossing, uncrossing, twitching Recheck your hair in a makeup mirror Peek out the window, hover by the door Pace — hide your face behind your hands, cover Hover again, then sit quivering A pounding heart, lack of concentration Glances at the clock,…

  • Company

    Tonight. I am company. I tread lightly in my extended family’s home. I am a guest. I am on good behavior. I tell and listen to the telling from children with wide ears, eyes, and smiles. I am more polite than usual.  I have helped the eldest son get an A on an English paper,…

  • Interrupting Birdsong

    I asked for the time, but the darkness didn’t answer. I rolled out of bed, and walked down the hall to the kitchen. The clock on the stove said 3:00 a.m., so why not make coffee and enjoy the quiet of the morning? Listen to the songbirds and the breathing of the sleeping humans in…