athesaurus.com

…breathe deeply and often…

  • What makes me giggle? I giggle when I get attention I don’t understand. I feel too exposed, and I don’t like the word “vulnerable.” I’ve worked too hard not to be. I need to giggle more. It’s supposed to be good for you. I’ve heard it burns calories better than exercise. Some folks are born

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  • Poor Ophelia

    Poor Ophelia.  Honor the birds that sing for you Listen for their songs Delight in their music If you can If you can Damn you, Hamlet, the twin that didn’t live  ruined everything. Daddy won’t ever be right again.  And there’s no room for you, is there, little girl? Mad’s triple talk. Are you out

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  • Grown Up

    The first time I ever felt like a grown up was on the Monday before the surgeon told me the boys were coming Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. “Not to worry,” said the husband, “our lifestyle won’t change much.” The baby beds hadn’t been bought, the nursery hadn’t been painted. He said he’d see to that. 

    Read more

  • Being Prompt

    Being Prompt “You’re early,” “You were here first, and it doesn’t start for another hour,” said AJ. “So, what are you doing here now? Everything’s been done. They’ve got people for everything,” “I like to fine tune the space’s vibe. Play some music maybe, get the ambiance going in the right direction. Tune the energy

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  • If I Didn’t Live Here If I didn’t live here I might as well live in a fishing village in Scotland. I did in a past life and worked in a clock shop, and wore burlap, even my shoes were burlap. I lived above the shop, right on the sea wall. My job was to

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  • Feral UFO

    “It rose up from the Earth like a feral UFO. I swear,” “You’re just aggravated that you had to get up early. You wanted to sleep late, and don’t pour anything but distilled water on my amaryllis, it will die. I’ve been babying that thing. It’s beautiful, and I want it to stay that way. 

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  • Ghost Cat

    Aaron felt something wrap around his leg, and he jumped.

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  • Houdini Gigs

    “I believe the the most important single thing beyond discipline  and creativity is daring to dare.”  Maya Angelou “K, so, if you go up on that stage there’s a real good chance you’re going to sound bad. You don’t sing, you whine,” Ronnie said.  “I’m not going to sing, I’m going to shine,” said Eddie.

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  • The Mighty Oak

    The Mighty Oak Although it is true that it looks easy, swinging off a rope ain’t what it’s cracked up to be. It takes more engineering and logic than some people have to make it work right.    When the dirt road was eye level to the best swinging branch of the giant oak tree,

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  • How To Invoke A Muse

    Alicia Keyes, cool woman and soul singer, said, “You already have everything you need inside of you right now, today.”  Every ceremony begins with an invocation, a throwback to the Greeks or Romans or one of those ancient peoples who were scared of angering the gods. An invocation is an invitation to the muse to

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  • Post New Year’s Day Analysis

    “Aren’t you supposed to party with pretty plates and finger foods on New Year’s day?” “You’re supposed to put out all these pretty snacks and have your friends over and drink champagne and talk about all the disappointment you got at Christmas.” “You’re supposed to be putting away the Christmas tree, running the sweeper, doing Read more

  • January 1, Writing Prompt

    Jan 1 Writing Prompt I didn’t make this one up. “What chances in my life did I let go or didn’t take?” This is the stuff that four a.m. monologues are made of. I laugh in the face of such insolence, ha. Should we include the stupid alternative choices I made as well? I should Read more

  • New Year’s Resolutions

    Don’t make any, They have no power, no grip That’s not exactly true You always remember them, no matter what you do. It’s a boundary thing. Put your head down and go face first into the maelstrom, get it over with Like shots, jabs, injections When I was in my forty-fives, I swan dove into Read more

  • Karma Whispers

    God, if you say one more weird thing about something, You’ll get punched. Read more

  • Christmas Eve Morning

    “Hell, Stan, there are too many for a list?” Stan shook his head no, and whistled low. Greg oozed frustration. “Were you ever sure about anything?” “ I swear we’re here.” Stan jumped up and dunked on Greg. Steve dunked on both of them, then got serious.  “We’ll never get a list like this right,” Read more

  • A Cat at the Museum

    “I know what “Azure” means, why wouldn’t I know what happiness and tranquility mean? Just because you’re my Papa doesn’t mean you’re smart or anything.” Read more

  • What makes me giggle? I giggle when I get attention I don’t understand. I feel too exposed, and I don’t like the word “vulnerable.” I’ve worked too hard not to be. I need to giggle more. It’s supposed to be good for you. I’ve heard it burns calories better than exercise. Some folks are born

    Read more

  • Poor Ophelia

    Poor Ophelia.  Honor the birds that sing for you Listen for their songs Delight in their music If you can If you can Damn you, Hamlet, the twin that didn’t live  ruined everything. Daddy won’t ever be right again.  And there’s no room for you, is there, little girl? Mad’s triple talk. Are you out

    Read more

  • Grown Up

    The first time I ever felt like a grown up was on the Monday before the surgeon told me the boys were coming Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. “Not to worry,” said the husband, “our lifestyle won’t change much.” The baby beds hadn’t been bought, the nursery hadn’t been painted. He said he’d see to that. 

    Read more

  • Being Prompt

    Being Prompt “You’re early,” “You were here first, and it doesn’t start for another hour,” said AJ. “So, what are you doing here now? Everything’s been done. They’ve got people for everything,” “I like to fine tune the space’s vibe. Play some music maybe, get the ambiance going in the right direction. Tune the energy

    Read more

  • If I Didn’t Live Here If I didn’t live here I might as well live in a fishing village in Scotland. I did in a past life and worked in a clock shop, and wore burlap, even my shoes were burlap. I lived above the shop, right on the sea wall. My job was to

    Read more

  • Feral UFO

    “It rose up from the Earth like a feral UFO. I swear,” “You’re just aggravated that you had to get up early. You wanted to sleep late, and don’t pour anything but distilled water on my amaryllis, it will die. I’ve been babying that thing. It’s beautiful, and I want it to stay that way. 

    Read more

  • Ghost Cat

    Aaron felt something wrap around his leg, and he jumped.

    Read more

  • Houdini Gigs

    “I believe the the most important single thing beyond discipline  and creativity is daring to dare.”  Maya Angelou “K, so, if you go up on that stage there’s a real good chance you’re going to sound bad. You don’t sing, you whine,” Ronnie said.  “I’m not going to sing, I’m going to shine,” said Eddie.

    Read more

  • The Mighty Oak

    The Mighty Oak Although it is true that it looks easy, swinging off a rope ain’t what it’s cracked up to be. It takes more engineering and logic than some people have to make it work right.    When the dirt road was eye level to the best swinging branch of the giant oak tree,

    Read more

  • How To Invoke A Muse

    Alicia Keyes, cool woman and soul singer, said, “You already have everything you need inside of you right now, today.”  Every ceremony begins with an invocation, a throwback to the Greeks or Romans or one of those ancient peoples who were scared of angering the gods. An invocation is an invitation to the muse to

    Read more


  • Barefoot Willie, revisited

    Barefoot Willie sang to his bunny and his bunny sang to him.

  • Carolina on Their Minds

    Mary rolled the joint with a dollar bill and impressed the four others in the room as usual. Every Tuesday for the last two years the “Women of Presence” as they had labeled themselves, met in Lynn’s basement room and got high after work. Mary passed the joint to Sallie, who lit it herself. “I…

  • Healing Presence

    My seven a.m. writing group has been a healing presence for me. I’ve expressed more of myself to that group of people in fact and fiction than I ever have to any relative, friend, or therapist. Because of them, I’ve grown as a writer and a human. The journey continues to be full. I learn…

  • Three or Four Cabinets

    The ladies of the family have a disease. We are besotted with the collecting of pretty vintage dishes. Cheap dime store ceramics, thrift store cut crystal, hand me down depression glass and more fill not one but three china cabinets in my little old lady school teacher’s home. Actually, there are four if you count…

  • Virgie’s Soup

    My grandmother, Virgie made soup from whatever she had in the pantry, canned tomatoes, corn, green beans, potatoes, and carrots.  She cooked it down then thickened it up. It was sour with a hint of all the vegetables working in tandem. Soup days at Virgies’s were reserved for project days. We could work straight through,…