by Emily Wierenga | Apr 18, 2011 | Uncategorized
she arrived in the mail, wrapped in cardboard, hands folded, wings wired, branches entwining figure. she arrived, a gift from faraway friend and i held her tender, this tree, this prayer. i placed her by my ivy by the light of the window where i do the dishes. i... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 15, 2011 | Uncategorized
maybe it’s all about looking out the window.the one that tells you those days of watching snow recede are buried white.the one that’s smeared with peanut butter fingers and drool lips, because your boy can’t stop kissing the outdoorsi couldn’t.... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 13, 2011 | Uncategorized
The smell of her hands reminds me of Africa. Of mangoes mashed, of me, feeding them to her, so small then, so very small and her brother too, and now, she’s feeding me, and why can’t I open my mouth when she wants me to? The sky is pretty, like my pink silk scarf, and... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 12, 2011 | Uncategorized
The wedding came with its flowers and its dress and its big white tent in my parents’ backyard, and we stood beneath the trellis looking white and black and pretty and handsome, a wreath of petals in my hair, and my heart screaming, What is happening?(For more, please... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 10, 2011 | Uncategorized
silence is praise to you, zion-dwelling God… you hear the prayer in it all. (psalm 65)light makes rainbow on dark wood of table, rings of color around our mugs and the teapot of summer-berry and the chocolate chip muffins and our hands folded over words... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
LL Barkat… one of my word-heroes… shares here today, about a special moment with her daughter–a moment almost lost, but then heard for what it was, and sung into time. “Where’s the stapler?” she asks.I answer with my usual reminder,... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 6, 2011 | Uncategorized
i can’t sleep for thinking about him, the little boy in Room, the one who eats from his meltedy spoon and sleeps in a wardrobe and believes the world consists of these four walls for a mother saving him from the germs beyond the door, and i can’t sleep for... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 5, 2011 | Uncategorized
“this is a leaf, and this, grass, and all of this spring, and it is good,” i tell the one in red rubber boots and a smile that appears when dimpled hand touches newand it’s all new, and it’s all good for this boy who splashes puddle and tosses... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 3, 2011 | Uncategorized
Below, the world a wash of cloud and sky and wing and me, belly and leg in airplane seat wiping tears and she, a mother of six, wiping face also, on the screen. A reality show, the one where they do good by fixing up houses and her, a mother of six, crammed into an... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
welcome Laura, poetess from The Wellspring, whose every post makes me turn into a child and long for beauty…The spring winds blow through, making the trees dance and brand new blossoms fly from bending branches. I see him standing in the bay–this child of...