Danez Smith’s “Dinosaurs in the Hood”
“Besides, the only reason / I want to make this is for that first scene anyway: the little black boy / on the bus with a toy dinosaur, his eyes wide & endless” ~ Danez Smith
poetry
Something There Is that Doesn’t Love a Wall
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
Happiness and Intensity
“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.” ~ Thomas Merton “If you want to be happy, be.” ~ Tolstoy Happiness and intensity are not the same thing. I enjoy browsing Gretchen Rubin’s blog The Happiness Project, especially if I’m feeling emotionally stuck or apathetic. Her lively …
The To This Day Project
“We grew up learning to cheer on the underdog because we see ourselves in them.” ~ Shane Koyczan If you haven’t yet seen poet Shane Koyczan’s spoken word “To This Day”—a poem about being young and different and ostracized—do set aside time today to watch and listen. His TED Talk and one of the many …
Can spring be far behind? Or, a different happiness
“A writer is dear and necessary for us only in the measure of which he reveals to us the inner workings of his very soul.” ~ Leo Tolstoy Everyone is talking about the prolonged winter weather. On this second day after the vernal equinox, with spring break and baseball’s opening day only days away, we …