Some time ago, after I was given a collection of Grimm’s fairy tales, I asked my 8-year-old niece if she wanted to read one with me. Lilly said no, she doesn’t like fairy tales: “They have the worst endings. ‘And they all lived happily ever after.’ Stories shouldn’t end that way because that’s not what […]
The Path Where No One Goes
There’s a path outside my window, all covered with fallen leavesAnd I’ve never had the courage to discover where it leads.Many people live around me, they forever come and go,But I’ve never seen a single one walk that particular road. Perhaps there is a loathsome monster lurking around the curve,Or maybe a pernicious dragon I’m […]
Child of Eternity
When I was young – preteen – without the distractions of responsibility and expectation that come with adult life, I found myself from time to time dwelling on the mystery of why I existed. How had I become a person? Why did I look like I did? Why did anyone look like they did? Where […]
The Ingredients We Have on Hand
One of my favorite illustrations of the writing process comes from Madeliene L’Engle’s book Walking on Water. In it she compares writing books to cooking dinner: she adds a bit to one pot, a bit to another, until one story starts simmering madly and needs her whole attention. Then she pulls that pot to the […]
Enchantment in Every Wood
Camera in hand, I tip-toe along the trail behind one of our local neighborhoods. A tiny creek burbles alongside the path, and the low hum of mosquitoes fills the air with a palpable tension. My finger is poised on the shutter, and my faded tennis shoes seem to whisper against the gravel, as if they, […]
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