Her heart was cracked open to everything inside her – a deep yearning, a restless calling, a profound softness, a thunderous explosion. Her eyes were closed to everything around her – the golden sand, the blue sky, the rolling surf, the chirping birds. She didn’t want to look away; she wanted to fold herself into …
Continue reading Suspended Existence (flash fiction w/audio)
"Alone" by Edgar Allan Poe From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common spring— From the same source I have not taken My sorrow—I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone— And all I lov’d—I …
A Lingering Memory by Charles Schilling It was a slow kiss Giving warmth to my chilled face. Her lips so light upon me, And her embrace around me. Her hands running delicately through my hair And a hug to my weary body. It envelops me And the heat is so intense. It burns my skin. …
We cannot standardize test our way out of this mess. We need less desks in uniform rows crammed with young bound bodies cracking from the conforming stress. Every other answer a bubbled-in guess. More creative thinkers are needed to get us out of this mess. Shred the excessive expensive tests! Give young minds more tools …
James Arthur Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924 in New York City’s Harlem. Baldwin had a difficult upbringing, which included an evangelical preacher stepfather who struggled financially and who demanded rigorous religious behavior from his nine children. Baldwin’s personal challenges are reflected in his writings, especially in Go Tell It on the Mountain. Baldwin was …
Lifting the Fog by Charles Schilling Here I am. Here I lie. Here I stay, And here I’ll die Here I dwell Here I hold; Here I live Or so I am told. Here I think. Here I’ll call. Here I’ll stand, And here I’ll fall. Here in the quiet I can think. In this …
Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. Sing, and the hills will answer; Sigh, it is lost on the air; The echoes bound to a joyful sound, But shrink from voicing care. Rejoice, and …
One river gives Its journey to the next. We give because someone gave to us. We give because nobody gave to us. We give because giving has changed us. We give because giving could have changed us. We have been better for it, We have been wounded by it— Giving has many faces: It is …
Continue reading “When Giving is all We Have” (a recitation)
My Inspired Life 