Family Vacation by John Kenney This is relaxing I think to myself on the first day of our vacation as I hide in the men’s room of a Roy Rogers at a rest stop just off bumper-to-bumper I-95 while the kids continue fighting with tennis racquets in the back seat. And only five more hours […]

Horseplay by George Bilgere I am floating in the public pool, an older guy who has achieved much, including a mortgage, two children, and health insurance, including dental. I have a Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, and my car is large. I have traveled to Finland. In addition, I once met Toni Morrison […]

Lunch with Shirley by Judith Viorst So sometimes I wake in the morning and I’m thinking That this could turn out to be my last day on earth, So I’d better start savoring every precious moment, Each and every relentlessly precious, relentlessly blessed moment Of what could turn out to be my last day on […]

THE CHORUS 1. It’s, you know, the part that repeats, the bit you’re supposed to remember, the bit that bears repeating, the part that means something new each time, something different, and the same thing, too the thing you can’t forget, that gets stuck in your head. So, like, childhood is endless and over almost […]

Japanese Maple’ by Clive James Your death, near now, is of an easy sort. So slow a fading out brings no real pain. Breath growing short Is just uncomfortable. You feel the drain Of energy, but thought and sight remain: Enhanced, in fact. When did you ever see So much sweet beauty as when fine […]

The Learning Curve by Louis Jenkins There are certain concepts that I only vaguely under- stand but that people talk about all the time. You frequently hear the term “learning curve,” for instance. I suppose that refers to how one learns a new skill or gains knowledge over a period of time, described as an […]

December 1st by Billy Collins Today is my mother’s birthday, but she’s not here to celebrate by opening a flowery card or looking calmly out a window. If my mother were alive, she’d be 114 years old, and I am guessing neither of us would be enjoying her birthday very much. Mother, I would love […]

Meeting and Passing by Robert Frost As I went down the hill along the wall There was a gate I had leaned at for the view And had just turned from when I first saw you As you came up the hill. We met. But all We did that day was mingle great and small […]

Old Friends Old friends are a steady spring rain, or late summer sunshine edging into fall, or frosted leaves along a snowy path— a voice for all seasons saying, I know you. The older I grow, the more I fear I’ll lose my old friends, as if too many years have scrolled by since the […]

I Save My Love by Marjorie Saiser I save my love for what is close, for the dog’s eyes, the depths of brown when I take a wet cloth to them to remove the gunk. I save my love for the smell of coffee at the Mill, the roasted near-burn of it, especially the remnant […]