Thirty One Years

Thirty one years ago today, after a long battle with a gene mutation that gave her multiple kinds of cancer, my Mom died. She was 52 years old.  This photograph was taken on her 50th birthday.  This year, I will...

The Year Through RP Eyes

I debated writing an end of year post.  I have been in what feels like an endless sinking, felt myself fading so rapidly as the days drag forward, bringing me closer to 50 and what I imagined would be an...

Increments of Five

Why is it that we give monument to increments of five? Why do five and ten hold more weight than three or seven?  The fifth anniversary of my brother's death just passed and five years feels impossible.  I have this...

The Return of Darkness

I have been away,  under the skin of darkness.  I intended to bring along pen and paper, do a bit of blood-letting, record my thoughts; instead, I brought a bottle, numbed out and dreamed of becoming  someone else.  I curled...

A Body Covered in Time

I have been thinking a lot about time.  The passing of it, the motion, the gift and the cruelty of it.  I am thankful for the memories it gives me, the love and friendship.  I  hate it for everything it takes...

Unwavering

I never wrote love poems, not about the good parts of love anyway, until I met my husband, Joe.  Perhaps I had never really been in love before him, or perhaps I didn't know what real love was supposed to...

By Your Side

I have been in a bleak place lately.  It is a familiar place, a place of introspection where I can try to figure out what is bringing on the sadness.  I thought it was because of the shit storm of...

Firecracker

It is hard to find words to describe Kim.  She is electrifying.  Kim is bold, strong, hysterically funny, brazen, smart as hell, the epitome of a tough cookie, and through constant pain and facing seemingly endless adversity, she wrote a...

Hiking With Dogs (A Rant)

There is a popular hiking spot near my apartment.  It is a walk up into the Hollywood Hills and then about 2 more miles up a path that has been carved into the mountain.  There are a lot of beautiful...