Nearly every spring when I was a kid in the 1970s, growing up on a horse farm in rural central Illinois, we had ice storms. Often they came in the late afternoon, […]
Ice Storm Quarantine
Spaying and Neutering: It’s a Dog’s Life
“But it is an emergency,” I want to say, or rather wail, as the woman on the other end of the phone says goodbye. No, this isn’t about COVID-19 or any other […]
The Weight Dilemma
The first time my mother disparaged my weight, I was thirteen. I wore a size 7. My best friend and I were shopping, finding outfits for the fashion show our dramatic choir […]
Dear Sister: A Gratitude Letter
Dear Sister, A friend is doing a gratitude diary and it’s been helping her a lot, so I thought I’d try as well. I believe in the practice of gratitude, have seen […]
A Must Read Essay
The author of the essay “Whatever Happened to ________?” published anonymously, because she had to. Stalked by an ex-husband who freaked out due to her greater success as a writer, she has […]
Poetry Chain Letter
I’ve recently been the recipient of a handful of chain email plans, all with one idea: share quotes from poems that have been meaningful, inspiring, or comforting to you. The details of […]
Why I Bought a Golden Retriever Puppy—Even Though I Believe in Rescue
In the 1990s, I had two Golden Retrievers that I took over from my mother. She’d found that they needed too much exercise and she didn’t have the energy for them, and […]
Spending a Life: My Sister, Cancer, and the Present Moment
These days, I write about only one subject: my sister’s cancer. It’s the only subject that feels urgent, the one that dominates my days. Even when my sister and I don’t talk […]
6 REASONS TO PRE-ORDER MY POETRY BOOK
Love Songs from the End of the World poetry by Katherine Riegel Main Street Rag Publishing 2019 1. You save money! It’s $8.50 plus shipping right now; the normal price […]
Let’s School Together
I’m always sure it can’t be real when something good happens for me, especially something having to do with my career. So when my poem appeared on Verse Daily on April 1, […]
The Gloria Sirens 