We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world. —Jack Gilbert, […]
Accepting Gladness
Dogs and Murder: A Meditation on First-Degree Fun
A lot of people think if you love dogs, you’re probably personifying them. It’s easy to see why when people carry them around in Snuggies or put them in T-shirts that say, […]
Bats at Twilight
I’ve heard how they claim the Congress Street Bridge: like folded fur handkerchiefs hundreds hang on the underbelly. At dusk they swoop out to sport and poach and cloak the sky in […]
Damselfly
Damselfly* Paused on the underside, the damselfly folds her wings across her back like two matched slivers of isinglass. Her body, thin as a thorn, flits by in sepia tone. […]
The Dark Side of the Dog Star
In this last week of the Dog Days of summer, I say let’s take another look at why these days are “dog.” I already mentioned what’s so “major” about Canis Major; the constellation dominates […]
What’s Up the Last Week of the Dog Days?
This is the last week of the Dog Days of Summer, marking the end of the reign of Sirius and the constellation called “Canis Major.” The constellation Canis Major contains the star called “Alpha Canis” […]
A Writer and Her Dog: The Story of Chili
By Nancy Welch Fiction writer Nancy Welch tells the compelling tale of how her beloved, problematic rescue pup Chili romped into her heart. First published in a recent special feature of Ploughshares online called “Writers […]
Serpentinata
by Calypso Jewel Yeats if you thought Leda could not defend herself from a swan you didn’t understand how a woman loves a god who comes as something other than […]
Nina and the Snakeslayer
by Wendy Goddard As roommates go, Mark the Stonemason possessed many qualities to recommend him, none more crucial than his being the recipient of my friend Charlotte’s love. Mark could size up […]
The Body’s World
THE BODY’S WORLD —after Raymond Carver When we wake up early to ride the horses and find them sweating already in their fine summer coats, we carefully get […]
The Gloria Sirens 