My wife was admiring the moonlight shining through the clouds. A half moon, she said. I could have told her. For whatever reasons, my emotional energy crashes on a half moon. Usually I want to light myself on fire and jump into the gorge. Fortunately this involves getting out of my chair and I have [...]
marriage
Great big truck o’ gas beside the Ranchos church one lovely afternoon
There must be all kinds of ways to do this. Fortunately the unconscious never quits. This time I was walking with my wife through the hall of a large building like a college dorm except with wider corridors and clean white walls. There was some kind of event and we were staying there. The hall [...]
Can’t identity the little black things no not that
I don’t know how other people live their lives but the other afternoon at tequila hour I rambled on into territory that my wife had never visited because she never thinks of going mad that way. It was kind of fascinating to see her lift the trap door, sort through this and that—which she grasped [...]
West of the gorge on the Taos Plateau
This morning was hard. My wife looked at me and asked how we got trapped in this “funny little town.” I thought but did not say: because we didn’t plan for the future and I let you down and prices have tripled. Silence was sufficient and the moment soon passed. Later I did speak. We [...]
Had to burn the deck and fencing six months later to keep warm
A JHF classic from June 7, 2004. My wife was living in Dubuque, IA taking care of her mother and teaching music. I wrote this after a visit. We were only able to get together several times a year back then. “What do black widows look like?” asked the special guest from northeast Iowa. The [...]
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