Author Archives: instarsoflydia

Mop your own floors. The minute after the day is done. Sink the head into that astringent bath, spin off the access, and break a sweat. Scrub clean the life that dried onto your wooden floorboards. Start again with the sun. That’s it! The memory of bringing of sharing and receiving imprints–timeless. The after quietContinue reading “#16: Mop Water”

Ruth was born in the Year of the Ox on a splintered farmhouse floor, the first July of the roaring 20s. She was adamant to keep the day a secret but the year, a proclamation. I met her the September after her 100th birthday and watched her last breath putter out 9 months later.    TheContinue reading “#15: Accolade”

I love writing lists (especially with a quality pen): summer to-dos, groceries, bird ID’s, books to-reads, quotes by my 90 year-old besties, and truly, the list of lists goes on. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to approach this blog post because it’s been too long. Most ideas felt stale and/or completely missed the mark.Continue reading “#14: Lost In Treetops”

On Wednesdays, 8-12 of us gather round, masked, peering through each other’s space between the ear lobe and trapezius, and sit in our assigned spots 6 feet apart along the linoleum. My metal folding chair is located about halfway down the corridor between a resident’s apartment door and the shower room. The wire music standContinue reading “#13: Wednesdays”

And now we’ve forgotten what was Circling in like gnats over strangled fruits Checking for warmth and breath with sweaty plastic fingers Days with no fervor, thirsty, a dry county–odds against All’s left are gingerbread crumbs to your maker’s front stoop Apologies for my lack of comfort on blissful mornings What once struck oil nowContinue reading “#12: A Good Cry”

A month has slipped by in ghostly fashion and somehow every single day carries weight in stone. The temperature has slowly dropped, humidity subsided, leaves turned and piled high along root edges, chicken stock bubbled on the stovetop, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, Louisville police officers were released from charges of the murder ofContinue reading “#11: A Month for the Books”

5 days left waiting and oh how I feel that Waiting and I know each other’s innards and outtards like old lovers. I’m not alone in this notion, that’s the one benefit of 2020. We’re all running through this shit storm as one. Even the untouchable 1% can’t party as hard as they once did.Continue reading “#10: The Wait”

One more breath  from a butterfly wing Bruising easily  from a kick in the pants A sweet realization that I’ll never truly know  what I mean. I want to get close enough  to insanity  that I only recognize myself  in the moon Little girl asked, “You wanna be a werewolf?” and that was that. TheContinue reading “#9: Innisfree”

At this point, it feels as though Gabe and I have traversed most of the major highways and gravel roads north of Highway 10. Yet each day we find ourselves barely nicking deer on new routes to the same places. For whatever reason, this feels symbolic. It’s customary for us to move substantial distances aroundContinue reading “#8: A Compromise, Deer Fly Bites, and a Sky Full of Retrogrades”

    First of all, Black Lives Matter!     Second, the thing I feel I am lacking most is an air of questioning.      Third and last, the only way I will be able to do my duty is to roll up the cuffs, dream big, and dig for truth.      If I am to spurContinue reading “#7: Enter Growth Spurt: Shin Splints et al.”