Wheels of Kindness

April 22, 2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

Today is the day to leave, the 2:30 am text read; I’m letting my son sleep in, last day in our home. The message came from Kyiv. I had connected with the mom the day before. Bombing around them had finally convinced her to flee. Stay safe and keep in touch when you can. I’m […]

Heart Warmed

April 4, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

“Hi Mrs Knutson,Hope you are well!I saw that you and your husbandare hosting a family of refugeesfrom Ukraine….“ The writer of this message attended a school where I once taught. He was not a student of mine, but I did coach the boys’ soccer team, with this young man’s help and direction (he was our […]

Kind and Caring (Cee’s FFC)

April 10, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Her greatness comes in the kindness she shares a grandmother whose motive is only to care: An example whose ripples are felt down the line by a grandson who takes time to listen and chat: and granddaughters who practice her loving art: the legacy passes from one generation to the next – kindness and caring, […]

Tightrope Walking

May 13, 2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

While my husband remains in the Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit (CSRU), I am struggling to maintain some sort of equilibrium so that my own health (ME/CFS) does not worsen. It is a tightrope walk, for sure. The day of surgery, I went to the hospital twice, both for extended periods of time. When I woke […]

Cryptic

Is the writing on the wall so cryptic?Graphic images depict rageflames of dissonanceyoung men bleeding at their own handscompassion incapacitated. A sad awakening for a society fixatedon rights and privileges, dominating culture excluding the nurtureof humanity, or preservation of life. How can we continue to closet our children’s pain – their vitality oozing – hopelessly […]

Needing a Sign

Restlessness accompanies meon this sojourn today –unfazed by ripe redbelly of robin,or shimmering emeraldof breeding merganser’s crown. My lens seeks out decay –rotting wood, darkened cavities,as if my soul craves reassurancethat life persists even where deathhovers – I need a sign Discontent, I move on-drive the river roadsnail’s pace – praying forsomething to shakethis malaise […]

Peace is Present

Infernal trek!Wasted, mindless daysthese chains of self-reproach Will I never reachyearned for peace? Carry this burdeninto the wind,feet shufflingeyes skyward Stalwart treesobserve my passage,birds offer accompaniment,sun’s warmth charms Nature intervenes –peace is present. (My image)