Today we celebrated my grandmother’s 90th birthday with friends and family, food and memories. This poem was inspired by this celebration of her life.
A Life

Today we celebrated my grandmother’s 90th birthday with friends and family, food and memories. This poem was inspired by this celebration of her life.

Today’s poem was inspired by “Rotunda” written by Houston poet Mark Jodon, author of “Day of the Speckled Trout” and “What the Raven Wants.” It was published in San Antonio Express-News and shared with me by my mother. If you have not had the privilege of reading Mr. Jodon’s work, I highly encourage you to do so.
In reading “Rotunda,” I noticed that in contrast to Jodon’s style here, I tend to almost always fill up the available space to me with words. Here’s an attempt at brevity.

For my bride. I love you.

One of the first things I learned as a writer was to pay attention and describe the visceral sensations that accompany emotion. Today’s emotion: fear.

Sometimes we get down. Not in the fun way. Sometimes we start out strong, a few things don’t go our way, and we crash.
My bride reminded me of a secret I learned a little while ago–that smiling tricks the body, the voice, and the mind. By projecting happiness into the world, we take it back in. Our spirits are fascinating engines capable of producing our own fuel.
