Gratitude

I want to slow down enough to write a pantoum. But my mind is made up of lists. Lists and the need to reach through a touch of fear as I tackle task after task. I know I just have to dive into the new, that I’ve written at least a thousand articles. Writing an […]

Love Song

Love Song  by Nancy Schatz Alton I write my own love song equal parts poetry & sorrows every experience that shattered me sits next to my strength. The rain slants & this is still the perfect phrase reused like sorrow & sadness as familiar as rage & grief. We seek new ways to describe the […]

Peace

Today we toured a house that’s for sale on our block. We walked through in stocking feet, talked about the wiring, wondered at the cracks in the cement in the basement. Cement in the basements. The smell of basements. Basements carry the smell of childhood. Even if a basement doesn’t smell like my Grandma’s basement, […]

Red

The days grow brighter. Some mornings I believe all will be well (if I only glance sideways at the news). If I rest my gaze on my girls who grow solid in their centers. They show me themselves. They rest in knowing I like them. If I only glance here, I think hooray—we are doing […]

June

The breeze is full of cold water straight from the Sound. There’s s concentric ring around the sun. Ice crystals make a faded rainbow The sun makes a mark on the red umbrella. The girls are away making their way away from me. This always feels good. I am satisfied knowing they are off being […]

Everything

I want to be everything. To be everything, I’d have to give up too much: the 5-minute hug that helped my daughter greet her day clean laundry eating feeding my loves walks where we talk about cars & clouds your growing up my growing up how we grew each other up   while I desperately […]

Likable

This morning I have a million different to-do’s, or it feels like I have a million different to-do’s to do. And I’m a few days into my new part-time job, which means my brain is on overload. An acquaintance reminded me last night that adults have a hard time being new learners. That’s why I […]

Author

I’m one of those humans who doesn’t give myself enough credit. I like to mention my mentors, the people who make me feel like my work is worthy. The people who’ve helped me become a better writer or who helped me believe more in my writing skills. I don’t think of myself as a mentor, […]

Morning Song

Morning Song  by Nancy Schatz Alton   “The best chance to be whole is to love whatever gets in the way until it ceases to be an obstacle.” -Mark Nepo I love the dirt-caked kitchen floor, the way I wake and clean her, how she feels upon my feet, new: ready to start again. I […]

Marking Time

I mark this week, this month, this time, and I call it the time in-between. The moment I realized I’ve given what is needed in so many ways. The days I read books from start to finish while I listen for my kids, their sounds are off in the distance and I’m here in the […]