Forecast: Stormy Weather by Nancy Schatz Alton After the storm, I am calm. After the storm: I grow tired of writing about the storm. After the storm, people in the middle of the storm call me. After the storm: I listen to people in the storm. After the storm, I know […]
Category: Poetry
Tea
Tea* By Nancy Schatz Alton I begin with tea heated in two cups. I read the poems out loud while it steeps. I steep my brain in words, sift, stir & speak. I sing the song in spoken verse. I try to make a song that sticks, that feeds me the way tea […]
A Durable Sweater Set
A Durable Sweater Set by Nancy Schatz Alton The girl with the blue sweater grades papers. She looks more put together than me. A girl with a plan, a purpose, a sweater set, her life just beginning. I’ve always thought if I had the right clothes, everything else I wanted would arrive on time. […]
Monday Candy
Monday Candy by Nancy Schatz Alton The coffee shop is cold, patrons ease into Monday. The dog exhales in white puffs. Ritual makes the work week easier. I push into word tasks. See the light orange persimmons pop against bare branches? The dog exhales in white puffs. Ritual turns Sunday’s losses into a fading […]
They Come & Go
They Come & Go by Nancy Schatz Alton I sing praise to what remains: the living room lit by tiny lights my family talking me returning. All the phrases that help remind me of what remains these phrases swirl & catch & hit the light. it could have been otherwise there was always […]
My Story
My Story * by Nancy Schatz Alton Put your stories down, they say— they are too heavy and they make you angry. You want a prettier word for make. Furthermore you want the I. The I of your stories to say, It happened to me. Oh life, you gave me this grief and […]
What’s In The Silence But A Song?
What’s in the silence but a song? by Nancy Schatz Alton Every day I set up a space. I put slants on either side. I wish for the words to flow for my sentences to reach your ears with the rhythm that I feel as I listen to my daughters sing alone or together in […]
This Resting Place
This Resting Place by Nancy Schatz Alton It’s possible to know what I want: a long walk warm coffee fresh expensive pastries cut & shared a weekend spent with intention: walk, coffee, eat write, yoga, no shopping, a little sorting reading. It’s possible to relish where I’m at now: a long way into parenthood […]
The Bookstore
The Bookstore by Nancy Schatz Alton The sounds of the women talking meet the music. The door creaks as it opens and closes. People arrive and leave. We spill together, sometimes in silence, often in talking. We collide: Mark Nepo and poetry; who cares if a celebrity endorses a book; which meditation guide; how do […]
Satiated
Satiation by Nancy Schatz Alton Full the feeling of fullness: Texting with my brother at 6am 100 pieces left of the puzzle Liz walking off to talk to people who are not her best friends The way hair falls into place right after a haircut An email from a good friend Another email about […]