One of the hardest lessons you might learn in life is that there will be seasons when your greatest joy will be other people's joy. That when your own well runs dry, you mustn't be jealous of other people's water. And just because happiness is scarce doesn't mean you should withhold it altogether. ©️ Katie … Continue reading The Hardest Part
Discovering My Weaknesses
It's not exactly the day to go ice skating. I hike my skate bag higher on my shoulder and badge out of the door at work. Sunshine overwhelms all my senses, golden blindness. It takes a moment to blink it away. Spring is in the air, even in February. It's nice to go to the … Continue reading Discovering My Weaknesses
A Penny for a Tale
I'm going to write about an old coin. Specifically one side of it. It's an exercise I read about in a book. The idea that you could get a couple hundred words down about one side of a coin intrigued me. How do you do it? And how do you make it enjoyable? I walk … Continue reading A Penny for a Tale
Signs of Fate
"What's your name, darling?" "Georgia." "Ah! Georgia like the state--- Georgia on my mind." He rolled a fat cigar around between his teeth, and the fine lines around his eyes flared like ripples on water. "You look pretty hungry, honey." "I eat." "You want something now?" He tapped the bourbon-shine bartop. "It'll blunt that cannibal … Continue reading Signs of Fate
As Summer Fades
I walk up toward my back hedge, carrying a bowl of split and rotten apples. The last few, I didn't manage to eat. I toss them among the feet of the trees. They'll make a perfect snack for some foraging critters. I straighten. The wind picks up, waving its invisible fingers through the leaves. A … Continue reading As Summer Fades
Untitled Soul
Do you have anything to write about when you stay in one place too long? All you ever see are these four walls and that backyard, and how much can you really write about those? Emily Dickinson would say plenty, but maybe she was a braver soul who roamed wider on the page. All the … Continue reading Untitled Soul
A Mirror of a Mirror
Our emergence into the world of AI has had me thinking lately about creativity and artwork. If the human creative instinct is a mirror of God's creative ability, then what is AI? If I take the existing parallel that the creation will never become more significant than its creator, can I have some peace as … Continue reading A Mirror of a Mirror
Poem VI
Can you be a poet in starts and dashes?Someone who, at random, gashesA few words onto the page-Neither silly, wise, nor sage-Just wordsLike birdsToo scared to fly. © 2023 Katie Baker
Mama and Mrs. Cho
After a while, the hunger began to buzz in her ears like flies. She would sit in the back of the shop, looking out toward the wide, bright window, listening to her own death rattle come slithering closer. From somewhere beyond the bright windowpane, the scent of fresh-baked bread and caramelized sugar wafted. Traffic noise … Continue reading Mama and Mrs. Cho
Starry Skies and Golden Eyes
I went to the fair last week and felt like a bit of a loose end. I walked around with my sisters and my nephew, my brothers-in-law, and a friend. But even in a crowd, I discovered you can feel lonely. Especially when you remember fairs from other years when there was a hand to … Continue reading Starry Skies and Golden Eyes