The 60-Second Sabbath

childhood

  • Scanning

    Charmed childgrowing up on a Michigan beach,I stand on wind-built dunesand scan for whales,    for Russian subs,    for drowning victims…     for an adventure    and an extrordinary life. Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Absent Wonder

    I wandered through woods,    towering stands of oak and beech,clamoured over endless swells of golden dunes,scrambled up and slid down slopes of sun-warmed sand. I marvelled at the perfect circles    drawn by blades of restless beach grass,like the… Continue reading

  • Three Sorrows (Three Liberations)

    I.We mustheal the wounds of childhoodto find freedomfrom the constricting storieswritten there.  II.Wake up tomorrowno longer rememberingyour personal narrative,all its falsehoods forgotten:    "I'm too…"    "I can't…"        "I'll never be good enough to…"    "I'm this way because…"  What if… Continue reading

  • A Caution for Parents

    That something lived beneath my bedwas simply not the question."That thing is all inside your head,"was Mama's stern suggestion. But then one evening while she frownedbeside the bed and lectured,it grabbed her ankles, pulled her down,as I had long conjectured.… Continue reading

  • Freedom

    I am only as freeas my heart is pure. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.  Continue reading

  • Magic

    When I was a child,magic lived in the world–not illusion,not pretend,real magic. Magic filled warm summer nightswhen I leaned on my window silland whistled softlymy four-note tune,through the screen.I repeated it several times,waiting for the nightto bring something unknownsomething extraordinary.This… Continue reading

  • Michigan Trees, 2

    Towering over the house,a hissing, blowing, shakingtemple of treesfills my room and dreamswith whispering, sibilant, sleeptime worship. I lie motionless and silent in my bed,awed. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • The Dream

    I am in my childhood home–but larger–its many rooms running parallel to the lakeshore. I step into the final room,where a young woman and I nearly collide:she is 20ish, thin, with long hair.Startled, she screams;startled, I jump, wonder,"Who are you?… Continue reading

  • My First Watch

    My first watch.I am 6 or 7.It is a child's Timex,small to fit my wrist. I am so proud.I stare at the minute hand,trying, trying to see it move.I don't. It will be in a new place,but I don't see… Continue reading

  • Playing with God

    When I write poemsI play with God.We race our bikes on gravel roads,stop to grieve for flattened caterpillars,marvel at Queen Anne's Lace,curl back the corners of bursting milkweed pods,watch their thousand filaments float on to raise new families,    to inspire new… Continue reading