Of Shoes, Snow, and Monkeys in a Hot Tub
I was on my first solo trip in Japan. I had arrived in the country as a researcher, full of ambition, and had spent several months being systematically humbled by both the language and the experiments. Nagano felt like a necessary exhale; somewhere to exist without obligation…
Tell Me How You Eat: Food, Power, and the Will to Live – A Nonfiction Book Review
The intellectual examination of food and eating captivated me, and more so as it coupled with relatable and intimate moments from Husain’s life.
White Moon
Perhaps the dark time
was passing
even before the moon
scoffed
Fading Light Shuns the Dream’s Embrace
Enchantment swirls on this, the shortest night
as moon glow’s humid breath among the trees —
A Good Day to Be Me (Father’s Day)
Father’s Day. Another way to older get — and yet, I bet we feel younger with a hunger thinking of the ones we love…
Quarterly Issues
January 12, 2025
The rain fell relentlessly – the type of heavy rain that soaked right through your clothes within a minute. The grey denseness of the sky contradicted […]
January 11, 2025
Be sure to read Part 1 first. Rahmat’s voice turned Shubir’s mind from Maya to the present moment. “What does all the fuss of the world […]
January 8, 2025
Ratnapur looks like a dreamy village hidden in abundant green foliage and washed with bubbling rivers and rivulets. But like any other place on earth, it […]
January 2, 2025
How easily we put on and take offthe sparkle and shine. What it hideswas worth something, too, but today, as the needles drop and scatter, andtinsel […]
December 29, 2024
That year, Chanukah fell on Thanksgiving, which gave the young rabbi a dilemma. While it meant there wouldn’t be the traditional confusion of Christmas with a […]
December 26, 2024
First candle. Our first apartment. We download the blessings off the internet because we don’t remember the words. I run my finger along the Hebrew script […]
December 25, 2024
This is the story of Saucer-Eyed SueWho simpers and swoons over old Mr. Scrooge. We all know the story, oh, yes we doOf old Ebeneezer,That skinflint […]
December 24, 2024
This 24th, a wish for laughter over tearsfor the wonderful smell of cinnamon and pinevisions of angels and sugarplumsthe melodic harmony of lifeand a star in […]
December 22, 2024
For the last three years, ever since his young children looked forward to Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, George endured shoveling snow off the roof. On […]
December 21, 2024
There are respitesfrom the Awful Rowing.The brush of an infant’s hairagainst my cheek.The breath-taking beautyof my daughter whenshe first awoke – yellowcurls, rosy cheeks, crystalblue eyes. […]
December 20, 2024
A favourite Christmas eve memory,from child to adulthood,was the stirring in the largecream bowl, the ingredientsof the Christmas pud. Mum loved this moment,all hands on the […]
December 17, 2024
A frozen time brings hush and heavy snowto fall over the silver fir;to love Christmas, to be snowed upwhile singing hymns of faith–no bees to fly […]
December 15, 2024
Welcome to the final issue of the MockingOwl Roost in 2024! Music & Light brings together the joys and changing delights of music and light. Enjoy […]
December 14, 2024
Let’s take a moment to pauseand think of poor, old Mrs. Claus.She once was lively and youngand had difficulty holding her tongue.At times she herselfwas quite […]
December 12, 2024
Our memories are fickle thingsthat time disintegrates;we’re left with snapshots that we stringtogether, weaving lace. The tightest loops play back with ease,releasing dopamine,evoking whiffs of deli […]
December 11, 2024
When I was littleLike the little ones here todayI used to wish that Christmas was everydayCouldn’t wait to see what recitation I had to sayAnd the […]
December 1, 2024
Come, snow!Dance across my window and carry my soul to the heavens.I am so tired of this fight andneed the feel of lace and sweetness across […]
November 28, 2024
My gratitude flows free this morn,for blessings doth abound;from grandparents to babies born,familial love surrounds. An open ear or warm embrace,a laugh or helping hand;we all […]
November 20, 2024
A sharp push made her trip over her long skirt and stumble to the counter. “Go on, Nellie,” her mother hissed. “You serve him.” Flushing under […]
November 17, 2024
On a white May morning, my neighbour, an honourable secretary of our residents’ welfare association, is watering his small outdoor garden with a hose pipe. Among […]