I lost another friend last week. I received the sad news as I sat at a lonely table in the Newark airport, waiting for my flight back home from Ireland. As the word of loss took hold, some of the most recent memories showed up to be accounted for. Right before I left on the …
Any Fruit worth pickingAny that draws the eye and the handTo pluck from its branchThe beautiful FruitIdeal and perfect for the hungerThe need of the momentAnd the urge to savorThis sweet ProduceIf you look down to see the trunkAnd the ground into which its roots sinkYou will always find unfavorable dirtThis Fruit that you seekLuscious …
The Kansas Lawsuit.Just like the annual Prairie fires of KansasWafting northEach SpringThe acrid smoke signalsAn arrival of disruptionA minor irritationFor those like meBut a grave threatTo the vulnerableWho can’t take respiration for granted.©Kevin Shinn, March 2020 I could sense it as soon as I opened my phone this morning. It’s a very distinct aroma, unmistakable …
I decided to cut my Ireland trip short by four days. Forgoing the remaining historic destinations were an easy trade off for the assurance of getting home. Being stranded abroad will be the fate for many travelers in the coming days. That was an experience on which I wanted to miss out. Already this morning, …
2020 will be marked as the year I found the writings of the late Irish poet John O’Donohue and the impact they have had on me. I brought a book of his with me and cannot get past page 27. He writes in his introduction: “What is nearest to the heart is often farthest from …
Read more “Music is What Words Want to be When They Grow Up”
I went to dinner at a local restaurant in Waterford Sunday night. The music in the pub didn’t show till 10pm, so I had a little time to kill. The barman recommended a spot just off the square, so I made my way down there. It was a lively joint, with the buzzy kind of …
I’m not sure what it is about this place, but the grief and sense of loss has surged since landing here. I didn’t come here to feel worse. I thought I was coming for something charming and alluring. It must be the sudden encounter of that very thing I have been looking forward to experiencing. …
I love certain linguistic accents. I could listen to Saoirse Ronan and Fiona Ritchie all day. I enjoy how their articulation sounds to my ear. The lilt, the cadence, the emphasis on certain syllables. Could it be because the way they sound seems more exotic and attractive to me? Or maybe it’s because it makes me …
The fascination of transition has begun, and it always starts in the same way when I travel internationally. It’s the eye for things that are different. Some drastic, others subtle. It always takes a day or two to remember to go to the left side of the car or ask for crisps or biscuits in …
Eleven years ago this month, I took my family to Ireland for a ten-day excursion. After only four days into the trip, we got word that Karen’s dad had passed away. We were in Galway when the news reached us, so we had to say goodbye to the Emerald Isle and return home. I always …