I chose a political poem for my Featured Poem rather than a scary Halloween poem. Politics is frightening enough. I am an optimist, in the long view.
Reminder: Reading Event this Thursday, November 7, 2026 at Bird & Beckett Bookstore in Glen Park, San Francisco. Right near the Glen Park BART station. I am reading poems from my soon-to-be- published 4th book of poetry CROSSWINDS. Fellow poet Angie Minkin will be reading from her new book LINEAGE SONGS. Join us and help us celebrate! Draft of the Cover below.
CARING ENDURES
A warm, sandstone rock,
size and color of a bowl
of morning oats
props open my front gate.
Forty years ago
it smashed through the glass door
of our Planned Parenthood Health Center.
Vandals set fire to medical charts and carpets.
The chemical stench of burnt ceiling
tiles and plastic still sears
my nostrils.
The clinic was shut down.
Rebuilt by staff and generous donors
to the Phoenix Fund.
For thirty years, that water-worn stone
welcomed all into my office.
When I retired, my trophy came home.
The work and violence continue.
It is a matter of life and death –
our doors must stay open.
