Author Archives: Risa Denenberg

Everyone wants to remind me that it’s mothers’ day –a day that clearly holds Hallmark irrelevance while calling forth complex emotional responses. The grammatical confusion alone is enough to make me cringe; let’s see, is it “Mother’s Day”, “Mothers’ Day” … Continue reading →

Forebear  Even as she rejoins perfunctorily when you query, –How is school? or Do you have a boyfriend? — she scoffs at your drab flabbiness, the discolorations of craggy cheeks, the lag-behind. She mocks as you press palms into the plague of … Continue reading →

On Friday, I was interviewed on the local Port Townsend radio station, KPTZ, by Phil Andrus,the wonderful host of a weekly arts show called Tossed Salad.  The studio is small and when you exchange places with the prior guest, which may … Continue reading →

Consolation Imagine the crawl from sight to sightlessness. Even in dreams you wear bifocals. Imagine not knowing your grandson’s name, or being lost in a word-salad thicket of sinister trees. Imagine lying on your death bed, palms cupped in a … Continue reading →

I slipped in the tub on Saturday morning. I was in Seattle attending a 2-day medical meeting, and spent Friday night at a hotel. As I stepped into the tub for a shower, the bath mat slid out from underfoot, … Continue reading →

If it rains when I’m thirsty, am I the orchard? On the other side of glass it’s raining. Glass is made of silicon. Rain is H2O. I think of two hydrogen atoms swaddling the lone oxygen, how they cleave through … Continue reading →

I’ve kept my pledge for National Poetry Month – so far – I have written a poem-a-day, and I’ve purchased, borrowed, or swapped a book-a-day. Among the books sitting at my desk and bedside include these. Of course, it will take more … Continue reading →

Charoset and Bitter Herbs An amalgam of ground pecans, chopped apples, red wine, and nutmeg primes us to recall the taste of mortar—  the timeworn saga of servitude and how despots’ sovereignties always hinge on slavery. But instead, it is … Continue reading →

    It can be hard to explain exactly why I love him so much. But I don’t have to. I know you understand. Bo is the most affectionate cat I’ve ever had, so it would be hard not to … Continue reading →

I am not at risk Today I am not at risk. No one touches me now. It is my own choice. Or is it? Was I ever at risk? If you count the times I shot meth. If you count … Continue reading →