tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69502685115613723332024-03-18T23:39:04.899-04:00The Sill of the World<br>
<b><p>It lifted off from a chair-back,<br>
Beating a smooth course for the right window<br>
And clearing the sill of the world.<br>
- Richard Wilbur, "The Writer"</p></b>HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comBlogger1030125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-30429828005295600842022-09-11T13:14:00.000-04:002022-09-11T13:14:53.418-04:00Week in Seven Words #584This covers the week of 3/28/21 - 4/3/21.foeIn her isolation, she has unraveled. She flails at imagined terrors, as they press in on her from beyond the apartment walls. giddinessDozens of daffodils swaying by the field.intermittentlyThe vaccine website is a test in reflexes. New appointments wink into existence and are just as quickly snapped up.lukewarmOne book stands out as a suitable HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-4456445573623155142022-08-29T17:03:00.000-04:002022-08-29T17:03:57.529-04:00Week in Seven Words #583This covers the week of 3/21/21 - 3/27/21.biotaThe season begins with crocuses, progresses to turtles.fendingSpiky seed balls plinking on car windshields and roofs, as if the trees are defending against an invasion.observingInteresting to see who comments on the new glasses and who seems not to notice.skateboardersTwo skateboards. On one, a young man holding a leash. On the other, a bulldog at HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-54994660065096835652022-07-08T11:28:00.002-04:002022-07-08T11:28:56.614-04:00Week in Seven Words #582This covers the week of 3/14/21 - 3/20/21.branchingBrown, crunchy, bristling paths, a clear view of buildings through bare trees.decompressHer relaxation: Diet Dr Pepper, feet on ottoman, British period drama.desktopHis desk: cigarette burns, a ball made out of rubber bands, a lamp with an oversized bulb that gets too hot too quickly.impendingSometimes it feels like we're on the deck of the HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-50443225077438003922022-04-29T17:15:00.000-04:002022-04-29T17:15:01.272-04:00Week in Seven Words #581This covers the week of 3/7/21 - 3/13/21.ambulateIn the largely empty bookstore, a teenaged boy walks in a slow, wide circle while reading out loud to himself through a mask.electrifyingA riveting sax solo brings joy to this corner of the park.icinessToday, there's frost in their relationship. It keeps their sentences clipped and cold.institutionalizedTwo seals circle the small tank without pauseHKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-15004780291952450812022-03-12T22:47:00.000-05:002022-03-12T22:47:24.753-05:00Week in Seven Words #580This covers the week of 2/28/21 - 3/6/21.compulsionsWe're caught in traps of compulsive behavior – web surfing, phone scrolling, screen watching.deceptivelyWhat looks like ice on the lake is only the glare of sunlight.enlargedThe eyes always come out too large in the drawings. Large, placid ellipses.heldHis body shakes with his need to talk, to have someone listen.liquefyA land melting into mud HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-13499929957827038902022-02-17T14:29:00.000-05:002022-02-17T14:29:39.585-05:00Week in Seven Words #579This covers the week of 2/21/21 - 2/27/21.anticipationTwo people at opposite ends of a room. They're holding books, but they aren't reading. When will they talk to each other?arrangementsIt's the first time I've been to synagogue in a year. The room downstairs has been organized into islands of chairs. Some islands have one chair, others two. The service is quieter.covetingBirds taking off and HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-54026168249823795902022-02-17T12:16:00.000-05:002022-02-17T12:16:21.294-05:00Week in Seven Words #578This covers the week of 2/14/21 - 2/20/21.acheWe used to sit in this room with its floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and the lamplight on the red couch.bellyThey don't have sleds, but they do have bellies, so they slide down the hill head first, eyes squinting against the dazzle of sunlight on snow.glimpsesBeyond the dense branches there's light, white and faintly purple.movedThe silence of snow HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-45600502422971560782022-02-13T12:08:00.000-05:002022-02-13T12:08:25.268-05:00Week in Seven Words #577This covers the week of 2/7/21 - 2/13/21.dorkThe role she's been asked to audition for is an improbable one: the effortlessly gorgeous, socially awkward female nerd who's such a dork but never really says or does anything unattractive, she's just, you know, a dork with glasses and fashionable heels.icyThe pond is clinking with ice, the shores crusty with slush and mud.knottyI meet him for the HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-65442973029311693532022-01-25T13:19:00.000-05:002022-01-25T13:19:37.827-05:00Week in Seven Words #576This covers the week of 1/31/21 - 2/6/21.complaintsAs the elevators fail to come for 15, then 20 minutes, I speak to a neighbor from down the hall who's waiting with me. Over the years, our conversation has never gone beyond greetings. Now we talk about how her ceiling is flaking as if it has a bad case of dandruff. And we talk about the pandemic (wouldn't be a real conversation without pandemic HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-19352709705617020412022-01-23T21:29:00.001-05:002022-01-23T21:29:33.120-05:00Week in Seven Words #575This covers the week of 1/24/21 - 1/30/21.crumbsInstead of buying a pandemic puppy, she has gone outdoors more frequently to feed pigeons, easily summoned by crumbs.domesticThrough video chat, I've become familiar with the view of his burgundy couch, the cat kneading a cushion before settling in.etherealA special blue-white winter light on bare branches.pianissimoA fumbled song on piano keys in HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-11261976329089084622022-01-17T11:05:00.003-05:002022-01-17T11:05:50.261-05:00Week in Seven Words #574This covers the week of 1/17/21 - 1/23/21.barelyRunning water in a denuded wood. The bareness makes us wish for a fir or a pine. There's only some greenness – crisp holly leaves by a splintering log.checkupHis office is comforting and old-fashioned. The sofas are upholstered in blue and yellow, and in a glass case he's arranged a variety of charmingly odd statues. Dust is the dominant smell, withHKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-72715111036458721432022-01-15T20:10:00.000-05:002022-01-15T20:10:20.208-05:00Week in Seven Words #573This covers the week of 1/10/21 - 1/16/21.frozenOne chair rests on the ice, and the other two are partly submerged. The ice is thick enough to engulf them, to clutch at them and freeze them in place half-in and half-out of the water.hopefullyI'm not sure if what I'm doing will make things better. At the very least, I don't think it will make things worse.jaysI'm glad that I can still be delightedHKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-91504813314275232142022-01-12T21:38:00.000-05:002022-01-12T21:38:06.061-05:00Week in Seven Words #572This covers the week of 1/3/21 - 1/9/21.abedTousled hair, face smushed into the pillow, cold air leaking in.attendsApplying for a job, she wonders how she can make her qualifications look more impressive. "Doesn't fall asleep during Zoom meetings, usually," is a good one.continueStay calm, and keep writing.friendWhenever I hear from her, I think about how glad I am that we're HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-18410069426380002652022-01-09T19:34:00.000-05:002022-01-09T19:34:08.820-05:00Week in Seven Words #571This covers the week of 12/27/20 - 1/2/21.advisoryAs New Year's Day approaches, Duolingo is telling me something: "Fais plus de sport!"auroraI look over her shoulder at the computer game she's playing, Heroine's Quest, and I'm enchanted by its artistry. In one scene, the player character goes ice fishing at night against a backdrop of Northern Lights.fairylandIn the field, a hollow has filled HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-58756289536696313352022-01-09T12:43:00.000-05:002022-01-09T12:43:09.716-05:00Week in Seven Words #570This covers the week of 12/20/20 - 12/26/20.cinnamonErrands sweetened by puffs of cinnamon-laden wind from the vendors' carts.frustration"What's the point?" she asks. "What's the point of learning any of this?" And there isn't an easy answer. Telling her that learning can be good for its own sake would be a glib response.manifestsWith creeping wonder and dread, he realizes that his isolation has HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-64436056928060976452022-01-06T22:50:00.000-05:002022-01-06T22:50:04.063-05:00Week in Seven Words #569This covers the week of 12/13/20 - 12/19/20.linguisticAn app with a green owl mascot is helping me work on Hebrew writing and French reading comprehension skills.nurturingShe's painted the walls of her bedroom a dusky pink and hung up drawings of plants, from lianas to roses. The room feels more vital and cozy, as if everything in it is cupped in warm hands.rebuildOf the dumb, shattering HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-48380602337382401842022-01-03T17:52:00.000-05:002022-01-03T17:52:32.662-05:00Week in Seven Words #568This covers the week of 12/6/20 - 12/12/20.anemicIt's a major shopping avenue, and on normal years it would be teeming with people and sparkling with lights and sensational window displays. Now, only one store looks festive. The rest are subdued. It's a pallid celebration.colderThere are no more turtles in the pond. Only dark, frosty water with ducks.insightsIncreasingly, we talk about HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-90851930564068235912022-01-03T14:01:00.000-05:002022-01-03T14:01:53.186-05:00Week in Seven Words #567This covers the week of 11/29/20 – 12/5/20.crustyThe basin has been drained. It's encrusted in dirt and leaves like diseased skin.divingWake up in a low, grubby mood. Getting to work immediately helps.radianceI love the tree that's still bright yellow, a flame awaiting winter with confidence.reversalWaisting, sleeting – two seven-letter words, both last minute, that win her the game.spyingA droneHKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-17608521086304079532021-12-26T19:36:00.000-05:002021-12-26T19:36:15.089-05:00Week in Seven Words #566This covers the week of 11/22/20 - 11/28/20.aggravateA letter from him is like a fingernail picking at a scab.animatedVivid things will exist in my mind; if nowhere else, they will at least have come alive in my thoughts.bald-facedPoliticians take the "quarantine for thee but not for me" approach to the holiday season. "Everybody stay home," they say, while traveling to see their own families andHKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-8080054591211974962021-12-26T19:33:00.000-05:002021-12-26T19:33:20.097-05:00Week in Seven Words #565This covers the week of 11/15/20 - 11/21/20.capturingLeaves sink into mirror-like water.dammedWhen he serves us drinks in his home, he talks about his life in a torrent. The words have been pent up by too much time spent alone. Now, his mask muffles them as they pour out.desperateShe's been overlooked for so long. That's the main reason she's looking for an effortless win.low-spiritedShe's been HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-87299274145557153122021-12-23T12:30:00.000-05:002021-12-23T12:30:40.393-05:00Week in Seven Words #564This covers the week of 11/8/20 - 11/14/20.boredomHe's under the impression that his boredom makes him unique. He believes it's a sign of superior intelligence.eventfulQuarantined at home, she wears an evening gown to her microwaved dinner.inevitabilityWas it always going to happen this way? Could there have been another way? Another reminder to shift from what-ifs to what I have to do HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-76227246703072448512021-12-23T11:54:00.001-05:002021-12-23T11:54:18.117-05:00Week in Seven Words #563This covers the week of 11/1/20 - 11/7/20.bucklingSome stores are getting boarded up again in the event that election results don't turn out as preferred. At least the bookstore is still open.denizensToday what engages her mind are the fissures in the rocks. She wonders about the creatures that live in them, real and fantastic.electoralCan't get much work done when there's a map of the U.S. to HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-426725243235233142021-11-23T23:47:00.001-05:002021-11-23T23:47:51.432-05:00Week in Seven Words #562This covers the week of 10/25/20 - 10/31/20.deadlinesThe assignment drags into the night. At one point I picture myself shutting the laptop, sliding into bed, and forgetting about deadlines. A peaceful thought, but not a realistic possibility.initiativeOn vacant private land, a homeless man is assembling a home. It won't be long before it's torn down. In the meantime, he's brought in materials HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-8607003727632365742021-10-31T22:08:00.000-04:002021-10-31T22:08:30.044-04:00Week in Seven Words #561This covers the week of 10/18/20 - 10/24/20.callowThe guitarist in the park has talent, but he seems to be only 13 or 14. The lyrics he sings would sound more convincing from someone who's at least a decade older.cementedThe views at the new park are grand, but much of the space is wasted on concrete. The plants seem like an afterthought.duckishThe pier is glowing, the ducks are dotting the waterHKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6950268511561372333.post-14216563413277887402021-10-15T16:25:00.000-04:002021-10-15T16:25:12.788-04:00Week in Seven Words #560This covers the week of 10/11/20 - 10/17/20.discoursingI like how these three female figures from history are posed – around a table in a discussion that one can almost overhear.flatteningPetulant people with paper-thin identities and a simplistic way of viewing the world try to dictate what others should read, write, and think about. glowsI admire the green-gold pattern of leaves in the HKatzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653570160517335758noreply@blogger.com