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How do you feel when you think about the holidays? I have such conflicted reactions. As you can tell, I'm already looking ahead. On the one hand, the holidays are supposed to be – and often are – a very special time of year when we pay extra attention to the important people and efforts... Continue Reading →
A birch tree reaches out over the White River at a point very near my favorite bike trail. A clear view of it opens up from the hilltop north of an interstate bridge. From there I see many branches of many trees, but the birch’s vivid white bark often catches my attention. I first noticed... Continue Reading →
As a fall semester begins for students and educators, I'm sharing this essay inspired by my own college days. It originally appeared in "Bell: Essays by readers" in the March 2024 issue of The Christian Century. ~~~ I can’t fully explain why I did it. I thought a lot about those bells. Lying in my... Continue Reading →
Did anything about this summer surprise you? For this final installment of my “Summer Quartet” blog series, I’ll say that I had some insights from my summer outings. I also had some new thoughts upon coming home. Now in this haibun (prose + haiku) habit, I’ve been reflecting on the contrast … ~~~ What Satisfies... Continue Reading →
What new thing have you found or made this summer? In this “Summer Quartet” blog series, you’ll see I’ve been pushing myself to try something new on my summer outings by bringing home haiku. Composing the haiku is a way of capturing things I encounter when I'm out and about, especially old, familiar things that... Continue Reading →
What kinds of things have you brought home this summer? With this “Summer Quartet” blog series, I’ve been challenging myself to bring home some haiku from my summer outings and add prose to develop them into the haibun (prose + haiku) form. Poetry amateur I may be, but I’m enjoying this summer hobby. ~~~ The... Continue Reading →
Callie J. Smith 