Prohibition Denver, where the events in question took place In the summer of 2018, I was awaiting a friend in a Denver bar when I heard a series of “pop” noises from outside. Numerous times I had heard noises like this and discovered they were a car’s misfiring, but something about this volley struck me… Continue reading The view from Prohibition and my thoughts on mass shootings
Tag: Trauma
What we owe one another: a spiritual perspective
This piece was written for and placed third in the Santa Fe Reporter's 2021 nonfiction contest, in response to the prompt "What do we owe one another?" The Reporter's publication of the piece can be found here. I believe that happiness—and not just happiness but profound, unabating bliss—is our birthright. Let me explain. When we… Continue reading What we owe one another: a spiritual perspective
Pillow talk
The things learned beside the pillow of a lover, Secrets told and then made obsolete when relationship ends. * Facts about a dangerous past, An abusive one, About mistakes made, Fantasies rendered. * What to do with such truths when the connection is irrelevant? What becomes them? * Do they live on, Like ghosts that… Continue reading Pillow talk
A puff of chalk
The other day, I was at the climbing gym when a man rushed by me, slammed down a large bag of chalk on the floor, and hurried on and disappeared from sight. I was standing on the backside of the bouldering structure when this happened, and I realized that the man had done it in… Continue reading A puff of chalk
Atonement for negative karma
I recognize that my actions have harmed others in the past. Through selfishness, I have created and amplified traumas, Some of which may live on to this day. These will need to be healed through time, Some of them perhaps living on to future generations. For my part, I recognize that my own harmful actions… Continue reading Atonement for negative karma
Jackson Holzberg Buckley 