Abbe Rolnick's Blog: Abbe's Notes

Old Address BookYellow, dilapidated, bound bookHolds lives I once lived.Names in pencil, crossed out three timesWith new addresses, phones, and name changes.I see ghosts of friendship, old relationshipsFrom across oceans and continents.Those who have been important enoughFor me to write them letters.Long handed, stories and intimacies.I cherish this unruly address bookWith snips of addresses clipped […]

A Twist in the PlotImagine your life is broken into chaptersThe characters swirl around you.Some you choseSome you loseEach voice enters your mindUntil one dayYou begin to walk aloneTake your own pathScenes changeRoads lead somewhere elseNew faces, new places.Within you, remain the voicesOf the past.Yours to choose Yours to include What is your next chapter. […]

Why Are We Here? How can we, at our age, ask the same question that plagued us in our youth?  After years of work, success, travel, and adventure, still the niggly question prevails. It isn’t about filling our time, keeping busy, proving that we are significant.  All of us have obsessions and hobbies but moving […]

Lost KeysI once read a children's bookThat claimed, if you lost the keys,Throw away the house.But how do you do that if the keybelongs to your heart.Who knows your rational answerHides a tear, that rips through loveOr that you’d rather climb a treeThen drive a car.Be atop a camel, with oversized lipsCud chewing with intent.A […]

Crossing the Finish LineIs this a race?Do I have to move fastAm I reaching for successOr the end?For we all know that the lineMoves a dot at a time.And that time isRelevantOnly if we clock it.I am just a dot In the universeAnd I move slowlyAged with speckles.Dots that createWrinkled linesThat wobble with smilesRoads once […]

FlashQuick as a lickLightening, and I count to sevenAs if heavenWould answer my callAcross the skiesThrough the airAerial waves unseenSo much of life is invisibleImpactfulAnd yet the flash of timeCarries lives through centuriesCreates and extinguishesFire with flames that warm And comfortAll the while destroys.FlashA glimpse of shooting starsAcross the hemispheresLight the way Colorful displayEven as […]

Acoustic PoemsKnowledgeKnowledgeKnowing is realizingNothing is permanentObvious but profound.When the earth shuttersLights go outEnter moments of feelingDarkness and light maybeGone yet awarenessEnters and wisdom followsSpanishSoft rolling Rs and wordsPass through my lipsAnd rumblesNoting strugglesIndigenous undertowsSwishing waters meander towardHeaven on their earthCookingCaught in the web of Odors emanating whiffs of Onions, sizzle to sweet refrainKitchen clamor, chops […]

The dilemma unfolds… Unconventional Solutions The dilemma unfolds… I had just opened my healthy juice and eatery restaurant, Established a following, only to be told by my landlord That the bank across our shared street was expanding with a bridge over the parking area to the building next to me.    The entrance and parking […]

An ObservationYesterday, on a midday walkTwo bald eagles soared in circlesAlong the bay.One swooped down between the treesA nod to me or a warning to the crows?I’ve searched for over a month forThe heron who once graced my vision,Perched, hidden in a tree.Elusive action, only visible for seconds.My toddler grandchildSorts colored popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners […]

BarteringTell me the difference betweenSharing, giving, buying, and loaning.Transactions that end or continue.Where in all of this is value:Of the purchase, the person, the trust?When we barter, we become stewardsOf long-term relationshipsFor how else, can an object Or service be evaluated?Loans over time have consequencesAn outright purchase is a done dealAnd sharing means all comes […]