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Running Toward the Fire

· Reflection

Running Toward the Fire

July 2026 reflection on Running Toward the Fire, paired with The Gift of the Flame, tracing place, turn, and emotional record.

The Gift of the Flame Paired Poem The Gift of the Flame
Fishing With Hope

· Reflection

Fishing With Hope

I was walking Hermosa Beach at sunset when I saw him — a man out on the dark rock with a rod in his hands, casting into the surf as the light failed. I never saw his face. I only saw that he stayed, sending the line out again and again into water that had promised him nothing.

Salt Between the Tides Paired Poem Salt Between the Tides
I Am Not the Same Anymore (Good)

· Reflection

I Am Not the Same Anymore (Good)

I looked at a photograph from ten years ago recently. Same face, more or less. But something fundamentally different in the eyes — the absence of certain urgencies I used to carry everywhere.

In the Hush of Dawn, Metamorphosis Paired Poem In the Hush of Dawn, Metamorphosis
What Pain Actually Teaches (A Field Report)

· Reflection

What Pain Actually Teaches (A Field Report)

I have a complicated relationship with the word "wisdom." It gets used so often as a consolation prize — as if the lesson somehow justifies the cost of the tuition. Sometimes pain is just pain.

Wisdom Through Pain Paired Poem Wisdom Through Pain