Joe and I hatched the idea for  Friday poems over coffee in Ferndale one afternoon. Let’s just write, we agreed. No comments, no praise. Just send a poem every Friday. See where it takes you.

Three months into the experiment, I’m hooked. Even when I put the piece together just before lighting Shabbat candles or grab a stanza from three years ago and polish it into something more presentable, the Friday poem always refreshes me for the week. It reminds me that I’m a writer.

Here’s this week’s contribution, composed in a parking lot between a doctor’s appointment and Josh’s archery day camp awards ceremony.

May all your favorite bands stay together
– Dawes, “All Your Favorite Bands”

May you get to the bottom
of the strawberry box
without a single moldy surprise

May you catch a firefly
on a balmy night full of fireworks
over the wide green golf course

May you finish your favorite book
sprawled across the hammock
in that shady spot behind the garage

May your dog snuggle
close in your bed
without hogging the covers

May your chocolate chip cookies
emerge from the oven
with crisp edges and gooey centers

May you hear “I love you”
every day of your life
the way I mean it this morning