Stepping stones
Editor’s Note: We at Topology are currently on our annual publishing break. In the meantime, enjoy this bonus essay on the July theme of…
Read MoreEditor’s Note: We at Topology are currently on our annual publishing break. In the meantime, enjoy this bonus essay on the July theme of…
Read MorePhoto: Sorbie Farm, Salem, OH, Hanna Family Archives (circa 1958) It was a day, her uncle said, more beautiful than it had any right…
Read MoreWhen we do not take grief seriously—our own and another’s—but merely cover its wounds with a garish fairy tale of winking soldiers cheering from…
Read MoreOn May 29, 2011, I was in conference with a guest at The Hermitage, a retreat center where I serve as Spiritual Director. It…
Read MoreA splash of brilliant orange between many layers. A green dress, moth-eaten, in which she had once danced with her uniformed father amidst the…
Read More“You are not welcome at the house because you abandoned the people who lived there.” There were a bunch of other words, but these…
Read MoreChildren gathered around the flowered bier and sang dirges. Burst, his mother cried to the silent God who called her to this. Hidden women…
Read MoreThe tears start at the back of the eye. I suppress all thoughts of death and blink several times. They retreat. I press my…
Read MoreCertain tragedies are so unbelievable, immediately soaking up the nation’s consciousness like a thirsty sponge, that they become synonymous with a community’s name. Think:…
Read MoreLast October a weekend away unraveled into seven days of limbo. I was thankful that the vintage black dress with gold buttons, which I…
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