C.M. Rivers

"The point of being an artist is that you may live." ~ Sherwood Anderson

Journal

  • Prayer

    May I see through the dark, without even looking. May I hear above the noise, without even listening. May I know beyond a doubt, without even thinking. May I trust in myself, without even trying.   Read more

  • Through the Door

    We live in the crook of fortune’s flexible arm, an arm that winds up at a predetermined and rigid hand.  We live both sides, both ways, each a tiger, surveying from ripples wound about the tightened stake of natural selection. We’d love a look at the other side without going through, a rare and much sought-after mystical optometry, Read more

  • Sometimes A Rainstorm

    Sometimes a rainstorm reminds me to sit in easy solitude as you have shown me.  They might assume you were once a bohemian clown with squash blossoms braided around your ankles, the way you lean back and cross your legs, bringing that demitasse cup to your lips, followed by a forkful of smoked cheddar omelet Read more

  • Poseidon

    Dear Diary, rainy morning, early, dreary.  The light coming through the water’s surface was the loveliest I’ve seen.  I’m exhausted, drained.  Aphrodite took it all out of me, then she took me on a wooden ship and showed me the absurdities of Men.  Now the mermaids are upon me again, but this time my hair Read more

  • Six Thoughts On Mary Oliver

    Mary, who helps us remember tenderness when we find an insect on our pillow, or a bat in the house. Mary, who reminds us of a hundred walks in the wilderness, even as we stare at lamp-lit sheetrock and worry about work. Mary, who tells us what we knew the moment we were born but have forgotten. Mary, who makes us feel less alone Read more

  • Constance

    Constance

    Here’s a little something I wrote in honor of my high school English teacher, Constance Person.  It was a big class in a big high school in the big city, and I was terrified of being called upon.  I was a shy country mouse who was used to small classes in a small school in Read more