Medusa Oblongata My straight-ish hair,At its longest, Stretches down to the bottomOf my shoulder blades.I remember being able to onceSit on the ends of my braidsAt my first grade deskIf I leaned back far enough.Now, I stare into the mirror,And an unholy crownFrames my face, likeThe flames of a fire–Though made of molten ashAnd steel … Continue reading Medusa Hair, Do Care
When the school bell sounds its final ring, We pack up the Rabbit and head Down South, Where we will ride and walk, up and across, The flat, square city blocks of Charlotte. When the restless claim on her home overwhelms, Grandma sends us outside to pluck from The bounty from her summer garden, The … Continue reading Sticky Sweet Reflections on Summers Past
“Do you guys specifically seek out places to live that are near bodies of water,” my friend Melissa asked me as we watched the brook tumbling past the hiking trail we followed in the pouring rain. The trailhead was located across the street from my condo complex. “You always seem to find homes that are … Continue reading Where the River Runs Through Trees
(Adapted from my New Year's post on The Mind-Body Shift) A prevailing theme that threads through my work and my writing is the concept of change and one's ability to transform him or herself at any time or point in one's life. It's not surprising, really, when you consider that my name, Renée, literally means 'reborn' in … Continue reading Letting Go of Radical Resolutions Leaves Me Free to Fly
As I wrote about a few weeks ago, my childhood best friend gifted me a masterclass with Judy Blume for my 40th birthday. As part of our first assignment, we were asked to write a letter as our childhood self. I've written letters to my childhood self from my present-day self, and vice versa, each … Continue reading A Letter From My 10-Year-Old Self
When you can’t tune out the Muse But your weary eyes refuse to skim another page, When muting the channel of inspiration is futile, Though your limbs ache and shake with The promise of imminent rain, You try to drown out the voices That defy the silence By meditating on diving deeper Into the present … Continue reading The Incessant Whispers of Insomnia
It was time to confront my past in order to come back to my creative center. Thus, I returned to my old novel about twins and remembered why I fell in love with them in the first place. Inspired by my original work, my rewrites and the newer material I had written in spurts over the years, I began writing as if I were discovering the story for the first time.
I’m currently in the midst of rewriting and finally completing a young adult novel for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer’s Month) that I first started 10 years ago. Yikes–I know, I can’t believe it’s been that long either! As a story first begun in an informal YA (Young Adult) fiction writing class, further developed in a … Continue reading Back Behind the Writer’s Desk
Renée Can Writes 