GRIZZLY PEAR

written snapshots

Category: Penny Delights

  • lima

    I adore writing each of these letters in cursive—L, i, m, a.

    But this piece wanted to be rough after trying some elegant versions.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    paper slinkies

    months ago, we saw slinkies at walmart
    but we have too many toys

    recently he got into origami
    (pulling up videos on youtube and asking me fold a piece or two)

    this weekend he remembered,
    we looked some videos, found a simple one

    pulled out the paper cutter,
    sliced up old papers

    contractor sign-in sheets,
    completed kenken puzzles,
    general conditions of a contract,
    registration instructions for the new school year

    slice slice, glue,
    fold, fold, fold, glue,
    fold fold fold….

    the 1 inch square worked OK,
    but was more a string than a slinky

    Again!
    2 inch square

    a lot more paper,
    a few more folds.

    not metal
    not round,
    still a slinky.

    Took a few tries,
    it walked down the stairs.

    By golly!
    well, once out of ten.

    — May 2025

    .

  • kilo

    I had a lot of fun with a pencil for graphing a graffiti style versal. The pencil lets me fly around with light lines to find the right shapes, but I can still erase or crank up the density and line weights to sculpt the shape to my liking.

    Either way, it’s less stressful than ink…and with my architecture sketching background, I willing to live with the unfinished look.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    My father-in-law lost his battle with pancreatic cancer last week. He fought for three seasons until finding his rest in the early morning.

    That day, I stayed at home with the kids while my wife and her mom made arrangements. They played on their computers while I listened to podcasts while working on a jigsaw puzzle that had been sprawled across the playroom mat for a month.

    When she came home, we took a walk around the neighborhood school. The boy then played with our neighbors. They wanted to stroll around the school too.

    So we did.

    — May 2026

    .

  • Jabberwocky

    Last month, we watched the girl play Door #2 at the middle school.
    A small bit, accentuated with clearing table of the mad tea party.
    Like all the parents in the theater, my heart was on that stage for three nights.

    ,

    ,

    Jabberwocky

    ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
          Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
    All mimsy were the borogoves,
          And the mome raths outgrabe.

    “Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
          The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
    Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
          The frumious Bandersnatch!”

    He took his vorpal sword in hand;
          Long time the manxome foe he sought—
    So rested he by the Tumtum tree
          And stood awhile in thought.

    And, as in uffish thought he stood,
          The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
    Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
          And burbled as it came!

    One, two! One, two! And through and through
          The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
    He left it dead, and with its head
          He went galumphing back.

    “And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
          Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
    O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
          He chortled in his joy.

    ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
          Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
    All mimsy were the borogoves,
          And the mome raths outgrabe.

    Lewis Carroll

    ,

    Almost thirty years ago, I bought this bottle of ink by Rotring. It traveled around across the country, architecting in Berkeley, Houston, and Vegas. This poem finally finished it off.

    After I cleaned the bottle, the boy refilled it with a random ink wash for his “science” experiment.

    .

  • juliet

    This feels properly swoopy with a nice plum accent for this lovely word.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    He started wobbly, paused constantly, tumbled a couple of times, but in an hour he was peddling down the straight away and making wide looping turns!

    between bike sessions we went to the playground.
    he’s always passive on the swings,
    but not today, riding next to his sister.

    I gave a good push
    he extended his legs and exclaimed “sun”
    and he folded them back, saying “bank”

    — sun — bank
    — sun — bank
    — sun — bank
    — sun — bank
    — sun — bank

    higher and higher!
    he was finally swinging himself
    with a mantra all his own.

    — December 2023

    .

  • india

    Along with my current gothic scripty kick and the standby pointed brush cursive, this chunky wide brush has been consistently satisfying, especially when pushed to the extreme.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    He taped a red jar cap to the wall and pressed the button each time he headed out to school.

    The boy tripped and bumped his head over the baby-gate.
    Installed three years ago, when he was a toddler.

    Stayed to keep him sleepwalking down.
    Now it’s just in the way.

    Was in the way.
    The hallway feels brand new!

    —November 2023

    .

  • hotel

    Before starting the NATO run, I worked through Arthur Baker’s book of swash capitals. The straight brush also loves the blocky forms of Rudolf Koch’s Neuland. The two got mashed together here.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    After tower defense on Blooket,
    They made me a night zombie,
    Seeking brains in the dark while
    They hid under folded sleeping pad huts.

    Brains, brains!

    Morning comes the sun!
    Away I go!
    They ran into the playroom to fortify
    With pot lid shields and
    Miso containers shooting arrows.

    pew pew pew!

    Dangerous labor,
    This zombie gig.

    —September 2023

    .

  • golf

    and a few monsters.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    blarg blarg beasts

    they waved their arms like noodles
    splayed legs meander through the bedroom
    if you get close to another blarg blarg, give them a big hug!
    i blarg-ed Mama.

    ~

    he said i was a ready monster.
    ready, reaady, reaaady
    flapping little arms like a t-rex

    ~

    i’m an oig monster
    walking through the kitchen
    hunched over
    bent chicken wing arms

    ~

    a baoulu baoulu
    hovers around the safe zone
    breast strokes to swoop
    kids hopping off their beds
    dragged into the dark

    —August 2023

    .

  • foxtrot

    I had a lot of trouble with the cursive on this one. I need to go back to more rigid practice and to rebuild into a more expressive script.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    I tried drawing with my right hand
    she exclaimed that’s easy!

    sketching at dinner
    he saw me staring

    he dove under
    she did too

    they didn’t want
    bad monster to draw them

    I switched targets—
    mama, surfing the phone

    —August 2023

    .

  • echo

    It took many tries to get the two tone brush to work. I don’t recall being happy with any of the results, even after the edits in the computer. Another month later, I’m really happy with this one.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    they piled stuffies on the chair and called me to the room

    I stood behind the chair and held up my hand

    she grabbed a plastic tube
    set it down,
    dropped a quarter,
    and pushed the joystick

    zzt zzzt zzzzt
    BOOP!

    the hand descended
    grabbed Bear-Bear and George

    they slipped out,
    try again!

    this time, Peppa

    and again!

    a Boggle set
    and Unicorn

    ,

    a few weeks later at Primm

    in front of a claw machine.

    I had only one dollar

    we got a Pikachu!

    ,

    —August 2023

    .

  • bravo

    Even a 9×12 sheet can’t fit a 3″ brush without ligatures and a pile of failures.

    At this point, it’s only remarkable when I’m satisfied after a few attempts.

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    Years ago, we bought a toy bird for the girl that records and repeats short snippets. The boy is now well past her age then, but two fresh batteries and it squawks again. They’re upstairs, talking, singing. and laughing at distorted tweets.

    In the other ear, Mama is on the phone, searching nutrition labels for high protein, high calorie foods to stem Grandpa’s weight loss. My mind searches for anything to thread these competing conversations across electronics, but I come up empty.

    Life isn’t tidy.

    —16 November 2025

    .