What the Wolf Moon Woke
A poem for my brother Oscar, six years gone
For those new to my newsletter: Thank you for joining in and reading. For those who’ve been here along the way, many will know this newsletter is one that attempts to hold grief and joy side-by-side, much like my book. Today is no different as I mark the sixth anniversary of my brother Oscar’s passing.
I wrote this poem last night as the full moon kept me awake, its light reflecting off the snow and through my window — light traveling from sun to moon to snow to me.
Ben, my husband, told me that the Earth has reached its perihelion, the moment in the year when we are closest to the sun. Perhaps that is what woke me or perhaps it was Oscar reaching through the darkness to beam his smile into my heart.
I’ll be back tomorrow with an invitation to join me and friends for some beautiful writing and reflection. Until then. <3
The Potato Thief
To know my brother was to know a person
who stole crispy potatoes from the baking sheet—
sizzling so hot they burned his fingers
and the roof of his mouth—
over and over again
before dinner was served.
To know a person so filled with puns
they came out in tidal waves so strong
they took us down in peals of groans.
To know a person who loved dogs so much
because they didn’t know his gait was bumpy,
his eyes droopy, his smile crooked,
because he knew they were as close
to a God’s love as this Universe allows.
To know my brother is to know a person
who taught me lessons I am still learning
in the shadow of his loss.
To know my brother is to know a part of me
that remembers all of the pokes and pranks
and tears and struggles
and longs for one more smile.
To remember my brother is to listen
to the potatoes as they lie on this hot tray
and swear I hear the steps of a potato thief
giggling behind me,
waiting for his chance to steal away.


To Oscar’s thievery and punnery and love and eternal presence. 🙏🏻 Thank you for sharing him with us.
Reading this is like watching him sneaking and you screaming “You’ll burn your mouth”. So grateful to have lived in the time of Osci one of my two beautiful blond haired adorable sons I was given. Now I have you and Lee and Osci is all around us.