Photo by Camilla Coffey
We Americans like things fast
Speed of light, full throttle, move like lightning, fast food
I move quickly by default
preferring to zip about, and get things done
but it’s in the moments when I consciously s-l-o-w d-o-w-n
that I feel the most grounded, relaxed and content
*part of my alphabiography project
I love the word “yet” It’s full of promise and optimism
I haven’t learned Python …
I haven’t published my second book…
I haven’t been to England…
I’m not very good at illustrating…
I haven’t produced a short film…
I haven’t been to Korea with my kids…
yet! And until I do, I will enjoy every delicious moment of this great journey.
*Part of my alphabiography series
Succulents and needles,
Sand and stone,
In this arid land
I’m not alone
Quail eggs, scorpion and snake on the floor
Wren, dove, and hummingbird above
All of us move unruffled and unrushed
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
*Part of my alphabiography series
With pen and paper (or laptop),
my mind navigates savage places
– unauthorized and shady –
– limitless, immense and vast –
at my desk, in the still of solitude,
I am fierce and wild
*part of my alphabiography series
Slim wallet but exuberantly rich life
*part of my alphabiography series
If I could say anything to my students, I’d say:
“Hi, my name is Mrs. Wyatt and I like it very quiet.”
But alas, my last name is Wipff
(origin: Alsace-Lorraine) Yes, Swiss
I chose this name! I married it.
My surname is Chung but not Chinese, Korean
It is pronounced “Jung” – not “yung” like Carl (who was Swiss, by the way)
What’s that you say?
Oh yes, I love the Quiet
*Part of my alphabiography series
My passion for poetry is positively preposterous
careful contemplation,
delicate design of discourse,
imagination, inspiration and impact,
I’m in awe: affectionately and alliteratively amazed
*Ralph Waldo Emerson
**Part of my alphabiography project
I used to honor the fast and brash,
the notorious and well-heeled,
the industrious zealots
who marched on downtown pavement
But I’ve come to recognize true virtue
in the quail’s quivering plume –
in the solitary bay of the owl at dusk –
and in the jeweled skin of a rattlesnake
Davenport, Iowa
my childhood: pizza and friends, rollerskating rinks and birthday parties, and
Tae Kwon Do
DeKalb, Illinois
my high school years, academic stress, Madonna and Prince, cornfields, detassling, Del Monte factory
Rochester, New York
holy-crap-cold, ice storms, tunnel systems, hibernation, isolation, spring, independence
San Francisco, California
Real freedom (!), real work, KKSF Radio, banking, teaching, marriage, babies, house, traffic
Mesa, Arizona
Culture shock, new home, dry heat, sweet violin music, educating, new friends, cancer, husband’s lay offs, writing, and stillness
I passed out once
shortly after my first child’s birth
“extreme blood loss” is what the doctor said
“she’ll need three units of whole blood”
“But…what about AIDS?” My mother cried.
Losing conciousness is like
falling off a cliff
in very slow motion
it is painless
as long as your husband catches you
Kismet 