Last weekend, I presented a writing workshop at the Palmetto Bay Library. Props to the YA librarian powerhouse duo, Amy and Gaby, for putting it together. It was a privilege to listen to the "memory snapshots" from poets-in-the-making. Katie told us about snorkeling for the first time, the taste of salt on her lips. Sarah remembered Disney World, the stuffed tiger under her arm, and her big brother, with his "curly hair and crooked teeth." Her dad shared his own sepia-toned nostalgia: early morning in his mother's kitchen, Wichita Lineman on the radio, the smell of coffee and cigarettes, and most of all, the sound of his mother's voice. I loved spending the afternoon in this new library--one of the most beautiful in Miami. It reminds me of a church, the half-circle of windows flooded with light. Next door, horses drape their necks on the chain link fence. Peacocks strut beside a lake. There's a bandshell and a gazebo, too. If you look closely, you might spot a feather woven in the grass. When you find one, it's like making a wish with your eyes open.

I wish good things for this place. No doubt, there's more to come.