Cataracts falling Dam is blocking my feelings But my heart still beats #vss365 #cataracts #haiku

I am lethargy A shadow of my past self A caged bird that cries Never daring to spread wings Still sings her last song #vss365 #lethargy #tanka

She plucked the daisy and placed it gently in the stream. Slowly, it turned and floated, getting caught up in the current. When it reached the small #cataract, it bobbed and sank for a time, then emerged on the other side, worse for wear, but whole. Like me, she thought. #vss365

Something different I’ve been doing on my Substack is to offer Writer Meditations. The latest meditation is about Writing in Times of Turmoil. Unplanned, though definitely relevant. #meditation #WriterLife #OrganicCreativity jdestradawriter.substack.com/p/writer-med...

Manatee or Mermaid? To test a sailor’s sanity Bring unto him a manatee, And if he finds her beautiful, Declare him fit and dutiful. But if he finds her hideous, This shows he’s too fastidious, And not the sort of matelot Who’s fit to fight a battle-o.

The body she lives in hours that raised her sorrows that deepened her joys that undid her Time kept its patient hands on her shoulders like a blessing she never asked for Now she is fruit falling through a #cataract of suns ripe with all her seasons #vss365 #poetry #blueskypoets 🎨 by HAYA

cloudy vision joins the already muddled mind i won't miss a beat #vss365 #Cataract #Senryu #Haiku #Poetry #Micropoetry #JustWrite #Resilience

The moon's eye, watching through a misty cataract flowers close for the evening deceived by light's leaving, all to be forgiven come morning & in the dark, I steel myself for the day ahead wearing dread like a lanyard still, a thread of hope that I'll be as the flower unfurling come morning.

Splendor of freedom A feeling unknown to me Hope crushed in a bud #splendor #vss365 #haiku

Shades of #splendor— So many ways To say goodbye (My 📸) #vss365 #haiku

Jane was too #timid to speak up when her boss was rude. The words always got stuck in her throat. But written words? Those she could turn into weapons. One morning, the boss was found dead, slumped at his desk. Jane smiled. He got her email then. #vss365

"Ides Of March" In March we welcome hope In a world full of wishes Beauty grows starting to shine Into a beautiful new world Tides have been overcome Darkness becoming bright We live now for tomorrow Knowing all will be alright #words #march #March2026 #poetry

A timid flower Weathering storm at midnight Blooms by the morning #vss365 #timid #haiku

Obsessed with a dream Reality stings and screams Dead silence within #vss365 #obsessed #haiku

Evening drags its ink-blue sleeve across the sky. A thin seam of fire holds at the horizon, stubborn, tender. Rocks crouch like old thoughts along the waterline, and the sea keeps answering in slow, cold syllables. Far off, the city glows faint as a memory. #photography #westcoastkin #poetry

If universe could give a hug I would love to ask for one I am needing it today All is dark and I'm in pain Falling down I've lost all pieces Of myself and now I'm missing The very essence of me And only you can bring me peace Hug me, please... #poetry #hug #life

Stellar ideas Without having been written Vanish forever #vss365 #stellar #haiku #life

Orbital dancing Feeling spring for the first time Heart flutters and sings #vss365 #orbital #haiku #spring

Orbital glances Hiding behind the old trees Snowdrops bloom at last #vss365 #orbital #haiku #spring

Break in Break out Invite someone in or keep them out such sanctity and containment An orbital wheel of fortune repetitive cycles as time passes away months, years and days from the cradle to the grave #vss365 #orbital

Two souls in the same #orbital plane, trailing one another through the dark. They never meet, yet their paths collide Same gravity, different sides of time. One stayed awake for the other to rise They unite for a moment, before the timeline dies. ~rev #vss365 📸 self

I did not knowingly write This poem that night That would become A published one Nearly thirty years ago. But it’s alright We never know How our soul kisses Will touch hands And this is life And this is death And all is good. Be good and do not forget, The women still whisper. #vss365 #knowingly

What if the stars are not far When seen with the heart And stellar dust is just us Cells wanting to discuss The possibilities of night When we realize that light Is all there is and distance Gives us the space to dance #vss365 #stellar

Speaker one: you are all made of stardust, therefore, you are stellar even in your darkest moments. Speaker two: you are all made of stardust, therefore you cannot be blamed for blowing up and going nova. It’s in your nature. #vss365

- i've learned to live deprived of oxygen but i suppose it’s nitrogen that makes up all this air breath is overrated - and you need so much of it to speak; so i listen, i ponder - and drift off like stardust to join the stellar beings who require no air to breathe. - #poetry #vss365

Honored that my #poem "The Search for Starlight" was just published in Literary Revelations Journal! literaryrevelations.com/2026/02/23/a...

The abyss of grief From the steep edge of despair I fall knowingly #vss365 #knowingly #haiku

To exist in #knowing presence To be conscious of and tuned to nature’s soft whispers, reading the subtle shifts, sensing the unseen as it unfolds. To unfurl the soul and open the mind welcoming nourishing thoughts to yield, to grow and to behold. That’s living! ~rev #vss365

Needed to revive The sheer will to survive, the Strength behind lived lives. #inkMine #revive #haiku #senryu #poem #writing #writingcommunity @inkmine.bsky.social

#beastly behaviour fearful souls lost in the woods yet light still shines through #vss365 #haikuprompt #senryu #haikusaturday #writesky #writingcommunity #haiku Image by Maxx Gong on unsplash

#vss365 #crazed

“What do you say We #knowingly go on a little hunt? Or excuse me, A BIG one” “What do you say If I unbuttoned this unzip these & #discover Your unspoken?” “Entice my #enchantment To come & Come Come out & play” “Oh, you think so, huh? Already on its way-“ ©️Aspen #BraveWrite #vss365 #Screenwriter

#Knowingly rejecting my blizzard reality— I escape into an image of spring (My 📸) #vss365 #blizzard #MagentaMonday

He was still bound to her. Each affection she gave #knowingly to another was a lash against his skin. He became so riddled with scars that he hid under a cloak. At night this creature climbed a tree til he reached the finger bones and sang to her, so sad and sweet that even the moon wept. #vss365

at this beastly hour all i want is toast and jam fashionably late #haikufeels #Jam #vss365 #Beastly #dailyhaikuprompt #Late #Senryu #haiku #Poetry #Micropoetry #JustWrite #WritingCommunity

#vss365 #blatant

Conceptually I’m not myself Or— Not only just Idealized sure The best we see But also you Those close to me Contained within Almost wholly Those who I miss And I forget They still remain Absence a hue Turning me blue I still love you

Mother Nature's style— She trades her neutral palette For #blatant color (My 📸) #vss365 #haiku #HaikuSaturday

#vss365 #beastly #dark

Mystified with love Heart beats in tune with the rain First cherry blossom #vss365 #mystified #haiku

#vss365 #bouncy #poetry #life

Today on my Substack, we talk about how negative energy can help you create. Lord knows, these days we have plenty of that type of energy going around. Still, we can let it wreck us or we can channel it and do something productive, because we always have a choice. open.substack.com/pub/jdestrad...

Lessons from Nature, vol.6 sometimes, we all need a hug… 🤗❄️ #stumpday #hugsarefree #forestfinds #photography

to hear your laughter after those mountainous years love hears our echoes deafening past valley fears igniting our hearts again ©️Aspen #BraveWrite #vss365 #haiku #tanka #PoetryCommunity #Poetry #mountainous #HappyLunarNewYear Love you, Aspen🕊️ 👇 youtu.be/AJtDXIazrMo?si…

In hindsight What seemed mountainous Now seems minuscule Time changes perspective And some other things But the essence of it is faith That everything will be well in the end #vss365 #mountainous #minuscule

~the f word~ I am not #enchanted by guns and pepper spray protecting child rapists aggressive fist-pumping cults of personality fake fantasy heritage children in cages science as an enemy selective free speech the Bible as a weapon nonstop acts of revenge and lies upon lies upon lies #vss365

3 days of heavy cloud and frequent rain, and I was climbing the walls missing the sun. Don't know how you hardy northern hemisphere folk do it.

Sometimes This world shines With rainbows high in the sky Clouds part and the sun comes alive I am enchanted by the nature around Snowdrops bloom in the undergrowth Daffodils find beauty by the road So wonderful how the hills meet the sky Because Sometimes This world does shine #vss365 #enchanted