For #Promptcombo #Characters & #PromptTheme #Amphibian, a poem for my grandmother, whose roots were in northern Italy's Piedmont region. Thank you to hosts: @rfsmith.bsky.social @thepaulconnolly.bsky.social* *a very last minute post, so sharing only for fun 🪷 'Kin' in Heimat Review, Jan. 2023

'Resting Fox' by UK printmaker Sarah Bays #WomensArt

255/500 by tonight! Thank you so much to @janeburn.bsky.social for this beautiful painting of two Palestinian sunbirds. And to you, reading this: you can help. Please, please do.

A lovely tribute for a treasured musical instrument. 🎼

I turned 43 yesterday. Birthdays are awkward, but the world being what it is, I felt grateful. What do I hope for in the second half of life? Peace, family, friendship, love, animals, plants, a real home. Openness, trust, safety, gentleness, warmth. Poetry too, but my heart is in these other things.

What a beautiful poem. Such strong imagery. Taking us all into the deep end with that ending!

So much heaviness right now, expressed meaningfully here. I especially appreciated the part about the t-shirt in Kyiv: 'Just be kind.' Yes, sometimes it's all we can do. Also, the reminders at the end. We have to keep trying to find a way through. 💙

To not be afraid to ask questions for clarity, and to appreciate whatever answer comes in return. To respect where other people are in their lives, and to still stand in your own integrity and truth. To stay on your path. To be a friend. To grow.

There's a typo in this, but I still think it's a good manifesto, whether you're in a cocoon phase or a growth phase 🦋

For #PromptCombo #ClocksTicking ✨ for @dragonslayerma.bsky.social

Migration is happening before you know it! It's been almost a year since I started photographing #hummingbirds Time flies. 2024/5 has been wacky. #birds

I love the contrasts in this poem 🌙 'The road is too far, too long, too dark...' 'But the evening star, the moon with her almost-smile'

#promptcombo #clocksticking @dragonslayerma.bsky.social Another oldie that felt appropriate! Apologies for wonky copy!😀 "All In Good Time" first gratefully published in Inkshed December 1990.🙏

Outstanding launch, @bethbpoet.bsky.social! I loved hearing the poems in the collection, 'A Long Way Down,' and also the wonderful poetry from guest readers too: @marcellenewbold.bsky.social @judemarr.bsky.social A brilliant event! 🪂

For #PromptCombo #ClocksTicking & #PoemsAbout #Candlelight, this was in Autumn Sky Poetry, Nov 2020. Bit bleak, but long past. Currently in a season of renewal, & if you've gone through this w/ family, wishing you peace. 'Remember the year a fox' @dragonslayerma.bsky.social @alanparrywriter.co.uk

Without 9/11, would any of this be happening? Something broke in the western psyche that day.

Thank you for this. I appreciate experimenting w/ different styles for the prompts, posting old poems, & scraps. My earliest poems were pastoral & I still love that style. Also wanted to try a traditional Bluesky bio for a bit; I might need to do this for myself but not sure how I feel about it yet.

A hummingbird drawn to goldenrod flowers. #birds #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #birdphotography #omsystem #nature #goldenrod #hummingbird

A small poem from years ago, after a semester reading & writing about ancient, medieval, & modern wars, then coming across this historical footnote: "In ancient Sparta, mothers sent their sons off to war with the command to come home with their shield — or on it." CW: violence #PoemsAbout #Facades

I spent the past week immersing outdoors. It was peaceful, a cacophony of sounds each night, balmy air better than any poem I could write. Part of me wants to stay on a digital hiatus during the fall. Another part thinks it's important to return & keep building. Vulnerability is hard. Never give up.

A poem for Palestine about something I witnessed in March 2024. It left such an impression, I told a friend about it the first time we spoke. In fact, it was the reason we spoke, as I wanted to tell someone and knew they'd understand. Thank you for this beautiful issue, @madridlitmag.bsky.social ❤️‍🩹 🇵🇸

Signing off the night of Aug 28th in search of analog adventures this fall. Contemplating two things: silence as a fortifying spiritual force at times, & also, how to effectively harness the power of words through the worst of what is happening in the nation & world. Embracing the tension between.

Black Swallowtails feeding on native thistle. Their colors are so striking against the thistle! 📍Nachusa Grasslands #butterflies #nachusagrasslands #illinois #prairie #nativeplants #pollinators

“Try, fail, try again.” I read this recently. It aligns with my guiding principles, I have poems ending similarly, and it matches what I said a year ago: we all stumble on. It is also what grace means. Not giving up on a friendship in the blink of an eye. Extending an olive branch. 🕊️ Try, fail, try.

Thank you, Peter. This post is because I’m going on a social media hiatus soon & I want to feel like things are peaceful when I do. We can all lookout for one another - there’s no reason for it to be otherwise. My pending request to be unblocked by a friend is the act of grace I’m asking for here.

‘Boar bristle brush in one hand... he gives voice to a crane flying over marshland a shadow cast by a friend’s goodbye’ Honoring beauty in nature & writing for political change, Li Po arrives on shore at Long Island Sound 🛶 #LiftToTheSky @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social Life is precious. Never goodbye.

To all who read, commented, & shared the poems in this series, & to the poets who contributed to a new project without knowing exactly how it might unfold: thank you. The 12th poem is now posted in the archive, this account is a resource for articles, & there may also be an essay or two in the fall.

Write Here, Right Now. Thursday. 8pm. A supportive, inclusive writing group.

An espaliered apple tree behind the town library, a blessing for a good harvest, and a rabbit for luck. 🍀

And for the protection of all lives including immigrants, as it was inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

'Who writes the elegy when the future dies unseen?'

Visiting w/ family tonight to escape my apt a bit. Recognizing the incongruity of reading these in a situation far removed from extremity, but excerpts now posted for 'Against Forgetting' (full intro: tinyurl.com/2skuc2tw). Recommend the audio for Milosz' book, as it's based on his 1981-82 lectures.

It’s my launch tomorrow 😃

Already thinking ahead to autumn & recalling how I spent the coming months last year. In a world where so much feels out of our control, how to also hold onto the rituals & traditions that create meaning amidst chaos? Audio journaling, quiet poetry readings, Nov 30th traditions to carry into winter.

Gliding in morning's light. #birds #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #birdphotography #omsystem #nature

Good afternoon @victoriaspires.bsky.social and the #PromptCombo crew. Thanks for this week’s #woods prompt. My ranty offering may not be on your radar, and isn’t very poetic, but it’s what emerged so I’m sharing it anyway. Thanks for hosting.

The last eco-poem in the archive! 🔥 Keep an eye out for the final two poems this weekend to close out this group of 12.

I had so much fun at last night's event, including a chance to read a poem I wrote a year ago for FolkHeart Press' Ekphrastic Series. All Season 2 writers from the past year were invited to read their poems last night. Many thanks to editor @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social! Here's an audio of my poem:

#WednesdayWIP, brilliant idea @thebrokenspine.co.uk I have many WIP & a couple scraps like this; as for whether I should actually write this way or let people read it, I’m not sure. I prefer writing gentle poems when it's about anything personal. On the struggle for self-worth. CW, violence

The heart is the toughest part of the body. Tenderness is in the hands. Carolyn Forché, The Country Between Us

Only three poems left to go! The last couple of poems will be posted by Sunday to close out this archive of 12. Come follow along at the account below, if you aren't already. It will stay open as a resource for articles & poems, and there may be an essay or two during the fall.

This idea is charming. There's a whole series of these by @oyoguhito.bsky.social #LiftToTheSky 🐚

What a great series… #LiftToTheSky 🐚 @oyoguhito.bsky.social

“Try, fail, try again.” I read this recently. It aligns with my guiding principles, I have poems ending similarly, and it matches what I said a year ago: we all stumble on. It is also what grace means. Not giving up on a friendship in the blink of an eye. Extending an olive branch. 🕊️ Try, fail, try.

For restoring friendship. I value camaraderie & a dialectical process that shapes creative work. Subscribing to my substack last week meant a lot. I wanted to withdraw awhile, from overwhelm on the apps, but I didn't anticipate being blocked. I regret my question; the reason wasn't what you thought.

A #poem for dVerse. merrildsmith.org/2025/08/15/r...

Excerpt from 'She Let Go' by Rev. Safire Rose. I never post anything like this, but I'm counting down the days to my September sabbatical & this poem is motivational. It won't be easy, and unlike the poem, I need to say it to reinforce it. There's nothing I want more than to do this for myself. 🧡

Never let them ridicule you for this, by the way. For anyone who has gone through anything similar, you deserve every bit of gentleness. Do not let them mock you or tell you otherwise.

Do not give in. Do not stop fighting. To quote Timothy Synder: ‘Do not obey in advance.’