Often, during times like these, I feel like I don’t say or do enough to speak out about crimes against humanity. Often, I’m left dumbfounded. Mostly, I’m too angry, and when I get angry, I tend to stay quiet. And sometimes I feel ashamed when I stay quiet. I tried to capture that in this poem.
A poem about the first snow and the excitement it brings.
Summer draws to a close and I don’t mind. We’re upon my favorite season! Fall has always been so magical to me, and I can’t wait to dive into all things autumnal. However, I want to still honor this summer of change and growth. While my writing and art have been mostly stagnant, I did manage to write a few poems. Also, I grabbed a lovely shot of clouds the other day which is the featured image of this post.
This poem came to me as I listened to the wind in the pines. It is a sound I absolutely love next to that of waves. This is one of those poems that I wrote the initial idea down, but then refined it. Words were adjusted and line lengths changed for flow, and as I did that, I noticed something of a linear timeframe forming. So then I considered the first stanza and thought of a way to talk about human history or even a singular life.
After the clouds cleared one morning, I could see more of the mountains in the distance. This poem came to me as I thought, there are always more mountains. I started considering how we all have these mountains we’re climbing, all the ones we’ve already climbed, and all the things in between.
My mind has been dark lately. I realized I needed to play, and not write anything too deep. So, I thought it would be fun to create a piece inspired by trees that is also tree shaped.
A little free form bit to capture what I saw, felt, and smelled the other day. Rain in the desert has a distinct smell, with mostly that of the earthy, peppery scent of the creosote bush. Something I will miss when we leave the desert.
This poem is about many things. Manic episodes and depression, self-esteem, confidence, and reworking failed dreams. It’s about trying and failing and trying again. It’s about finding yourself amongst the chaos. I found this poem again after I published my book, Between The Dark and The Light. I’m a little sad that it isn’t in there, but maybe it will end up in a second or special edition — or a completely different book! Recently, I looked at it again while considering what poems I wanted to share on here.
My debut poetry book, Between The Dark and The Light, was published on December 10, 2024. It is wild to me that it has been out a couple of months already! My intention was to celebrate by sharing a poem from the book on the 10th. That day came and went as I was caught up in all the other things that life requires.
I wrote this poem today after walking my dogs. It occurred to me how long it has been since we had rain here in the desert valley of Arizona — which has been about 170 days. Usually we would have had some by now and the wildflowers would start blanketing the ground in a burst of yellow, orange, and purple.
I wrote this poem after being in a writing slump. Thank to my friend and poet, V. Walker, for the inspiration to get me out of the slump!