Monthly Archives: August 2025

August 31, 2025

day 241 ~ ReVerse Poem – 31 August 2025

drive-by home…still standing 50 years later

ReVerse Sunday ~ 31 August 2025

some days I am red
at dawn, and at dusk
thoughts and prayers are not enough
no hint of sweetness
four killed, nine wounded
maple tree leaves are turning

~kat

Another day meeting found family. My life partner is adopted. When she was in her early 20’s her birth mother’s family found her and reached out to her. It has not gone entirely well. So much drama. These types of things can be volatile and messy. There is one sister who she maintained contact with. We visited her today. And then…

She never knew who her biological father was until this year. I had gifted her a DNA test a couple years ago. After about a year she decided to take the test and send it in. About the same time a sister she never knew existed… and who never knew she existed took a DNA test for fun as well. And through the magic of DNA mapping, there was a match. Her sister eventually reached put to me, and lo and behold T has 3 sisters she never knew existed, and three or more nieces and nephews, and a father who is still alive.

We met that sister on her biological father’s side for the very first time. It went well… Very well in fact. This side of the family has its own dramatic twists and turns, but the sister who reached out to us earlier this year was delightful to meet. And gave my partner another piece of the puzzle of her origin story. It was a good day. A very good day. And today’s glimmer? Well, it is family! The family you’re born into, the family you know, the family you create…and sometimes the family you discover.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you. Hug those you love…family, wherever you find them are precious gifts.

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

7 Comments | tags: digital art., digital photography, Glimmers, Poem a Day, Poetry, ReVerse, Shi Sai, week in Reverse, Week in Review | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

August 31, 2025

day 240

By Kat Myrman

walks with Gabby

the air is cooler
maple tree leaves are turning
memories of home

~kat

Being a Midwest kid who transplanted to the eastern mid and south Atlantic regions of this country had been a culture shock when life first took me east. We spent the day yesterday driving by old neighborhoods, schools, unrecognizable downtown buildings that have either deteriorated, been renovated, or are no longer standing, paved over into a parking lot. It’s very weird. I didn’t grow up here, my partner and our friend did. It was so entertaining for me to hear them talk about the old haunts, stories of their wild teenage years, teachers that made an impact on them, their families, friends, and to feel their joy when discovering that some of the old dive bars that they hung out at were still standing and open for business! Memories. It was wonderful to watch them tour down memory lane.

We ended the day at a wonderful restaurant. Good food, great company, and engaging conversation. Needless to say as exhilarating as the day was, I was exhausted by the end of it, but this trip has been so good for both of our souls.

And we brought Gabby along too! She has been such a good little traveler. All around a good trip. Some of the interesting discoveries we have made on our walks around the hotel have been so interesting. So there are your glimmers. I know there is a skeleton of a small critter, maybe a squirrel, amidst the sights…I found it beautiful in the sense that it had been left undisturbed allowing nature to reclaim it along with the leaves now beginning to turn and fall around it.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you! ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

~kat

8 Comments | tags: digital photography, Glimmers, Haiku, hometown, memories, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haiku, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality

August 29, 2025

day 239

By Kat Myrman

Kent State May 4th

four killed, nine wounded
no good comes when armed solders
march on native soil

~kat

Top on the itinerary for our time away was a stop at my partner’s Alma Mater, Kent State University, to visit the May 4th exhibit, a new addition to the campus. It is particularly poignant and chilling to consider how history seems to be repeating itself. It only took a week for this administration to arm the National Guard soldiers that wandered the National Mall of DC doing photo ops with tourists. It would seem that this was trump’s intent all along. Especially now that other democratic and sanctuary cities are next on his list of cities needing an armed occupation. We have seen this before. It does not end well. People will die. People did die.

May 4th happened during the time of Richard Nixon, when congress members still believed in the rule of law and the constitution; when congress members were brave (some would say had a spine), and served the people. They say that those who refuse to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. It’s sobering to consider what is at stake, and how close we are to repeating some of the dark pages of our history.

Today’s glimmer is bitter sweet. It is truth and history, and places like the exhibit I visited today. They are glimmers of light to help bring us back to our senses, to give us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes so that we avoid making those mistakes again. May we learn. May we act. May we redirect ourselves before another tragedy happens.

much love, peace, and glimmers to you,

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

Poetry Form today: Haiku 5/7/5 syllables per each line.

7 Comments | tags: digital photography, Glimmers, Haiku, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haiku, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues

August 28, 2025

day 238

By Kat Myrman

traveling

here in the rustbelt
the air smells industrial 
no hint of sweetness

~kat

Well…we’re traveling this weekend. The vegetation in Virginia where we live has a distinct sweet scent to it that is noticeable when traveling long distances state to state. We are hundreds of miles from home in the “rust belt”. It has been interesting to notice that the air in Ohio where we are currently smells different…there is an industrial metallic tinge in the air. Chicago, where I grew up, has its own scent…

Just because the air is less fragrant I still managed to find a glimmer. A leaf from a nearby cottonwood tree. It’s in one of my favorite shapes…a beautiful heart!

Much love, peace and glimmers wherever you find yourself!

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

7 Comments | tags: cottonwood tree, digital art., Glimmers, Haiku, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haiku, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality

August 28, 2025

day 237

By Kat Myrman

enough…

thoughts and prayers are not enough
even when uttered by innocent children
cannot save them from bullets
piercing through the stained glass
of hallowed, hollow sanctuaries
as evil encroaches their once safe place 
we have lost our way in so many ways
but our greatest sin is not caring
not loving children more than guns
allowing children to starve, to be  slaughtered, to deny education,
opportunity, healthcare, safety…
it’s not prayer in schools that will save us
when amendments and sacred tomes 
become idols, there is no god to listen
and more children, lives cut short, to bury

~kat

It is hard to find glimmers on a day when another mass shooter gunned down children in a church on their first days of school. I am heartbroken for the children, and for the families of those wounded or lost. Back to school, normally a joyful time for kids, has started like a recurring nightmare here in the US.

There was a vigil in Minnesota this evening. Here’s a photo (By Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune) It’s today’s glimmer.

The candles held by mourners are lights in the darkness. Even in grief and pain there can be glimmers…candlelight to remember those lost. To show up. To say, “no more”…to hope someone is finally listening.

Much love, peace and glimmers to you.

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

19 Comments | tags: digital photography, free verse, Glimmers, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, free verse, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality