Category Archives: Digital Art & Photos

Landay – Day 3

The blood of children is on your hands.
You, with your guns, tell me how pro-life
you are again.

~kat

Landay – The Landay is the poetic form of Afghan women. The poem is 22 syllables long and contains 2 lines. 9 syllables in the first and 11 in the second. Subjects can include, but are not limited to, war, separation, homeland, grief, or love.

Pronunciation/Etymology. In Pashto, “landay (LAND-ee)” means “short, poisonous snake,” likely an allusion to its minimal length and use of sarcasm. Landays (or landai) often criticize traditions and gender roles.


The Landay – Day 2

In my youth, god was a mean, old man...
Now I’m old, she’s wise, maternal, like me, a woman.

~kat

Landay – The Landay is the poetic form of Afghan women. The poem is 22 syllables long and contains 2 lines. 9 syllables in the first and 11 in the second. Subjects can include, but are not limited to, war, separation, homeland, grief, or love.

Pronunciation/Etymology. In Pashto, “landay (LAND-ee)” means “short, poisonous snake,” likely an allusion to its minimal length and use of sarcasm. Landays (or landai) often criticize traditions and gender roles.


The Landay – Day 1

Self portrait with a little help from AI on PicsArt. ~kat
Eye contact’s not an invitation, 
when I smile, it’s me being kind, not flirtation.

~kat

Learn more about the Landay and read some amazing examples translated into English HERE!

Landay – The Landay is the poetic form of Afghan women. The poem is 22 syllables long and contains 2 lines. 9 syllables in the first and 11 in the second. (While there is no mention of rhyme in the description above, most of the examples I have seen do include rhyme at the end of each line.) Subjects can include, but are not limited to, war, separation, homeland, grief, or love.

Pronunciation/Etymology. In Pashto, “landay (LAND-ee)” means “short, poisonous snake,” likely an allusion to its minimal length and use of sarcasm. Landays (or landai) often criticize traditions and gender roles.


A ReVerse Poem – 14 May 2023

It’s been a fortnight since I did a ReVerse poem. In that time I explored the Elfchen and the Than-Bauk, with a detour into a magnificent spring day! A happy digression. 😊 I must say, I love this ReVerse poem. All those short little micropoetry lines add up nicely. I imagine it is because the brevity of short form forces one to be succinct. At any rate it is a good look back!

I hope this day finds you well and happy. It’s been an overcast damp few days here on Bramlett Mountain, but I can’t complain. Everything is magnificent! Green and lush. How many springs have I rushed through on my way to summer? I am just glad that I am finally noticing the gift of spring. It would have been such a shame to exit this life having missed it! Peace, love, and spring bliss to you! 💚🌷💚


A ReVerse Poem - 14 May 2023

gather ‘round the bonfire
solving the world’s problems
work to live
treasured gifts
idle chitchat
sunlight tendrils streaming through
day fading into night
me, watching you
don’t say, “love you”
you make me wait
how green the earth
my cue to breathe
assuring us all is well, all is well
‘til the page turned
fine lines were real
they were deceived
charming untruths
joy and tears…
mind your business
I could go on
takes a pure heart
funny thing, bliss

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.


the dark forest

the dark forest

as the days grow longer,
trees burst, dense and green,
the forest floor grows dark
nights, though shorter, darker still
moon and stars hidden beyond
the arboreal canopy, even on
cloudless evenings; of course
I wouldn’t know…is it dawn
or dusk or midday? it’s hard to tell
here in the woods where sweltering
days are cool and damp, where
squirrels leave remnants of hickory
shells and millipedes slither through
decaying leaves, where trees dance
in the breeze, mimicking the sound of
waves crashing into the seashore, where
woodpecker’s wild calls echo from
the heights, where crows cackle, cowbirds
cluck and mourning doves coo from
the shadows, and bright red cardinals
perch nearby, messengers from beyond
assuring us all is well, all is well

~kat

Taking a break today from the brevity of micro poetry. Isn’t this time of year breathtaking?! My senses are waking up from slumber…just had to pause to take it all in! 🌷