Category Archives: Essays

day 376

First Ballet Lesson.
rights of passage

she
doesn’t know the world’s
burning
everything is pink
her innocence intact, fiercely protected by her loving parents
all parents
hope as much for their children
it’s why they come here
promised by Liberty
that the pursuit of happiness
could be theirs too, once upon a time
when tutus, bunny-eared hats, and Spider-Man backpacks
were protected rights of passage for all

~kat

5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was abducted by ICE from his school in Minnesota. He was used as bait to lure his father outside where he was taken into custody. Liam and his father are now at a Texas ICE facility. His father had applied for asylum at the border, and has no criminal record according to their immigration attorney. He was doing all the right things like immigrants from centuries past have done to become a citizen.


Today’s poem is a tale of two young children. One, my great granddaughter at her first ballet lesson. The other, young Liam, whose only crime is the color of his skin and his country of origin. Both of these angels are glimmers. Both deserving of love, compassion, happiness, opportunity, safety, and respect. I pray everyday for the children. For every single one.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you.

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨


day 375

I know I’ve been away for a few days. I needed to take a break. My heart in broken for our nation. And I wonder, how can anyone still support the horrible leaders of this country. What scares me most is that people still do…
____________________

drowning in gaslight

I cannot look away, my senses assaulted
by murders captured on cell phones
blasted as evidence to the world,
targeted death by hate and retribution,
forced to witness souls released
from battered, tear-gassed bodies…

“don’t believe your eyes”, they say,
“we’re here to save you from terrorists”

from babies and five-year olds
in blue bunny-ear hats
and Spider-Man backpacks
harboring fathers legally here,
granted asylum, baby boys used as bait,
for abduction to oblivion

in case you didn’t know, they now say
terrorists are poets, gentle mothers,
beloved partners, kind souls who sparkle…

terrorists are helpers, icu nurses serving
veterans, who exercise rights once
considered established by our forefathers
whose last act on earth was kindness
helping a woman, pushed down and tear-gassed
then ripped from aiding her, and shot dead

I do not feel safer
with these so-called terrorists eliminated, nor from the disappearing of
children, of innocent neighbors
singled out because of who someone
perceives them to be…

no one is safe
when evil rewrites and repeats history

we are drowning in gaslight, teargas
and blood…and we must not look away

let us call out the true terrorists by name
reclaiming the inheritance of the meek
in kindness, compassion, love, and truth

please stay safe my friends…believe your eyes

~kat


day 372 ~ they’re back!

forgiven
.
crows
remember a
face
and are known to hold grudges for years
it broke
my heart when a crow died
close to the feed tray
filled with treats
the other crows watched

and it seems held me to account
as they mourned, I mourned…they stopped coming
my beloved murder…held a grudge
against me
I feared, but
they are back
trust is a gift I do not take
unmindfully
may the healing begin

~kat

An extended pi-sequence poem (3.1415926535 8979323846) that tells a story and highlights my glimmer for today. I took a chance to reach out to my beloved crows who have shunned me like the plague all these months. I feel forgiven…not generally a thing crows do lightly. It makes me so happy on this gray day!

~kat

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you my friends!

✨✨✨💚🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛💚✨✨✨


day 371

I wrote two poems today. They follow along the same theme. I can’t decide which one to post. And because I hate having to choose, I choose both. I am distressed by what I’m seeing from Minnesota. And the vicious added insult to injury wielded by our unhinged, vindictive government. I read that they are here in our town too. Someone recorded them, posting a warning to us on social media platforms. No one is safe.



heartbeats

a pulse detected
means very different things
to different people
to some it’s a right to life
to others, countdown to death
the dearest price paid
oftentimes by women,
by mothers denied
healthcare and autonomy
to assuage fragile man-boys
with power to choose
which heartbeat deserves to live
women, mere vessels,
repositories for sperm,
expendable, when too loud

(this poem follows the pattern of a trio of tankas)

——————————————————————————————-

when the worst thing isn’t

it snowed at dawn
for only a few minutes
no delicate flakes, just
pellets of ice
tap, tap, tapping on the frozen ground
there’s more to the story they say
the talking heads and daily scrolls
horrible truth bleeding out…
there was a faint heartbeat
when they found her, precious time
stolen by hateful thugs who let her die
the tap, tap, tapping of a pure heart
broken by malevolence and hate
a kind voice silenced by
pellets of ice

~kat

were there glimmers today? Of course…as there are every day…

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you.

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨


day 369

What snack would you eat right now?

snack attack

I will take my snacks
in high-octane liquid form
thank you very much
steaming espresso lattes
are my newest obsession

~kat

It’s the gift I didn’t know I wanted or needed, especially since I am a morning Earl Grey tea with sweet cream kinda girl. But oh my…my oldest daughter has convinced me! “You have to have an espresso machine!” she declared, gifting one to me several days later! 

All I can say is bu-bye morning Earl Grey…my caffeine boost just went turbo-espress-o-la-latte!!!! I’ll see you, Mr Grey at tea time! 

This may not be what most consider to be a glimmer…but every time I glance at it, it makes me smile! 

Much love, peace, and espresso latte glimmers to you!

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨