Category Archives: Essays

January 3, 2026

day 357 ~ first full moon of 2026

By Kat Myrman

What makes you feel nostalgic?

nostalgia
.
should 
not be looking
back
on this first full moon, 
scent of winter in the air
calling
me home to simpler times
potatoes boiling
bread baking
mom singing softly
her hands elbow deep in the sink
soapy bubbles popping, dishes cleaned
when life felt normal
before insanity invaded
our safe place
taking her
o’er the edge 

~kat

Sheesh! Where did that come from. This is not the nostalgic offering that one expects in answer to today’s prompt. Ask me about my parents and I will jokingly say that they were both crazy. Each ended their life in their own special way. My father chose a quick and untidy end, my mother, a slower, miserable succumbing to addiction.

It’s a legacy I have spent years, and hours of therapy, working to overcome. My family’s propensity for mental illness is something that has terrified me and driven me my entire life. I am not ashamed to admit that I am medicated. My daily dose of “happy pills” (antidepressants) keeps me from the abyss. I suppose I am grateful to have been born a generation later than my parents when things like depression and other mental ills were unspeakable weaknesses. Fortunately for me they are recognized treatable chemical imbalances. I’m sad my parents did not have access treatment once upon a time that is so commonplace and acceptable today. 

Nevertheless, today’s prompt stirred a sweet memory for me. Remembering when things felt normal. There were glimmers amidst the darkness. There are always glimmers. 

Today’s glimmer on this first full moon of 2026…a steaming cup of espresso with frothy sweet cream (brewed in a new espresso machine recently gifted to us from my oldest daughter). The perfect accompaniment to an overcast gray day. A chance to reflect on how blessed I am and consider this new year and the potential it brings. 

much love, peace, and glimmers to you! 

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in 2026, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Pi-Archimedes, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality

January 2, 2026

day 356

By Kat Myrman

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

game night

a good round or several of
“Cards Against Humanity”
with rowdy friends always
generates laughter…the tears
running down our red faces, side-
aching, breathless kind…it’s good
medicine in times like these
where everything is scary and
deadly serious, and where there is
no reason to laugh ever, sometimes
being irreverently silly, grossly
inappropriate, and absurd is just
the ticket, a guilty pleasure 
to help me forget the world
for and hour or two…your turn

~kat

There are other things, of course that I consider playtime. Coloring in new coloring books with a fresh box of crayola crayons with my grandkids. Only Crayola crayons will do…if you know, you know.

Trying new recipes, baking things, anything. It is playtime for me. It is something I look forward to doing over the weekend and holidays.

And several electronic games. I like strategy games that require a certain amount of skill. Not necessarily sim type games.

And finally certain crafting and art projects. It is rare for me to have time to devote to creative play that is not writing. Writing is a non-negotiable must in my life. It keeps me sane.

It occurred to me that I am rather boring. Which is most likely why an occasional game of “cards” was first on my list!

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

Today’s glimmer…I made a tray of pecan pie bark or crack (as it is called). It has a graham cracker base topped with a homemade pecan toffee layer, baked until bubbly and then cooled before cracking the entire pan into bits. I love to bake. And today I sent a bag of these sweets to the lovely team who works at the wildlife rescue center. That’s the best part about baking…sharing!

Pecan Pie Bark … first new recipe of 2026.
It’s a keeper!

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in 2025, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, free verse, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

December 29, 2025

day 352

By Kat Myrman 
promises
.
they
tell colorful
lies
using sleight of hand 
to dazzle the gullible…look here
look there
where the gaslight flashes
dulling blind eyes who 
fear darkness
looming from others
of diminished humanity…
follow us, they say, you’re not like them
we promise to protect you
it’s going to be great…the greatest
they followed,
poor fools,
to their death

~kat

(Syllable count based on this pi sequence: 3.14159265358979323)

I don’t know any other way to deal with the erosion of the freedom and liberty, but to write about it. Sometimes in cryptic poetry, sometimes here where I spill my thoughts, the stories behind the poems. And finally to share a glimmer or two to help us hold on to the light. It often feels futile. But I also know that writing and celebrating glimmers has sustained me this far. As I prepare for year two of this nightmare…I have to believe it is enough to do what I can do. If we all contributed our little efforts, imagine what we could accomplish! 

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you! Remember to be kind. 

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

And now for today’s glimmer…it’s a good one. I was cleaning out the garage and discovered a pot of dry crusty soil with these determined vibrant hyacinth clusters bursting through the cracks in the dirt. Dry as a bone I was astonished to see that they were so vibrant and green, and oh so fragrant! If that doesn’t inspire you to keep going, to reach for the light, then I don’t k ow what will. Of course I intervened…resettled the dust soil around them, nestled them in and gave them a good watering. They are now in a wonderful spot under our inside grow lamp. I can’t wait to see what they become with a little TLC! So I’ll just leave this here for you.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in 2025, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, nature, Pi-Archimedes, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality

December 28, 2025

day 351 ~ a ReVerse poem

By Kat Myrman 
day 351 ~ a ReVerse poem

grace in the storm’s eye 

turning the sky gray
stops me from spinning 
not listening here…silence is bliss
scent of roses infusing the air
the simplest kind acts
today’s not that day
trying to find memories
blotting out the sky
names written in dust
night wanes bit by bit
so remember this moment
the light grows a bit brighter 
happy
with no guarantee of freedom
we’ll make it through the coming year

~kat

This time of year always calls for retrospection. A look back at the past year with all its ups and downs and crazy twists and turns is a lot to digest one would think. But all I can think about are the glimmers along the way. There were so many. 351 and counting. Just 14 days to a full year of glimmers.

They say if you do something for more than 30 days, it becomes a habit. Well, I would say it has become more than a habit…this quest for glimmers…it has become an obsession! And what a beautiful obsession it is. 

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~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. I use it here as a review of the past several weeks.

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December 27, 2025

day 350

By Kat Myrman

Is your life today what you pictured a year ago?

saved by glimmers

last year this time felt dark and bleak
I wondered if we’d make it through
things went from bad to worst it’s true
but glimmers saved me, so to speak
I wondered if we’d make it through
last year this time felt dark and bleak

one day, one glimmer at a time
we’ll make it through the coming year
with hope, determination clear
armed with truth, we’ll draw the line
we’ll make it through the coming year
one day, one glimmer at a time

~kat

Life is certainly not what I expected a year ago. But honestly I didn’t know what to expect. I just suspected it might be bad. Nothing prepared me for how bad. It’s been a nightmare but for glimmers and the values I hold to be my true north. Kindness, compassion, respect, truth, hope, love, and peace. We can be a light in the darkest of times if we hold onto those things.

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you,

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

Speaking of glimmers, we recently welcomed two new tiny creatures to our fish tank. I am still deciding what to name them. For now, snail one and snail two have been busy doing what snails do best. Cleaning the sh—-(you know) dropped by the big fish (a beautiful Pleco) in the tank. (Who, by the way, we originally placed in the tank to keep it clean…but I’m afraid he made more of a mess of it!) And you know me, these two little guys have me quite inspired. A new motto perhaps…in a world full of IT and big messy fish…be more like a snail. Do what you do best to keep the mess from big fish to a minimum! 😆

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in 2025, Biolet, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality