Category Archives: Essays

day 62 – a time to bake bread

This past weekend’s project…a few loaves of bread. My favorite parts of the process? Watching the yeast activate in warm, sugar-sweetened water…and kneading soft, warm dough…it’s not something you rush through. Good bread takes time and effort, but it is so worth it. When I’m in need of a glimmer…when I feel stressed or overwhelmed, I bake!

you say i’m overreacting …

Obviously, over half of us are losers.
Victory was never in the cards for us.
Everyone knows the truth now.
Remember when
Republicans were respectable?
End of an era…it’s the end of all endings.
America is on the brink.
Can you see it? Why can’t you see it?
Tell me when things are great again.
It’s not going to happen, not for us
Only for the rich…and the soulless
Not that it matters…lies comfort you more than the truth

~kat

A little back story on today’s poem. I had a disturbing conversation with someone close to me recently. Someone who voted for Trump. I know several people who lean that way. They think what’s happening is great…it’s about time someone shakes things up. It’s obvious they get their news from this administration’s reliable unreliable sources and the sycophants who spin and regurgitate the lies that keep half of this country afraid and angry. It’s that…or they just don’t watch the news.  Once, every four years, they come out in their red, white, and blue attire on Election Day…cast a vote for the person who entertained them the most. And then go back to living their happy little lives while the rest of us burn in the hell’s wrath that they’ve unleashed with a flippant stroke of a pen. There’s really no talking to them. All I can hope for…and it makes me feel like a horrible person for thinking it, is that when the pain and suffering comes knocking at their door…as it will (I don’t know any billionaires), that they get a belly full of what they voted for, thinking it would only affect other people. It’s a horrible way to think, but sometimes people need to hit bottom before they can begin to heal. 

There are a few things I can commit to when that day comes. I’m not heartless…I’m a bleeding heart liberal who wants peace, justice, fairness, and freedom for everyone, for goodness’ sake! But I am bracing myself, and intent on finding redemption for thinking what I’ve thought. To that end, I won’t say, I refuse to say, “I told you so.” But I will be there for them, to console their profound disillusionment, to lift them from the shame they might feel for having been duped by a vile con artist. I will love them, even as I do now, even though we believe very differently about how the world should work. It’s the very least I can do. I promise to keep a light shining. To be a safe place. I’ve been preparing my whole life for this. Compassion and empathy are often forged in the fire of hardship and adversity. Yep I can do this. I am here for such a time as this. 

Peace, love, and glimmers of light to you. 

~kat


Today’s Poetry Form: The Acrostic

An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the first letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet.



day 61 – a ReVerse…well that was a week!

A bright crescent Moon dancing with Venus
~ kat 2025

a ReVerse…well that was a week!

history repeats itself
though nuanced variations can shift
it’s a quandary I’ve wrestled with
dreams of youth pending
deep breath…deep breath
as chaos churns
the birds are singing | people will perish
an attempted murder, two crows in a tree
it’s a murder now, two crows are three

~kat

It was the art of the steal…oops I meant deal…(wink) on display for the world to see this week. A mafioso-styled set-up meant to obliterate a genuine, humble leader, an ally, complete with a bad-cop hillbilly goon to rough up the mark, appeasing the Don, to cry foul when the truth was revealed. We all saw it clear as day. A shifting of alliances exposed, and the deal that never was meant for peace tossed aside, lauded as good TV for a delighted audience of one leering from his tower in the S.U., while his puppet danced awkwardly, the strings we all suspected finally exposed. The grand hall rats were waiting in the wings of course, ready to spread the toxic prepared talking points. “The nerve! The ungratefulness! Disrespectful! What was he wearing? No suit to meet with the greatest president in the history of presidents in his hallowed Oval Office! The audacity! No deal!??! No peace!” though it is becoming increasingly clear that peace was never, nor will be, part of this or any deal.

I feel the need to apologize to the world for this terrible mess even though I didn’t vote for it. I fought for the truth…and continue to fight. The truth is that truth died a long time ago. We are no longer the United States of America. We’re anything but united. Relegated to red bleeding into and obliterating blue. But over half of us are blue…we know at least that to be true. Sharpie scribbled maps…gulf of ‘merica, red, white, and blue land, gaza riviera, u.s. canal…please don’t trust us. The deals our leaders propose are laced with poison, self interest and malevolence. I stand with you…I stand with Ukraine…with Canada…with the Palestinian people of Gaza…with Mexico…with Panama …with Greenland and Denmark, and all other people’s and nations who find themselves the object of, and in the cross-hairs of our horrible leader’s lust for power, self aggrandizement, bigotry, hate, and cruelty. History repeats itself, obvious to those of us who know history. This is what ignorance breeds. This is democracy dying. 

The only glimmer I can muster these dark days is this…this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine…

Peace, love, 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 previous week.


day 59 ~ exploring the cleave

it’s okay…I’m ok…everything’s okay

it will be okay | there will be collateral
the morning sun is bright | shine a light
the sky is blue | expose the lies
the birds are singing | people will perish
wake up, stretch | as they flex their hatred
take a walk amidst the trees | and burn things down
deep breath…deep breath | don’t exhale
embrace sweet routine | as chaos churns
a day like every other | unprecedented cruelty and power
work, play, rest, repeat | their malevolent goal
here in our bubbles | no one is safe
clinging to normal | democracy is dying
make bread | those starving for justice
sip sweet tea | long for peace
dawn to dusk | dusk to darkness
as the world spins | the sky is falling

~kat~

It’s been more than a minute since I tried my hand at a Cleave Poem. Described as three poems in one it is written in two contrasting side by side columns also designed to be read fully, line by line across both columns. What you see above is the total view.  But I’m going to break it down for you below as well…three poems in one. Truly a format fitting for times such as this. Cling to every glimmer you can muster. It’s not being delusional…it is survival!

Cleave poem breakdown part 1:

it’s okay…

it will be okay

the morning sun is bright

the sky is blue

the birds are singing

wake up, stretch

take a walk amidst the trees

deep breath…deep breath

embrace sweet routine

a day like every other

work, play, rest, repeat

here in our bubbles

clinging to normal

make bread

sip sweet tea

dawn to dusk

as the world spins

Cleave poem breakdown part 2:

I’m ok…?

there will be collateral 

shine a light

expose the lies

people will perish

as they flex their hatred

and burn things down

don’t exhale 

as chaos churns

unprecedented cruelty and power

their malevolent goal

no one is safe

democracy is dying

those starving for justice

long for peace

dusk to darkness

the sky is falling

And now jump back to the top and read the entire poem line by line…3 very different poems in one.

Peace, love, and glimmers to you…be kindness and hope for someone today. ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨


day 58 ~ new moon in Pisces

So…tonight is a new moon. In Pisces specifically…my moon sign…and to my surprise, (why am I surprised) this little nudge popped up in my Facebook feed inviting me to participate in a “then and now” challenge. Here’s what I posted…





then…and now

a generation
only lasts a short lifetime
dreams of youth pending

~kat

…love, peace, and glimmers to you, in authenticity and truth always and all ways…


day 57

finding the perfect ending 

I’m long past the old standard, sincerely
sincerely yours is dated, flat,
for a time i’d settled on best wishes
then best regards, after all I supposed
they mean the same thing,
though nuanced variations can shift
sentiments however slightly
kind or warm regards…not feeling it
a simple regards or best…a bit lazy
all the best, is a bit too much, rather subjective…whose best or what best
best in any variation is awkward at best
it does not convey warmth or cordiality
it’s a quandary I’ve wrestled with
how to end a general business email note
Respectfully, Faithfully, Yours truly,
or Truly yours imply too much warmth,
a bit too intimate for my taste…*sigh*
thank goodness for electronic signatures
all business, no parting sentiment needed
simply a pre-formatted formal
name, title, and contact details
only my truest, dearest friends know me as Kat
kind, warm, best, and true goes without saying

~kat

Random thoughts for today. This is the sort of thing that keeps me up at night. Silly me. Writing about it gets it out of my head and settles things once and for all.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter. And finally realizing that glimmer of truth is one more step toward liberation. Many of us start our adult life believing that so many things matter. But as we get older, and hopefully wiser, we realize that the only things that really matter are love, authenticity, and truth. This little exercise of random thinking out loud this has made me feel lighter and brighter. ✨😊✨

Peace, love, and glimmers to you. (No sincerely needed)

~kat