Category Archives: Social Issues

day 357 ~ first full moon of 2026

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

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨


day 352

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.


day 351 ~ a ReVerse poem

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.


day 350

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! 😆


day 349

it looks good
.
on
paper, of course,
but
in reality
we the people erroneously
believed
all men meant all of us…
written by rich, white
landowning
men…really meant men
with no guarantee of freedom,
liberty, happiness for the rest
amendments bought and sold for souls
highest bidders, proved to be soulless

~kat

pi sequence used for the syllable count of this poem: 3.141592653589

Spending time with family this past week, my daughters, their husbands, my nine-plus grandchildren (two have spouses of their own) and my two great grandchildren…had me wondering what the next year will bring. For the girls whose personal autonomy is being whittled away, for the boys who may face being called to serve the newly minted department of war which is escalating tension around the world, for each little family unit making ends meet as prices keep increasing and for all of them as healthcare and education are being dismantled.

I heard a commentator say that the constitution that we all look to protect our liberty and freedom was in fact written by white, landowning men, some of whom owned slaves. Those words we hold dear, “all men are created equal”, written by men, was in fact written for men, very specific men. It would be decades or more before amendments were added to this hallowed document to cover the rest of us. The non-white men. And as we are seeing the constitution with all its flaws means little to the current leaders who want to return us to what they seem to believe our forefathers intended.

As each year winds down I typically assess the previous 12 months, the good, the bad, and where I want to go in the coming year. This year has been a sobering exercise. But I am so glad I had the forethought to look for glimmers every day. Some days all I could find were sun rises and sets. Some days it was kindness, many days it was nature reminding me about what it means to trust the resilience and surety of the seasons and all the beautiful cycles of life.

As I look to 2026, I do hope that it is not too late to turn this ship around toward compassion, freedom, opportunity, prosperity, peace, and equality for all. It seems like a lofty goal. But history is full of miracles. This year I am hoping for a big one for all of us.

Much, love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat

✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

Speaking of glimmers…there is this little guy who knows the only perfect way to eat raspberries. And a reminder from the imagination of my youngest grandson…when life gives you raspberries…you know what to do! Pop them on your fingers and gobble them up one by one. We owe him a beautiful future.