Category Archives: Social Issues

glimmer day 112 – NaGloPoWriMo 23 April 2025

made in China

americans love cheap shit
mr trump, with his golden toilets, and
gilded, garish opulence, doesn’t get us
why else would he declare war
on the only thing that makes our simple
lives livable…cheap shit, meticulously
engineered, easy to assemble kits
of a gazillion pieces, pressed, laminated
planks with precisely pre-drilled holes,
vacuum packed bolts and screws,
tiny hex keys to put it all together,
it’s an afternoon’s entertainment
with a surprise at the end, like cracker
jacks (if you’re old, you know), and
the satisfaction of building something
usable: a chest of drawers, lawn furniture,
toys, cabinets, shelves, and so much more
you have to admit china is good, very good
at producing the bargains we crave…
destroying democracy is not enough
for the vindictive tyrants in our crumbling government
they had to shut down our access to cheap shit too

~kat

I am proud to say I assembled the chest of drawers in the photo above, as well as a dresser, a nightstand, and recently an outside “egg chair swing”, an open coffee station rack, a bread box…clearly I am a fan of “made in China” stuff.  The latest tariff shenanigans are a real bummer. It’s the end of an era. 

But all is not lost…while I may not be able to afford made in China stuff in the future. I shall enjoy sipping tea while swinging in the warm summer breeze in my new egg swing…it is the perfect place to chill after a long day…the perfect place to write poetry!  And my glimmer for today!

Much love, peace, and “some assembly required” glimmers to you!

-kat


NaGloPoWriMo 23 April 2025 prompt:

The sum of its parts
Consider the objects in your home. How did they get there? What resources were required to produce them? Write a poem about the origin of one or more of your possessions. / Recommended reading: “Putting Together Ikea Furniture” by Clint Margrave


glimmer day 110 ~ NaGloPoWriMo 4/21/2025

pancakes for breakfast

I felt her watching, ignoring
us, glaring, judging, hating
our perceived sinfulness,
determined not to serve us
as if serving us somehow
condemned their fragile faith
and threatened their entry into heaven
I tried to ignore her
we just wanted pancakes for breakfast
when I was sick
the ER desk clerk
asked, “who is SHE?”
SHE will need to wait outside
family only…but, she IS family
the doctor won’t see you
if SHE is in the room
I try to ignore them
I just wanted her with me when I was
sick
the whispers, snide side glances
accompany our travels, wherever
we go…we second-guess safety
make mental notes of unsafe
people and places…they claim
we have an agenda, that we threaten
their families…but we are a family
we try to ignore them
we just want to live our lives
they voted for fools you know
the ones who enjoy dividing us
the ones who want to tell every
he and she how to live and who
to be…the ones who want us to
suffer and we wonder, how could
people who say they love us, choose them
we can’t ignore them anymore
our lives depend on it

~kat

Today’s Glimmer…The Eight-Spotted Forester Moth. This one’s a beauty. Often mistaken for a butterfly because it travels during the day. Symbol of transformation, beauty, and the importance of embracing change.

Much love, peace, and glimmers of change to you!

~kat

NaGloPoWriMo 4/21/2025 Prompt:

Identity politics poetics
There’s lots about ourselves that we can’t (and wouldn’t want to) change. Some of those things put us at risk in a culture that, more and more (I’m looking at you, America), “others” all but the straight white male able-bodied experience. It’s critical that we document what that’s like to live with that reality. Maybe you experience harm from -isms or -phobias or maybe you experience privilege. Either way, write a poem related to how perceptions, assumptions or cultural “norms” impact you. / Recommended reading: “evening : girl” by Gabrielle Brant Freeman


glimmer day 109 ~ NaGloPoWriMo 2025

the word on the streets deep in maga-land

it’s not as bad as you say it is
don’t overreact, it’s embarrassing
no one I personally know has been fired,
disappeared, or deported, and that new guy rfk, jr. confirms what I’ve been
telling you all along…it’s the vaccines
and our food that is making us sick…
measles? they’ll go away soon. there’s
this brilliant doctor, yeah I know…
who has the measles, but he said
he is fine after a little fever, so it’s not
that bad, anyhow, he’s working on it…
don’t talk to me about brain worms
that is fake news…where do I get
my news you ask? from several sources
I do my homework, and I also know
someone who knows someone personally
who is in congress. the jobs are coming
back, factories are already being built,
even the wall, finally, stuff is getting done,
the tariffs are working, and doge? well,
it’s about time our country is being run
like a business. Rights? Freedom? Choice?
more fake news…I know eggs are still
expensive, but that’s because the other guy killed off all the chickens…I guess he
never heard of flock impunity, we are
so much better off in just a few short
months…the world is watching, and
our great nation has everyone begging
to make a deal, just like our president
promised…so…stop your whining, you
lost and we won fair and square, like
you said, elections have consequences

(And this is why I don’t speak to red hats anymore-these are actual quotes…
alarmed? that was so yesterday. I’ve moved on to full-on f-ing freak out.)


~kat

I promised you daily glimmers and glimmers you shall have! My gentle woodland friends stopped by to cheer me, and hopefully you as well. 

much love, peace and glimmers to you! 

~kat


NaGloPoWriMo 20 April 2025 Prompt from good universe next door: Don’t be alarmed

Write a poem where you are unbothered by something scary or dangerous. / Recommended reading: “Acclimated” by Sarah Carleton


glimmer day 106 ~ NaGloPoWriMo 17 April 2025

radical

I smiled intentionally
at a stranger today,
gave them my place
at the front of the line,
paid the extra change
they were short
at the checkout
then wished them well
as we parted ways
they turned briefly
and smiled back

it cost me nothing
well, two dollars and
twenty-one cents for
those who are counting
I wasn’t…nothing mattered
in that moment but being
kind, connecting with
another person in a
world that has forgotten
how to care…in a world
where benevolence
is a radical act

~kat


I will let today’s glimmer poem speak for itself. My inspiration once again comes from gooduniversenextdoor.

“Seedbombing the desolation”
There’s so much in the world to fight against. So much. Our “go-to” strategies are taking to the streets, boycotting companies and writing elected officials, but for this prompt, write a poem about tiny gestures or symbolic acts that also signify protest. / Recommended reading: “Guerilla Gardener” by Sarah Carleton and “Political Action” by Bob Hicok

much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat


glimmer day 105~ NaGloPoWriMo 16 April 2025 off prompt

fake news

I stopped watching for a day
it was the best day, the sky was
blue, the sun was shining, so much
for those whining that the sky
Is falling, so I went malling and
grocery shopping…it was an unremarkably normal trip, plenty
of choices, shelves stocked
even toilet paper, the good brands,
and eggs, still a bargain when you
think about it…along the way
I saw kids playing ball, people
everywhere, smiling doing the
everyday everything’s that people do
wondering how what I had see on
the news only the day before
could possibly be true.
just one day away and my reality
shifted from doom to bliss, nothing
seemed amiss, they said it would
be like this…great, and it was,
for one odd day…and this my friends
is how it happens i believe, when
isolated days turn into weeks, the
signs grow dim, how easily we are
deceived, a blink, a nod, and evil wins

~kat

And a glimmer or two, no small things in my world. My pup Gabby had a nasty growth that turned out benign…breathe kat! And my partner finally, after 2-1/2 years of unrelenting CRPS pain met with a doctor who is willing to manage the pain. Take another breath, kat. I didn’t realize how the last several years of losing so many beloved pets (3 dogs and 3 cats, and even several fish – yes I count them too), and my plunge into becoming an overnight full time caregiver while working at a full time job had taken its toll on me. The me I was…I’m not sure I even remember her. I have stopped breathing so many times in the past several years…this week’s glimmers reminded me how starved for air I am. I definitely recommend it…breathing deeply that is. 

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you. 

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨


Today’s prompt, well yesterdays actually, comes from Good Universe Next Door. I’m just not feeling this year’s NaPoWriMo music art mashups. They feel a bit contrived. I tried and tried last night and finally had to give it a rest. catching up this morning…I do have it in me to meet the general poem a day challenge! I can do it!!! 😊

The prompt: Hold it up to the light
Write a poem that reframes something that plagues you. In the draft, offer yourself some grace and hope. Just try it on, even if you don’t quite believe it at first, and see where it takes you. / Recommended reading: “Instead of Depression” by Andrea Gibson. There’s so much tenderness in this poem.