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.
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, relief from the insanity of our troubled world, kindness, and glimmers…many many glimmers so you don’t lose your way in the darkness….
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?
a billboard . THIS! whatever the HELL this IS…NOT NORMAL! (hoping for an intervention…please) thank you
~kat (using pi digits 3.141592 to help me with this prompt response)
Humor often helps in the most serious of times. Today we remember a day most Americans will never forget. Five years ago DT called his band of thugs to Washington and after stirring them into a frenzy sent them to the capital to interrupt the peaceful validation of the election of Biden as the next president. We all saw it. We watched in horror as an angry mob desecrated the grounds, and called for the execution of the vice president and madam speaker of the house. They went so far as to erect gallows and mow down law enforcement officers who tried to stop them with flagpoles, and other makeshift weapons.
Over the years the republicans would like us to believe that this was a peaceful demonstration…their constituents merely touring the capital. But no amount of doctored, rewritten history will change what we all witnessed. Five years later Trump is back in office, angry, vengeful, unstoppable in his determination to amass as much power and riches for himself…that is, as much as the congress and the courts will let him steal. At this point they’ve invited him into the vault and told him to clean it out. The people of this country be damned. The presidency is a means to an end for him and his ilk. It appears we are heading into another year of chaos worst than the first.
On another note…one of our mystery snails crossed over to the other side…but not before leaving a cluster of eggs to help keep our aquarium clean. I found it on the bottom of the tank the other morning, quickly intervened and set up a make-shift hatchery following instructions from YouTube. Whatever did we do before the internet?! Fingers crossed a few of them survive. Our tank like the White House is full of shit that needs cleaning up! What a timely glimmer. Nature truly does take care of its own!
Much love, peace, and glimmers to you! And baby snails. Lots of them we hope!
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.
So it is easier for you to find all the parts/chapters of my ongoing fiction series, I created a new page that lists all the links. You can check it out HERE!
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