Tag Archives: free verse

day 131

gramma hugs

Does this make me look fat?
my obsession began as a daughter
stuffed into clothes
that wrapped my curves too tightly
I learned to hide behind dark tents
of fabric, my soft skin growing pale
under the weight of loathing
You’re not leaving this table
until you clean your plate…
subliminal mandates haunt me still
burning a hole in my soul
that demand to be obeyed,
then despised in an unhealthy
cycle of too plenty and growling want
against intrusive reflections
that distort my perspective,
rendering me less than…diminishing
the beautiful light that chokes for air
beneath layers of flesh, a battle waged
for nearly half a century, somehow
cured instantly, by the tender words
of a toddler, with eyes blue like mine,
nestled close, pressed against
my soft belly, head near my heart,
wrapped in my ample arms…
I love you Gramma…
and I realize, I was made for this.

~kat

I was a chubby kid. The yo-yo battle between thin and fat started in my teens. Weight has been a relentless foe for most of my life. Those rare seasons when I was able to shed weight happened only because I stopped eating…well mostly. I subsisted on hard boiled eggs, water and lettuce…and a few strawberries to treat myself, which of course is not particularly healthy or sustainable. I am older and supposedly wiser these days but that doesn’t mean I defeated those demons that haunt me still. But I am working toward being healthy. And today’s recounts a true story…the words of a toddler that saved me. Excessive dieting is not the answer to improving my health. That “I love you” murmured from the mouth of a mere babe set me on a path of embracing my curves because, you do understand, don’t you…grandmas that are soft and squishy around the middle give the best pillowy hugs…💕

Much love, peace and glimmers to you…soft squishy hugs count! 😉

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨


Day 130

to be a sparrow 

I want to believe
that my life matters
in this anonymous,
faceless world
where we have grown
suspicious of touch
where kindness
and empathy are
a four-letter Word
I need a hug and
a good, long, ugly cry
to cleanse myself
of the sadness
that overwhelms me
in what we have become
if there is a god…
may I learn to be one
who never wonders
if there will be enough
who rises at dawn
with a song on her lips
may I learn to be a sparrow

~kat

much love, peace, and glimmers to you! ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

day 128

the navigator

she tells us where to go
how to get there actually
what did we do before her?

we were intrepid passengers
wrestling with atlas or
folded sheets of triple A routes
that took us from home
to the world and back…

starting route…
her familiar voice breaks
through my pop rock playlists
and…we’re on our way
set to arrive in 2 hours, 14 minutes
unless…life interrupts, construction,
fellow travelers’ journeys cut short,
a one-lane detour around fresh carnage
stretching our necks to see if
there is blood, grateful to have left
a few minutes later than we had planned
turn left at the next light in 200 feet…
turn left, turn left, TURN LEFT…
recalculating route…make a u-turn
then turn right at the next light…


whatever did we do…how did we ever
find our way, I muse to myself
parked on the side of the road…
I think we broke her,
clearly she did not intend
for us to cross through this cornfield…

the sun sits midway in the eastern sky…
we need to head north…
at next intersection let’s take a right,
scenic route starting…we might
arrive a bit later than planned
but we’ll get there, as the crow flies

~kat

I often think about life before tech. The tools of our simple lives did not require 24/7 attention. We had phones of course. Simple land lines, not smartphones that connected us via satellite to the world. If I wanted to learn about sea turtles, I would go to the library. Travel was an adventure. We learned to read maps. Verbal directions included street names and landmarks to get us to our destination. We learned how to tell time by looking at the face of a clock, how to tie our shoes, phonics and how to read and write using a pen and paper. When we paid for things we used actual money And television shows were in grainy black and white, with three channels that ended at midnight with the Star-Spangled Banner playing until the screen faded to black. The good old days some call it. Different from today to be sure.

These days we are tuned in, plugged in, and online day and night. Convenient, I suppose. Intrusive, definitely. But I have to say, I feel fortunate for my youth and the 20th century survival skills I learned. Next power outage I’ll be here if you need me. I know stuff! 😄

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

Today’s glimmer? A lovely new pope as of yesterday. While I am no longer a practicing Catholic, I do appreciate the character attributes that Leo XIV brings to this broken world. I think they picked a good one!

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨


day 126

Soup

I would, if I could,
eat soup everyday
especially now when uncertainty
has my stomach twisted, tied in knots
it’s comfort food, yes soup will do,
it’s my go to, when I am blue,
a simple broth, potatoes,
beans, rice or noodles,
something green, spinach, kale
seasoned well, hot steaming,
slurpilicious, can you tell, that soup
will do when I’m distressed,
better than my first instinct,
clearly under great duress,
to grab for something salty, sweet,
too much of a good thing until
I’m stuffed, uncomfortable, just ill
I should have had some soup instead
but worry makes me lose my head
and so I cook a lot these days,
soup, of course, for times like these

much love, peace, and glimmers to you.

~kat


day 123

the ash tree 

I didn’t realize in autumn
when the leaves of summer
were dancing on the wind,
that this would be her last
fall and winter, her limbs left
exposed to bear the bitter cold,
I wonder now if she had already
left before the first frost,
for I had only known her
a few years, when her once lush
raiment had already thinned…
I never rested in her shade
on hot, sunny summer days
never saw her in full bloom,
memories of nested fledglings
taking first flights, learning
to bend with the fiercest of tempests
were things I could only imagine,
her bones exposed now against
a beautiful sea of green, even now
the crows and mourning doves
perch on her brittle limbs
surveying the landscape and me…
how is it possible to miss someone
you never truly knew, and yet I do
how I wish I had known you old tree,
in the spring…

~kat

Another bittersweet day. We need to call a tree service to take this ash tree down. Her fragile condition threatens our vehicles and home should a strong wind overtake her. I’ve watched her slow decline since we moved here a few years ago. I knew it was just a matter of time. But I was not ready for it to be this year. She was a special tree. Recently I noticed this heart-shape hollowed out in the bark on her trunk…a parting goodbye I imagine and a gentle acknowledgement of my admiration for her. It’s as if she showed me her heart.

I am learning as I age the art of letting go…and I am grateful for the grace of these lessons. I think it may actually be a blessing. When my time comes I hope to slip away as gently as my friend, the ash tree.

Now there’s a glimmer for you.

Much love, peace, and gentle glimmers to you.

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨