January 25, 2026

if you follow the dancing sheet of snow
as it leaps up from its tree branch
and swirls down below
each individual snowflake
becomes part of something
larger
and more whole

and as it settles on the ground
it joins a community there as well
some staying
some picking up and dancing more
elsewhere
and on and on and on it goes
one flake
one wind
many options
infinite paths
but always
somehow
together
with others
when needed

the metaphor for community is there
it needs some refining
some shaping and sculpting
[like most communities do, i’d wager],
but it’s hard to see any independent entity
once you realize
what community truly means
to the survival
of anyone
or anything.

September 29, 2025

when one smacks a mosquito
good and full against
an arm or a leg or a wall or a table
there often remains
a dusty shadow of the mosquito
as if to say
“here is the evidence that you’ve taken a life,
now deal with it.”

August 13, 2025

it always feels so strange to me
when i can acutely feel the effects of
whatever is waking me up
actively waking me up

whether it’s writing poetry
or drinking coffee
or water
just recognizing my body and brain
slowly opening up
and letting the day in
like a flower in the sunshine

[we are all far more nature
than we
realize]

August 12, 2025

playing silly video games
of nature reclaiming industry
and religion
and it is one of very few things
offering me
solace
and comfort
and peace these days

[“Cloud Gardens” is the name of this game
should you need a similar
respite]

August 2, 2025

how quickly we get used to things —
lack of sleep
un-flavored coffee
living in the woods
being around people

and how quickly we end up missing it
when, inevitably, events end

what i’m trying to say is
i miss this retreat
already

August 1, 2025

i often forget
that the sounds of the birds
can be my morning page music
and the crickets and wind and rain
can replace my podcasts

i no longer use perpetual sound
to block out my own inner voice

[that sounds like some kind of growth]

but i think i have now found myself using any auditory distractions
as literal distractions
from boredom

and i do wish i was more on board
being bored
for creativity’s sake

July 31, 2025

there’s something i know about myself
that others may not

it’s that i can always find a bright side
as long as i’m sharing the story with
someone else

got lost on a path i didn’t know well?
i got the opportunity to see bunnies and deer and one cat and two horses
and enjoy nature in a way i haven’t since
i grew up in middle of nowhere ohio

stumbled upon some uneven ground?
i am reminding myself of my rural roots
clambering over rocks and holes and
hopefully not twisting my ankle
like when i was an awkward teen

didn’t sleep well the first night of a retreat?
honestly, i’m getting back to my roots once more
adolescence
and early adulthood
and never sleeping more than an hour at a time
and waking up to see what’s happening online
[just as slow then as my service is here]

and while my younger years were not a piece of cake
by any means
and i wouldn’t want to relive them fully

getting the opportunity to rehash them with a
stronger body
and more calmed mind
surrounded by other artists…

kind of a quiet dream.

July 11, 2025 [part 2]

i can see why
people love this tree
and personify [her] to the point of
pronouns

she is something truly
living
and being,
imposing
and consoling

there is something
here
underneath her
in her shade
in her presence
that i find
indescribable
but inscrutably
here

i breathe her in
and hope she knows
all the love i bring
with me
here
to her

April 6, 2025

it’s so astounding how beneficial
the spring is to my
general
mood

i have literally been
hopeless
and helpless
for months

and then it warms up once
and i see a couple of green buds
on a couple of tree branches
and the sunlight hits
more and more of my day
and i say
“i can do this!”

April 3, 2025

birds
swooping down in
the rain

puppies
pawing at the floor
for attention

and the outside
and the inside
always have some parallels

but it’s the liminal spaces in-between
where i find my own comfort