Poetry Timeout is a digital sanctuary.
You can scroll through my catalog of poems, photographs, and musings, search for a theme, or embrace synchronicity and let mystery be your guide.
However you explore, I invite you to reflect and connect!
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Preparing for Flight
Preparing for Flight (from Brainstorms) The geese are preparingfor their migration,teaching the young oneshow to fly in formation. Soon it will be time for themto move on from this place. But not today. Today they will stay.Today they will give their...
What She Wanted
What She Wanted (from Brainstorms) “This is what you wanted!”screamed letters on a tiny screen. As if she had a choice. As if it were a matterof deciding what to wearor what flavor of ice cream she preferred. As if someone had told her when she was small,“You...
Separately Together
Separately Together (From Within My Illusions) The butterfly flew across my windshieldthe moment you said the word“butterfly.” How could time regret what came before? My day disjointed,your missed appointment,that moment I hesitatedbefore walking out the door, landed...
Nordstrom
Nordstrom (from Brainstorms) I was waiting at the end of a long lineto return something at Nordstromwhen a young woman came upand said she could help meat another register. Relieved that my wait was shortened,I complimented her coral skirt,which was light and...
Odd Things Humans Do
Odd Things Humans Do (as described by a human who does odd things) (From Within My Illusions) Put objects in boxeswith labelson high shelvesin closetsand pretendthat if they can’t see them,they don’t exist. Build fences around backyardsthen plant rosebushes in the...
Standing on the Parted Shore
Standing on the Parted Shore (from Brainstorms) the fear swells,like a wavein her chestas she stands at the edge of the water. she knowsthat the passage to the other sideis not as long or as deepas it looks from the surface. she only needs to takeonedeepbreathand...
Rising
Rising (from Brainstorms & Artwise Poetry Roulette Cards) We are all reaching toward higher space. Watch me as I rise in an ever-expanding spiral like the butterfly that crossed my path at the bottom of the hill. She emerged from the tall grass to my left. I...
Gratitude Is Like a Giddy Toddler
Gratitude Is Like a Giddy Toddler (From Within My Illusions) Have you ever seen something so beautifulthat you almost couldn’t stand it? Like it was a heroic effortto contain yourself,to refrain from jumpingup and down and shoutinglike a giddy toddlerwho...
Sunrise
Sunrise (From Within My Illusions) My favorite way to watch the sun rise is to look away and then back again. Change often happensslowly, imperceptibly,as long as I’m staringstraight at it. I might miss the subtle shifts from peach to blush to flame,the way the heavy...
The Space Between
The Space Between (from Brainstorms & Artwise Poetry Cards) In the space betweenyou & metwo circles intersect,and what meets in the middleis the essenceof our connection. The space betweenyou & meis a playground for our souls,filled...
Words I Love, in English
Words I Love, in English (written three times and used in a sentence) (from Within My Illusions) frisky frisky friskySnowball is frisky after a bath and hops around the deck like a kangaroo. tickled tickled tickledI was tickled by the boy saying, “When I have a...
The Rains Have Passed
The Rains Have Passed (from Brainstorms) The rains have passedand we walk out onto the porchinto the cool, crisp air,the void after the storm. I shiver slightlyas the moist air hits my bare arms.Your body is close to mine.I can feel your warmth even without us...
Grief’s Spell
Grief’s Spell As I sat brooding at the bottom of a well,Grief embraced me like a sister And whispered her soft spell. There is nothing outside now.There is nothing beyond love.There is nothing to fear. There is nothing to hope for. There is only love.There is only...
Some Days I Need to Choose to Not See the Mess
Some Days I Need to Choose to Not See the Mess (From Within My Illusions) There’s a giant inflatable orca in my entry hall. I’ve kicked him closer to the front door To clear a path from my daughter’s room to mine So she won’t trip when she makes her 2 a.m. visit. Now...
Falling Apart
Falling Apart (From Within My Illusions) My foundation is crumbling. The three-inch pressed powder discthat’s enclosed in a plasticsilver clamshell case, the stuff I use to cover my face,to smooth out the inconsistencieswhile still allowing the me to shine through,...
Collaborative Alchemy
Collaborative Alchemy (a collaborative poem) Our human capacity to take inAnd make sense of the worldTogether. “We are not in Kansas anymore.”We are three dimensional,And our center of gravity is shifting.The world is grieving itself.The world is healing itself....