Chase Dimock
@chasedimock.bsky.social
Writer and Editor in Chief of As It Ought To Be Magazine
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Reposted by Chase Dimock
how lightbulbs make me sneeze
or the word blood bends my vision
New #poetry by Sarah Carleton on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/sarah-carlet...
or the word blood bends my vision
New #poetry by Sarah Carleton on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/sarah-carlet...
Sarah Carleton: “Point of Reference”
Point of ReferenceI tell friends the bottoms of my feettingle when I peer down at a gorge from a high bridge or watcha video of a cyclist popping wheelies on a roof or followthe wearable camera of …
asitoughttobemagazine.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:29 AM
how lightbulbs make me sneeze
or the word blood bends my vision
New #poetry by Sarah Carleton on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/sarah-carlet...
or the word blood bends my vision
New #poetry by Sarah Carleton on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/sarah-carlet...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Our January 2026 Poetry Edition is live! Check out new work from Sarah Carleton, Nada Faris, Cal Freeman, John Grey, Kristen Keckler, Garth Pavell, Jason Ryberg, and Dudley Stone.
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2026/01/27/p...
#poetry
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2026/01/27/p...
#poetry
Poetry: January 2026
Sarah Carleton: “Point of Reference” Nada Faris: “The Way Forward” Cal Freeman: “Essay On Whistler” John Grey: “Relationships, Your Argument” Kristen Keckler: “Woman and Sewing Machine” Garth Pavel…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:22 AM
Our January 2026 Poetry Edition is live! Check out new work from Sarah Carleton, Nada Faris, Cal Freeman, John Grey, Kristen Keckler, Garth Pavell, Jason Ryberg, and Dudley Stone.
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2026/01/27/p...
#poetry
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2026/01/27/p...
#poetry
Reposted by Chase Dimock
"She tries to grab them, but they’ve found
a home in the noodles."
New #poetry by Madison Woodle on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/madison-wood...
a home in the noodles."
New #poetry by Madison Woodle on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/madison-wood...
Madison Woodle: “Worms”
WormsThe can is cold against her fingers.It’s hidden in her grip beneaththe table, her nail tracing the cool tin.Her feet don’t reach the floor,Twinkle Toes only brushing the tileas she kicks. If M…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
January 2, 2026 at 8:18 PM
"She tries to grab them, but they’ve found
a home in the noodles."
New #poetry by Madison Woodle on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/madison-wood...
a home in the noodles."
New #poetry by Madison Woodle on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/madison-wood...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Whatever remains of memories stored inside drawers, kept
dormant or meant to be opened on an auspicious day? What
of the efforts to recognize dozens of white medicinal powders
by taste, touch, aspect, smell, or fricative sounds?
New #poetry by Hedy Habra!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/hedy-habra-w...
dormant or meant to be opened on an auspicious day? What
of the efforts to recognize dozens of white medicinal powders
by taste, touch, aspect, smell, or fricative sounds?
New #poetry by Hedy Habra!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/hedy-habra-w...
Hedy Habra: “Whatever Remains of What We Once Knew So Well?”
Whatever Remains of What We Once Knew So Well?Whatever remains of drafts and notes scribbled in marginsthat can no longer be deciphered or elucidated? What ofthe pain once thought unbearable after …
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Whatever remains of memories stored inside drawers, kept
dormant or meant to be opened on an auspicious day? What
of the efforts to recognize dozens of white medicinal powders
by taste, touch, aspect, smell, or fricative sounds?
New #poetry by Hedy Habra!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/hedy-habra-w...
dormant or meant to be opened on an auspicious day? What
of the efforts to recognize dozens of white medicinal powders
by taste, touch, aspect, smell, or fricative sounds?
New #poetry by Hedy Habra!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/hedy-habra-w...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
maybe I look mad,
fingers tracing my chiseled past,
spooling thoughts—trance-like,
but in this spun-out moment
I can honor the mysteries of my body
New #poetry on AIOTB by Adele Evershed!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/adele-eversh...
fingers tracing my chiseled past,
spooling thoughts—trance-like,
but in this spun-out moment
I can honor the mysteries of my body
New #poetry on AIOTB by Adele Evershed!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/adele-eversh...
Adele Evershed: “loopy”
loopybefore clocksthere were stone circles,listing like a groupof middle-aged womengathered for a girls’ night out—a way to grasp timewhen everything was a mystery,a place to gather,walk in circles…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 29, 2025 at 9:08 PM
maybe I look mad,
fingers tracing my chiseled past,
spooling thoughts—trance-like,
but in this spun-out moment
I can honor the mysteries of my body
New #poetry on AIOTB by Adele Evershed!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/adele-eversh...
fingers tracing my chiseled past,
spooling thoughts—trance-like,
but in this spun-out moment
I can honor the mysteries of my body
New #poetry on AIOTB by Adele Evershed!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/adele-eversh...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Reposted by Chase Dimock
New poetry by Cindy Rinne from our September edition!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/cindy-rinne-...
#poetry
asitoughttobemagazine.com/cindy-rinne-...
#poetry
Cindy Rinne: “Ghost Turkey”
Ghost TurkeyUnder lace stars andembroidered birds,a turkey ghost is proudhe sacrificedhimself for a good cause –a mountain lion’s hunger.His caretaker was dreamingof a shaded gardenwhere people cou…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
October 2, 2025 at 2:43 PM
New poetry by Cindy Rinne from our September edition!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/cindy-rinne-...
#poetry
asitoughttobemagazine.com/cindy-rinne-...
#poetry
Reposted by Chase Dimock
"There is a subordinate hush beneath the silence"
New poetry on AIOTB by Lindsay McLeod!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/lindsay-mcle...
#poetry
New poetry on AIOTB by Lindsay McLeod!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/lindsay-mcle...
#poetry
Lindsay McLeod: “Sleeping Dogs”
Sleeping DogsThere is a subordinate hush beneath the silence like father’s anger here in the long quiet dark of this country road that seems suspect soft and warm as a lamb yet we both know f…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:23 PM
"There is a subordinate hush beneath the silence"
New poetry on AIOTB by Lindsay McLeod!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/lindsay-mcle...
#poetry
New poetry on AIOTB by Lindsay McLeod!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/lindsay-mcle...
#poetry
Reposted by Chase Dimock
she plays with the sound
in her mouth
tongues the note around
like a two-ton stone
New poetry by John Compton on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/john-compton...
#poetry
in her mouth
tongues the note around
like a two-ton stone
New poetry by John Compton on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/john-compton...
#poetry
John Compton: “the musical of the bell jar”
the musical of the bell jarshe plays with the soundin her mouthtongues the note aroundlike a two-ton stonetrying to dislodgethe musicfrom her throat.a cricket hidits songunder a trapdoorwhere a tur…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:01 AM
she plays with the sound
in her mouth
tongues the note around
like a two-ton stone
New poetry by John Compton on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/john-compton...
#poetry
in her mouth
tongues the note around
like a two-ton stone
New poetry by John Compton on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/john-compton...
#poetry
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Mom had no time
to explain the alchemy
of bluing to a nine-year-old.
New #poetry by R.A. Allen on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/r-a-allen-bl...
to explain the alchemy
of bluing to a nine-year-old.
New #poetry by R.A. Allen on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/r-a-allen-bl...
R. A. Allen: “Bluing”
BluingSharing a spidery basementwith the furnace,our washing machinehad two cycles—hot & cold.I discovered my momhand-washingher “good” whitesin the kitchen sink,with some kind of blueliquid in…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Mom had no time
to explain the alchemy
of bluing to a nine-year-old.
New #poetry by R.A. Allen on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/r-a-allen-bl...
to explain the alchemy
of bluing to a nine-year-old.
New #poetry by R.A. Allen on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/r-a-allen-bl...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Our December Poetry Edition is live, featuring new work by R. A. Allen, James Benger, Bonnie Demerjian, Adele Evershed, Hedy Habra, Madison Woodle, and Robin Wright.
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2025/12/24/p...
#poetry
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2025/12/24/p...
#poetry
Poetry: December 2025
R. A. Allen: “Bluing” James Benger: “pep talk” Bonnie Demerjian: “A Lesson Not Taught in Supermarket School” Adele Evershed: “loopy” Hedy Habra: “Whatever Remains of What We Once Knew So Well?” Mad…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 24, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Our December Poetry Edition is live, featuring new work by R. A. Allen, James Benger, Bonnie Demerjian, Adele Evershed, Hedy Habra, Madison Woodle, and Robin Wright.
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2025/12/24/p...
#poetry
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2025/12/24/p...
#poetry
Reposted by Chase Dimock
I’m not the mythic real boy,
the bookend son
New #poetry on AIOTB by Alicia Wright!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/alicia-wrigh...
the bookend son
New #poetry on AIOTB by Alicia Wright!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/alicia-wrigh...
Alicia Wright: “She doesn’t wish me dead”
She doesn’t wish me deadbut she dreams me a clot,a porcelain smearchasing a current of almostson their trip downriver.I’m not the mythic real boy,the bookend sonin grass-stained denim,baseball card…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:10 AM
I’m not the mythic real boy,
the bookend son
New #poetry on AIOTB by Alicia Wright!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/alicia-wrigh...
the bookend son
New #poetry on AIOTB by Alicia Wright!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/alicia-wrigh...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
It is the white satin lining of the coffin lid.
This is the lid that closes every night upon our lids.
New #poetry by J.R. Solonche on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/j-r-solonche...
This is the lid that closes every night upon our lids.
New #poetry by J.R. Solonche on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/j-r-solonche...
J.R. Solonche: “The Ceiling”
The CeilingIt is one sixty-fourth of a chessboard that isn’t there.I am the king of the white square the size of a room.It is a sky without birds, except for the ones I remember.It is a sky without…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:39 PM
It is the white satin lining of the coffin lid.
This is the lid that closes every night upon our lids.
New #poetry by J.R. Solonche on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/j-r-solonche...
This is the lid that closes every night upon our lids.
New #poetry by J.R. Solonche on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/j-r-solonche...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
"Listen, and you’ll hear something being stripped away."
New #poetry by Joe Mills on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/joseph-mills...
New #poetry by Joe Mills on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/joseph-mills...
Joseph Mills: “Retinue”
RetinueAt first, they’re happy to be part of the one hundredchosen to remain with King Lear in his retirement.The A-team. The posse. The ones who made the cut.Then the daughters begin to ask why 10…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 14, 2025 at 7:54 PM
"Listen, and you’ll hear something being stripped away."
New #poetry by Joe Mills on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/joseph-mills...
New #poetry by Joe Mills on AIOTB!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/joseph-mills...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Sometimes
he still tries to kick
his missing back leg
when we find
that right there spot
New poetry on AIOTB by A.M. Hayden!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/a-m-hayden-g...
#poetry
he still tries to kick
his missing back leg
when we find
that right there spot
New poetry on AIOTB by A.M. Hayden!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/a-m-hayden-g...
#poetry
A.M. Hayden: “Ghost Leg”
Ghost LegSometimeshe still tries to kickhis missing back legwhen we findthat right there spotscratch until we seeripples vibratejust beneath surfacerepeat messages activatedsent to nervesto spinal …
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Sometimes
he still tries to kick
his missing back leg
when we find
that right there spot
New poetry on AIOTB by A.M. Hayden!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/a-m-hayden-g...
#poetry
he still tries to kick
his missing back leg
when we find
that right there spot
New poetry on AIOTB by A.M. Hayden!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/a-m-hayden-g...
#poetry
"... He stood back, gaze fixed
on the owl’s yellow eyes, the wary
way it watched him tremble, watched
him stare at the rat’s tail continuing
its descent into darkness, darkness."
New poetry on AIOTB by Jacob Butlett
asitoughttobemagazine.com/jacob-butlet...
on the owl’s yellow eyes, the wary
way it watched him tremble, watched
him stare at the rat’s tail continuing
its descent into darkness, darkness."
New poetry on AIOTB by Jacob Butlett
asitoughttobemagazine.com/jacob-butlet...
Jacob Butlett: “Feeding Time at the Zoo”
Feeding Time at the ZooThe owl stretched its neck, glugged gluggedglugged the rat deeper down its throat,the tail drooping from the upturnedbeak like a second tongue. My youngerself, barely nine ye…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
December 7, 2025 at 7:04 PM
"... He stood back, gaze fixed
on the owl’s yellow eyes, the wary
way it watched him tremble, watched
him stare at the rat’s tail continuing
its descent into darkness, darkness."
New poetry on AIOTB by Jacob Butlett
asitoughttobemagazine.com/jacob-butlet...
on the owl’s yellow eyes, the wary
way it watched him tremble, watched
him stare at the rat’s tail continuing
its descent into darkness, darkness."
New poetry on AIOTB by Jacob Butlett
asitoughttobemagazine.com/jacob-butlet...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Our November 2025 Poetry Edition is live, featuring new work by:
Ruth Bavetta, Jacob Butlett, John Compton, A.M. Hayden, Joshua Lillie, Joseph Mills, J.R. Solonche, and Alicia Wright.
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2025/11/29/p...
#poetry
Ruth Bavetta, Jacob Butlett, John Compton, A.M. Hayden, Joshua Lillie, Joseph Mills, J.R. Solonche, and Alicia Wright.
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2025/11/29/p...
#poetry
Poetry: November 2025
Ruth Bavetta: “My Father’s Shirts” Jacob Butlett: “Feeding Time at the Zoo” John Compton: “the musical of the bell jar” A.M. Hayden: “Ghost Leg” Joshua Lillie: “What Becomes A Tumblewee…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Our November 2025 Poetry Edition is live, featuring new work by:
Ruth Bavetta, Jacob Butlett, John Compton, A.M. Hayden, Joshua Lillie, Joseph Mills, J.R. Solonche, and Alicia Wright.
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2025/11/29/p...
#poetry
Ruth Bavetta, Jacob Butlett, John Compton, A.M. Hayden, Joshua Lillie, Joseph Mills, J.R. Solonche, and Alicia Wright.
asitoughttobemagazine.com/2025/11/29/p...
#poetry
Reposted by Chase Dimock
"running fingers over each tooth,
raggedness gone, transition
from one to the next like precise
words that keep the hard work
to themselves..."
New #poetry on AIOTB by Abner Oakes!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/abner-oakes-...
raggedness gone, transition
from one to the next like precise
words that keep the hard work
to themselves..."
New #poetry on AIOTB by Abner Oakes!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/abner-oakes-...
Abner Oakes: “Floating Teeth”
Floating TeethThis poem, shiny and straightat the start, soon a mouthful.I yank lines, grind awayat first words, milk teethof the draft. Uncle Bob floatedteeth, arriving at each barnwith his bucket…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
"running fingers over each tooth,
raggedness gone, transition
from one to the next like precise
words that keep the hard work
to themselves..."
New #poetry on AIOTB by Abner Oakes!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/abner-oakes-...
raggedness gone, transition
from one to the next like precise
words that keep the hard work
to themselves..."
New #poetry on AIOTB by Abner Oakes!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/abner-oakes-...
Reposted by Chase Dimock
Reposted by Chase Dimock
"you’ll feel the whirring of the cogs
as it settles quietly into a safe warm place"
New work by Paul Ilechko from the October Poetry Edition!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/paul-ilechko...
#poetry
as it settles quietly into a safe warm place"
New work by Paul Ilechko from the October Poetry Edition!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/paul-ilechko...
#poetry
Paul Ilechko: “Memories of a Memory”
Memories of a MemoryMemory is the easiest thing to rememberwhen once again there is somethingyou can’t quite bring in while utterlycertain that you knew it onceand if you stop trying quite so hardi…
asitoughttobemagazine.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:54 PM
"you’ll feel the whirring of the cogs
as it settles quietly into a safe warm place"
New work by Paul Ilechko from the October Poetry Edition!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/paul-ilechko...
#poetry
as it settles quietly into a safe warm place"
New work by Paul Ilechko from the October Poetry Edition!
asitoughttobemagazine.com/paul-ilechko...
#poetry