Dave Bonta
@davebonta.bsky.social
Poet and web publisher from the northern tip of southern Appalachia specializing in erasure poetry, ecopoetry, videopoetry and modern haiku. Books include Ice Mountain: An Elegy; Failed State: Haibun; and Breakdown: Banjo Poems.
https://davebonta.com
https://davebonta.com
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Bare trees dance wildly in the wind, branches clacking like castanets. Snowmelt dripping from the roof flies back up toward the fast-moving clouds.
Bare trees dance wildly in the wind, branches clacking like castanets. Snowmelt dripping from the roof flies back up toward the fast-moving clouds.
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Bare trees dance wildly in the wind, branches clacking like castanets. Snowmelt dripping from the roof flies back up toward the fast-moving clouds.
morningporch.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:47 PM
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Bare trees dance wildly in the wind, branches clacking like castanets. Snowmelt dripping from the roof flies back up toward the fast-moving clouds.
Bare trees dance wildly in the wind, branches clacking like castanets. Snowmelt dripping from the roof flies back up toward the fast-moving clouds.
Today's erasure poem at Via Negativa. The Feast of the Holy Innocents (Dec. 28 or 29) commemorates the mass slaughter of infants ordered by King Herod in Matthew 2:16-18. www.vianegativa.us/2025/12/feas...
December 28, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Today's erasure poem at Via Negativa. The Feast of the Holy Innocents (Dec. 28 or 29) commemorates the mass slaughter of infants ordered by King Herod in Matthew 2:16-18. www.vianegativa.us/2025/12/feas...
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Thick fog that lingers for hours, cancelling most noise except for the muffled taps of woodpeckers. A red squirrel nearly walks under my chair, then thinks better of it.
Thick fog that lingers for hours, cancelling most noise except for the muffled taps of woodpeckers. A red squirrel nearly walks under my chair, then thinks better of it.
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Thick fog that lingers for hours, cancelling most noise except for the muffled taps of woodpeckers. A red squirrel nearly walks under my chair, then thinks better of it.
morningporch.com
December 28, 2025 at 2:48 PM
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Thick fog that lingers for hours, cancelling most noise except for the muffled taps of woodpeckers. A red squirrel nearly walks under my chair, then thinks better of it.
Thick fog that lingers for hours, cancelling most noise except for the muffled taps of woodpeckers. A red squirrel nearly walks under my chair, then thinks better of it.
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The ground is white again, not with snow but an inch of sleet that has turned to slush. Snowflakes swirl through the air. The sun peeks out.
The ground is white again, not with snow but an inch of sleet that has turned to slush. Snowflakes swirl through the air. The sun peeks out.
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The ground is white again, not with snow but an inch of sleet that has turned to slush. Snowflakes swirl through the air. The sun peeks out.
morningporch.com
December 27, 2025 at 2:46 PM
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The ground is white again, not with snow but an inch of sleet that has turned to slush. Snowflakes swirl through the air. The sun peeks out.
The ground is white again, not with snow but an inch of sleet that has turned to slush. Snowflakes swirl through the air. The sun peeks out.
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Cold, overcast, and quieter even than Christmas day. An hour past sunrise, the sky brightens a little. Two crows fly past, yelling. The gloom returns.
Cold, overcast, and quieter even than Christmas day. An hour past sunrise, the sky brightens a little. Two crows fly past, yelling. The gloom returns.
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Cold, overcast, and quieter even than Christmas day. An hour past sunrise, the sky brightens a little. Two crows fly past, yelling. The gloom returns.
morningporch.com
December 26, 2025 at 1:35 PM
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Cold, overcast, and quieter even than Christmas day. An hour past sunrise, the sky brightens a little. Two crows fly past, yelling. The gloom returns.
Cold, overcast, and quieter even than Christmas day. An hour past sunrise, the sky brightens a little. Two crows fly past, yelling. The gloom returns.
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A heavily overcast Christmas morning. With the hum of industry stilled, I can hear the wind in the pines a hundred yards off—a sleeper's sudden, long sigh.
A heavily overcast Christmas morning. With the hum of industry stilled, I can hear the wind in the pines a hundred yards off—a sleeper's sudden, long sigh.
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A heavily overcast Christmas morning. With the hum of industry stilled, I can hear the wind in the pines a hundred yards off—a sleeper's sudden, long sigh.
morningporch.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:18 PM
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A heavily overcast Christmas morning. With the hum of industry stilled, I can hear the wind in the pines a hundred yards off—a sleeper's sudden, long sigh.
A heavily overcast Christmas morning. With the hum of industry stilled, I can hear the wind in the pines a hundred yards off—a sleeper's sudden, long sigh.
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Dawn. A raven emerges from a tall pine near the powerline, croaking and circling until his mate joins him. How is the wind this morning? Evidently just right.
Dawn. A raven emerges from a tall pine near the powerline, croaking and circling until his mate joins him. How is the wind this morning? Evidently just right.
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Dawn. A raven emerges from a tall pine near the powerline, croaking and circling until his mate joins him. How is the wind this morning? Evidently just right.
morningporch.com
December 24, 2025 at 12:25 PM
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Dawn. A raven emerges from a tall pine near the powerline, croaking and circling until his mate joins him. How is the wind this morning? Evidently just right.
Dawn. A raven emerges from a tall pine near the powerline, croaking and circling until his mate joins him. How is the wind this morning? Evidently just right.
This week in the poetry blogs w/ @kent-nj.bsky.social @saudaminideo.bsky.social @robmclennan.bsky.social @linarvitvideopoet.bsky.social @emmalee1.bsky.social @jwikeley.bsky.social @pearlpoet.bsky.social @matriches.bsky.social @beckyltuch.bsky.social 1/3
www.vianegativa.us/2025/12/poet...
www.vianegativa.us/2025/12/poet...
Poetry Blog Digest 2025, Week 51
A personal selection of posts from the Poetry Blogging Network and beyond.
www.vianegativa.us
December 23, 2025 at 2:29 PM
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Freezing mist—enough for drip-line percussion from the roof. The waxy chatter of finches up at my mother's feeders. Down in the hollow, the thunder of a pileated woodpecker.
Freezing mist—enough for drip-line percussion from the roof. The waxy chatter of finches up at my mother's feeders. Down in the hollow, the thunder of a pileated woodpecker.
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Freezing mist—enough for drip-line percussion from the roof. The waxy chatter of finches up at my mother's feeders. Down in the hollow, the thunder of a pileated woodpecker.
morningporch.com
December 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
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Freezing mist—enough for drip-line percussion from the roof. The waxy chatter of finches up at my mother's feeders. Down in the hollow, the thunder of a pileated woodpecker.
Freezing mist—enough for drip-line percussion from the roof. The waxy chatter of finches up at my mother's feeders. Down in the hollow, the thunder of a pileated woodpecker.
In lieu of a Christmas letter
In lieu of a Christmas letter
Well deck the halls and call it a holiday! A terrifying new age of the self-repairing machine is nearly upon us.
davebonta.com
December 23, 2025 at 12:51 PM
In lieu of a Christmas letter
This deep into holidaze I will not be linking anyone tonight but here at least is a not-at-all-rushed edition of the poetry blog digest for your reading pleasure. I think it's a particularly good round-up. But then I think that every week. www.vianegativa.us/2025/12/poet...
Poetry Blog Digest 2025, Week 51
A personal selection of posts from the Poetry Blogging Network and beyond.
www.vianegativa.us
December 23, 2025 at 12:57 AM
This deep into holidaze I will not be linking anyone tonight but here at least is a not-at-all-rushed edition of the poetry blog digest for your reading pleasure. I think it's a particularly good round-up. But then I think that every week. www.vianegativa.us/2025/12/poet...
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Clear and cold. Two red squirrels chase around the bole of the big tulip tree, chittering madly. Threadbare as it is, the snow cover still glitters in all the colors of the rainbow.
Clear and cold. Two red squirrels chase around the bole of the big tulip tree, chittering madly. Threadbare as it is, the snow cover still glitters in all the colors of the rainbow.
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Clear and cold. Two red squirrels chase around the bole of the big tulip tree, chittering madly. Threadbare as it is, the snow cover still glitters in all the colors of the rainbow.
morningporch.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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Clear and cold. Two red squirrels chase around the bole of the big tulip tree, chittering madly. Threadbare as it is, the snow cover still glitters in all the colors of the rainbow.
Clear and cold. Two red squirrels chase around the bole of the big tulip tree, chittering madly. Threadbare as it is, the snow cover still glitters in all the colors of the rainbow.
midwinter
my inventory of shadows
woodrat.vianegativa.us
December 22, 2025 at 2:16 PM
solstice sunrise
a quiet gurgle from the spring
woodrat.vianegativa.us
December 21, 2025 at 1:23 PM
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Cold, quiet, and mostly clear for the solstice. Small clouds turn blood-red at dawn, fade to yellow, then turn a lurid orange at sunrise. A red squirrel pauses at the edge of the porch to glare at me.
Cold, quiet, and mostly clear for the solstice. Small clouds turn blood-red at dawn, fade to yellow, then turn a lurid orange at sunrise. A red squirrel pauses at the edge of the porch to glare at me.
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Cold, quiet, and mostly clear for the solstice. Small clouds turn blood-red at dawn, fade to yellow, then turn a lurid orange at sunrise. A red squirrel pauses at the edge of the porch to glare at me.
morningporch.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:05 PM
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Cold, quiet, and mostly clear for the solstice. Small clouds turn blood-red at dawn, fade to yellow, then turn a lurid orange at sunrise. A red squirrel pauses at the edge of the porch to glare at me.
Cold, quiet, and mostly clear for the solstice. Small clouds turn blood-red at dawn, fade to yellow, then turn a lurid orange at sunrise. A red squirrel pauses at the edge of the porch to glare at me.
Reposted by Dave Bonta
Next time you remember something really stupid you did like ten years ago and feel super embarrassed, remember: it could be worse
You could be Dannica Patrick at AmFest telling 25,000 Christian Nationalists about her past life regression and former incarnation as a Native American medicine woman
You could be Dannica Patrick at AmFest telling 25,000 Christian Nationalists about her past life regression and former incarnation as a Native American medicine woman
December 20, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Next time you remember something really stupid you did like ten years ago and feel super embarrassed, remember: it could be worse
You could be Dannica Patrick at AmFest telling 25,000 Christian Nationalists about her past life regression and former incarnation as a Native American medicine woman
You could be Dannica Patrick at AmFest telling 25,000 Christian Nationalists about her past life regression and former incarnation as a Native American medicine woman
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A cloudless sunrise. The ground is once again white, after yesterday's snow squalls, and it's very still. When the wren stops singing, I can hear a low gurgle from the spring.
A cloudless sunrise. The ground is once again white, after yesterday's snow squalls, and it's very still. When the wren stops singing, I can hear a low gurgle from the spring.
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A cloudless sunrise. The ground is once again white, after yesterday's snow squalls, and it's very still. When the wren stops singing, I can hear a low gurgle from the spring.
morningporch.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:39 PM
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A cloudless sunrise. The ground is once again white, after yesterday's snow squalls, and it's very still. When the wren stops singing, I can hear a low gurgle from the spring.
A cloudless sunrise. The ground is once again white, after yesterday's snow squalls, and it's very still. When the wren stops singing, I can hear a low gurgle from the spring.
Can we older writers still take biblical literacy for granted? This morning for the first time i added a note to the bottom of a blog post explaining a biblical reference that, 25 years ago, I would’ve assumed any reasonably well-educated reader would catch. www.vianegativa.us/2025/12/gone...
December 19, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Can we older writers still take biblical literacy for granted? This morning for the first time i added a note to the bottom of a blog post explaining a biblical reference that, 25 years ago, I would’ve assumed any reasonably well-educated reader would catch. www.vianegativa.us/2025/12/gone...
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Warm, torrential showers overnight have reduced the snow to a few, scattered patches. The clouds thin—a radiant break in the rain.
Warm, torrential showers overnight have reduced the snow to a few, scattered patches. The clouds thin—a radiant break in the rain.
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Warm, torrential showers overnight have reduced the snow to a few, scattered patches. The clouds thin—a radiant break in the rain.
morningporch.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:45 PM
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Warm, torrential showers overnight have reduced the snow to a few, scattered patches. The clouds thin—a radiant break in the rain.
Warm, torrential showers overnight have reduced the snow to a few, scattered patches. The clouds thin—a radiant break in the rain.
Reposted by Dave Bonta
“Now is not the time” has been the mantra of the Democratic Party elite for literally the entire time I’ve been alive - and the prominence of that mantra has coincided with Dems destroying their New Deal coalition, losing power, and handing the government over to MAGA
December 18, 2025 at 8:09 PM
“Now is not the time” has been the mantra of the Democratic Party elite for literally the entire time I’ve been alive - and the prominence of that mantra has coincided with Dems destroying their New Deal coalition, losing power, and handing the government over to MAGA
Reposted by Dave Bonta
There is ONE simple lesson. Learn it. Believe it. Teach it. There is NO benevolent Empire. No matter how politely it dresses up its violence
December 18, 2025 at 8:09 PM
There is ONE simple lesson. Learn it. Believe it. Teach it. There is NO benevolent Empire. No matter how politely it dresses up its violence
Reposted by Dave Bonta
I would go further and say that if you have ever used "Zionism" to mean "aspirational call for Jewish self-determination" and gotten frustrated when people see Zionism as racist dispossession, you should understand why a Palestinian might feel the same about "Intifada." And vice versa.
I think it's reasonable for a Jewish person to feel fear at the phrase "globalize the intifada," and also reasonable for a Palestine solidarity supporter to mean something entirely innocuous. Same with "Zionism" to mean "the general idea of Jewish self-determination in the land" and "the Nakba"
December 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I would go further and say that if you have ever used "Zionism" to mean "aspirational call for Jewish self-determination" and gotten frustrated when people see Zionism as racist dispossession, you should understand why a Palestinian might feel the same about "Intifada." And vice versa.
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Dark and still. A shadow bounds over the icy snow of my garden—weasel or flying squirrel? Ten minutes later, the first sparrows begin to chirp.
Dark and still. A shadow bounds over the icy snow of my garden—weasel or flying squirrel? Ten minutes later, the first sparrows begin to chirp.
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Dark and still. A shadow bounds over the icy snow of my garden—weasel or flying squirrel? Ten minutes later, the first sparrows begin to chirp.
morningporch.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:14 PM
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Dark and still. A shadow bounds over the icy snow of my garden—weasel or flying squirrel? Ten minutes later, the first sparrows begin to chirp.
Dark and still. A shadow bounds over the icy snow of my garden—weasel or flying squirrel? Ten minutes later, the first sparrows begin to chirp.
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Patches of blue sky open and close as snowmelt drips from the roof. An oak leaf cartwheels up the icy driveway.
Patches of blue sky open and close as snowmelt drips from the roof. An oak leaf cartwheels up the icy driveway.
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Patches of blue sky open and close as snowmelt drips from the roof. An oak leaf cartwheels up the icy driveway.
morningporch.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:17 PM
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Patches of blue sky open and close as snowmelt drips from the roof. An oak leaf cartwheels up the icy driveway.
Patches of blue sky open and close as snowmelt drips from the roof. An oak leaf cartwheels up the icy driveway.
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Very cold and still. A fingernail moon slips through the trees' dark digits. Dawn comes with a shift of radiance from the snow-covered ground to the sky.
Very cold and still. A fingernail moon slips through the trees' dark digits. Dawn comes with a shift of radiance from the snow-covered ground to the sky.
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Very cold and still. A fingernail moon slips through the trees' dark digits. Dawn comes with a shift of radiance from the snow-covered ground to the sky.
morningporch.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:48 AM
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Very cold and still. A fingernail moon slips through the trees' dark digits. Dawn comes with a shift of radiance from the snow-covered ground to the sky.
Very cold and still. A fingernail moon slips through the trees' dark digits. Dawn comes with a shift of radiance from the snow-covered ground to the sky.