Steve Westby
@stevewestby.bsky.social
Psychologist (but not yours). Poet. Father of two. Progressive. Author of "By Way of Introduction" (https://a.co/d/dVigNQl)
Pinned
Steve Westby
@stevewestby.bsky.social
· Mar 7
we need them
need the hope of saplings
the steady growth of youthful trees
the reminder of vitality
and finitude
that we too will offer
what shade we can
return to earth
and be reborn
#vss365
Copse
need the hope of saplings
the steady growth of youthful trees
the reminder of vitality
and finitude
that we too will offer
what shade we can
return to earth
and be reborn
#vss365
Copse
#mountainous
once, I thought
how lovely
a soul of peaks and valleys,
stone jutting up to heaven
from bare soil.
and then I reflected
on the cataclysmic pressures
required for such heights,
and shook my head,
and read my story.
#vss365
once, I thought
how lovely
a soul of peaks and valleys,
stone jutting up to heaven
from bare soil.
and then I reflected
on the cataclysmic pressures
required for such heights,
and shook my head,
and read my story.
#vss365
February 18, 2026 at 12:13 AM
#mountainous
once, I thought
how lovely
a soul of peaks and valleys,
stone jutting up to heaven
from bare soil.
and then I reflected
on the cataclysmic pressures
required for such heights,
and shook my head,
and read my story.
#vss365
once, I thought
how lovely
a soul of peaks and valleys,
stone jutting up to heaven
from bare soil.
and then I reflected
on the cataclysmic pressures
required for such heights,
and shook my head,
and read my story.
#vss365
Reposted by Steve Westby
My next book? 😆
February 15, 2026 at 11:43 PM
My next book? 😆
Key to Victory
maybe it's just
love applied stubbornly
when evil walks
these winter streets
#restoartprompt
maybe it's just
love applied stubbornly
when evil walks
these winter streets
#restoartprompt
February 16, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Key to Victory
maybe it's just
love applied stubbornly
when evil walks
these winter streets
#restoartprompt
maybe it's just
love applied stubbornly
when evil walks
these winter streets
#restoartprompt
#Minuscule
what heals is not the grand,
not the laborious,
nor the masterful,
but tiny shifts
made habit.
each day begun
with some small turn
to show our pain
the care it missed.
#vss365
what heals is not the grand,
not the laborious,
nor the masterful,
but tiny shifts
made habit.
each day begun
with some small turn
to show our pain
the care it missed.
#vss365
February 16, 2026 at 12:02 AM
#Minuscule
what heals is not the grand,
not the laborious,
nor the masterful,
but tiny shifts
made habit.
each day begun
with some small turn
to show our pain
the care it missed.
#vss365
what heals is not the grand,
not the laborious,
nor the masterful,
but tiny shifts
made habit.
each day begun
with some small turn
to show our pain
the care it missed.
#vss365
Reposted by Steve Westby
“I’ve never protested before - but I just watched 4th & 5th grade kids run away from our own government.” 😕🇺🇸💔
(From @crindivisible.bsky.social )
(From @crindivisible.bsky.social )
February 15, 2026 at 12:45 AM
“I’ve never protested before - but I just watched 4th & 5th grade kids run away from our own government.” 😕🇺🇸💔
(From @crindivisible.bsky.social )
(From @crindivisible.bsky.social )
Bitter Taste
I wonder
if it’s like our first sip—
strong, unpleasant,
until the taste turns.
something in this
meeting of lips
brings unexpected joy,
and we look in the mirror
and say,
well.
I guess I’m a coffee drinker now.
#retroartprompt
I wonder
if it’s like our first sip—
strong, unpleasant,
until the taste turns.
something in this
meeting of lips
brings unexpected joy,
and we look in the mirror
and say,
well.
I guess I’m a coffee drinker now.
#retroartprompt
February 14, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Bitter Taste
I wonder
if it’s like our first sip—
strong, unpleasant,
until the taste turns.
something in this
meeting of lips
brings unexpected joy,
and we look in the mirror
and say,
well.
I guess I’m a coffee drinker now.
#retroartprompt
I wonder
if it’s like our first sip—
strong, unpleasant,
until the taste turns.
something in this
meeting of lips
brings unexpected joy,
and we look in the mirror
and say,
well.
I guess I’m a coffee drinker now.
#retroartprompt
Release the Arrow
the story is
the enemy so feared the longbow
they cut off middle fingers
thinking they'd be safe
and the English that they missed
displayed the central digit
a reminder told
to men in masks
#retroartprompt
the story is
the enemy so feared the longbow
they cut off middle fingers
thinking they'd be safe
and the English that they missed
displayed the central digit
a reminder told
to men in masks
#retroartprompt
February 13, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Release the Arrow
the story is
the enemy so feared the longbow
they cut off middle fingers
thinking they'd be safe
and the English that they missed
displayed the central digit
a reminder told
to men in masks
#retroartprompt
the story is
the enemy so feared the longbow
they cut off middle fingers
thinking they'd be safe
and the English that they missed
displayed the central digit
a reminder told
to men in masks
#retroartprompt
Reposted by Steve Westby
February 11, 2026 at 12:45 PM
February 11, 2026 at 12:03 PM
Construction
machines tear into
stone and soil
the very coiled might
of monsters
channeled into metal
rending
and its echoes
shake the ground
stir the air
with not quite sound
as I think of California
#poetry
machines tear into
stone and soil
the very coiled might
of monsters
channeled into metal
rending
and its echoes
shake the ground
stir the air
with not quite sound
as I think of California
#poetry
February 10, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Construction
machines tear into
stone and soil
the very coiled might
of monsters
channeled into metal
rending
and its echoes
shake the ground
stir the air
with not quite sound
as I think of California
#poetry
machines tear into
stone and soil
the very coiled might
of monsters
channeled into metal
rending
and its echoes
shake the ground
stir the air
with not quite sound
as I think of California
#poetry
Take a Stand
once I felt
love would be enough
that if you were wronged
you just loved
until love called to their heart
and they were changed
perhaps I was not
entirely wrong
but time has taught
that sometimes love
opposes
#retroartprompt
once I felt
love would be enough
that if you were wronged
you just loved
until love called to their heart
and they were changed
perhaps I was not
entirely wrong
but time has taught
that sometimes love
opposes
#retroartprompt
February 10, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Take a Stand
once I felt
love would be enough
that if you were wronged
you just loved
until love called to their heart
and they were changed
perhaps I was not
entirely wrong
but time has taught
that sometimes love
opposes
#retroartprompt
once I felt
love would be enough
that if you were wronged
you just loved
until love called to their heart
and they were changed
perhaps I was not
entirely wrong
but time has taught
that sometimes love
opposes
#retroartprompt
Devastating Force
I know
we think of bombs
or hydraulics
or crushing gravity
but the worst they could do
is end me
while one soft glance
to tender heart
can drive a soul
as long as dream
#retroartprompt
I know
we think of bombs
or hydraulics
or crushing gravity
but the worst they could do
is end me
while one soft glance
to tender heart
can drive a soul
as long as dream
#retroartprompt
February 10, 2026 at 2:28 AM
Devastating Force
I know
we think of bombs
or hydraulics
or crushing gravity
but the worst they could do
is end me
while one soft glance
to tender heart
can drive a soul
as long as dream
#retroartprompt
I know
we think of bombs
or hydraulics
or crushing gravity
but the worst they could do
is end me
while one soft glance
to tender heart
can drive a soul
as long as dream
#retroartprompt
Sacred City
Hollywood acts as though
it is wood and stone, hidden
and discovered
when actually
it is wood
and stone
hidden
and discovered
within
#retroartprompt
Hollywood acts as though
it is wood and stone, hidden
and discovered
when actually
it is wood
and stone
hidden
and discovered
within
#retroartprompt
February 8, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Sacred City
Hollywood acts as though
it is wood and stone, hidden
and discovered
when actually
it is wood
and stone
hidden
and discovered
within
#retroartprompt
Hollywood acts as though
it is wood and stone, hidden
and discovered
when actually
it is wood
and stone
hidden
and discovered
within
#retroartprompt
Price to Pay
we think mostly
of absence
of poverty
of loss
and not of reaction
what others receive
thus misery endures
through perceptions
we borrowed
from famine
and war
instead of the bounty
with tables
of plenty
#retroartprompt
we think mostly
of absence
of poverty
of loss
and not of reaction
what others receive
thus misery endures
through perceptions
we borrowed
from famine
and war
instead of the bounty
with tables
of plenty
#retroartprompt
February 7, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Price to Pay
we think mostly
of absence
of poverty
of loss
and not of reaction
what others receive
thus misery endures
through perceptions
we borrowed
from famine
and war
instead of the bounty
with tables
of plenty
#retroartprompt
we think mostly
of absence
of poverty
of loss
and not of reaction
what others receive
thus misery endures
through perceptions
we borrowed
from famine
and war
instead of the bounty
with tables
of plenty
#retroartprompt
Our Fate
we think of darkness
death and taxes
as our only ultimate certainties
but what if
that's all mistaken,
an error of survival wiring
born to focus us on threat
and really
at the end of everything
there's joy
#retroartprompt
we think of darkness
death and taxes
as our only ultimate certainties
but what if
that's all mistaken,
an error of survival wiring
born to focus us on threat
and really
at the end of everything
there's joy
#retroartprompt
February 6, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Our Fate
we think of darkness
death and taxes
as our only ultimate certainties
but what if
that's all mistaken,
an error of survival wiring
born to focus us on threat
and really
at the end of everything
there's joy
#retroartprompt
we think of darkness
death and taxes
as our only ultimate certainties
but what if
that's all mistaken,
an error of survival wiring
born to focus us on threat
and really
at the end of everything
there's joy
#retroartprompt
Therapy
listen, just
don't overthink this
find some piece of you
to love
shower it with kindness
each morning
until at last it glows
and feels whole
then repeat
#poetry
listen, just
don't overthink this
find some piece of you
to love
shower it with kindness
each morning
until at last it glows
and feels whole
then repeat
#poetry
February 5, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Therapy
listen, just
don't overthink this
find some piece of you
to love
shower it with kindness
each morning
until at last it glows
and feels whole
then repeat
#poetry
listen, just
don't overthink this
find some piece of you
to love
shower it with kindness
each morning
until at last it glows
and feels whole
then repeat
#poetry