Jaime R. Wood-Riley
@jaimerwood.bsky.social
🌈 Writer, teacher, animal lover. Living in our dream tiny house, a 45-ft retired coach 🚌 with my ❤️ Patrick. Retiring in New Brunswick 🇨🇦 on our 75-acre creative retreat 🎨🖋🎶. @magnoliathebus on YouTube and Bluesky to follow our bus build.
The year of courage, day 67:
Sometimes we outgrow
Our comforts
Soft paws hitting the cold floor
After so many days
Cradling in warmth and safety
We have to brave
The unknown
A darkness
Or a fear so bright
It tricks us into believing
We can't trust our own eyes
But peace is on the other side
Sometimes we outgrow
Our comforts
Soft paws hitting the cold floor
After so many days
Cradling in warmth and safety
We have to brave
The unknown
A darkness
Or a fear so bright
It tricks us into believing
We can't trust our own eyes
But peace is on the other side
May 25, 2025 at 6:23 AM
The year of courage, day 67:
Sometimes we outgrow
Our comforts
Soft paws hitting the cold floor
After so many days
Cradling in warmth and safety
We have to brave
The unknown
A darkness
Or a fear so bright
It tricks us into believing
We can't trust our own eyes
But peace is on the other side
Sometimes we outgrow
Our comforts
Soft paws hitting the cold floor
After so many days
Cradling in warmth and safety
We have to brave
The unknown
A darkness
Or a fear so bright
It tricks us into believing
We can't trust our own eyes
But peace is on the other side
The year of courage, day 66:
I always thought he was a boy
On his way to becoming
But on a day undistinguished
From any other day
As if by magic
There he sat
A steady wisdom in his eye
A man knowing
The need for courage
I always thought he was a boy
On his way to becoming
But on a day undistinguished
From any other day
As if by magic
There he sat
A steady wisdom in his eye
A man knowing
The need for courage
May 25, 2025 at 6:11 AM
The year of courage, day 66:
I always thought he was a boy
On his way to becoming
But on a day undistinguished
From any other day
As if by magic
There he sat
A steady wisdom in his eye
A man knowing
The need for courage
I always thought he was a boy
On his way to becoming
But on a day undistinguished
From any other day
As if by magic
There he sat
A steady wisdom in his eye
A man knowing
The need for courage
The year of courage, day 65:
No matter how much I try
To pin down the parts of me
I wish would disappear
The morning arrives clear
And here I am
Whole and begging to be carried
Necessary
No matter how much I try
To pin down the parts of me
I wish would disappear
The morning arrives clear
And here I am
Whole and begging to be carried
Necessary
May 22, 2025 at 12:33 PM
The year of courage, day 65:
No matter how much I try
To pin down the parts of me
I wish would disappear
The morning arrives clear
And here I am
Whole and begging to be carried
Necessary
No matter how much I try
To pin down the parts of me
I wish would disappear
The morning arrives clear
And here I am
Whole and begging to be carried
Necessary
The year of courage, day 64:
I felt real peace today
For the first time the colors
Were crisp with excitement
Tomorrow is coming
The flowers buzz the news
We are living history
We have been here before
And we'll be here again
We will know what to do
I felt real peace today
For the first time the colors
Were crisp with excitement
Tomorrow is coming
The flowers buzz the news
We are living history
We have been here before
And we'll be here again
We will know what to do
May 21, 2025 at 12:49 AM
The year of courage, day 64:
I felt real peace today
For the first time the colors
Were crisp with excitement
Tomorrow is coming
The flowers buzz the news
We are living history
We have been here before
And we'll be here again
We will know what to do
I felt real peace today
For the first time the colors
Were crisp with excitement
Tomorrow is coming
The flowers buzz the news
We are living history
We have been here before
And we'll be here again
We will know what to do
The year of courage, day 63:
To know what you love
To protect it with all you have
Is a kind of courage
Many seek all their lives
It could be simple
If we weren't confused so early About what we should want
It's just a matter of listening
To the cells of your body
Rejoicing and allowing it
To dance
To know what you love
To protect it with all you have
Is a kind of courage
Many seek all their lives
It could be simple
If we weren't confused so early About what we should want
It's just a matter of listening
To the cells of your body
Rejoicing and allowing it
To dance
March 22, 2025 at 11:56 AM
The year of courage, day 63:
To know what you love
To protect it with all you have
Is a kind of courage
Many seek all their lives
It could be simple
If we weren't confused so early About what we should want
It's just a matter of listening
To the cells of your body
Rejoicing and allowing it
To dance
To know what you love
To protect it with all you have
Is a kind of courage
Many seek all their lives
It could be simple
If we weren't confused so early About what we should want
It's just a matter of listening
To the cells of your body
Rejoicing and allowing it
To dance
The year of courage, day 62:
I want to say beauty
Is resistance joy
Is protest against
Those who want us
Miserable and afraid
I want to say dancing
Is enough to keep us
Safe from loneliness
A song can be a friend
If you let it become you
I want to believe
In something bigger
Than fear
I want to say beauty
Is resistance joy
Is protest against
Those who want us
Miserable and afraid
I want to say dancing
Is enough to keep us
Safe from loneliness
A song can be a friend
If you let it become you
I want to believe
In something bigger
Than fear
March 22, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The year of courage, day 62:
I want to say beauty
Is resistance joy
Is protest against
Those who want us
Miserable and afraid
I want to say dancing
Is enough to keep us
Safe from loneliness
A song can be a friend
If you let it become you
I want to believe
In something bigger
Than fear
I want to say beauty
Is resistance joy
Is protest against
Those who want us
Miserable and afraid
I want to say dancing
Is enough to keep us
Safe from loneliness
A song can be a friend
If you let it become you
I want to believe
In something bigger
Than fear
The year of courage, day 61:
The days have slowed
And sped up
Each holds a whirlwind
Of consequence too heavy
To carry into spring
But here we are
The siding ripped from the house
An invisible force warning us
That sometimes the choice
Is to hide or fight
No in between
But remember joy is free
The days have slowed
And sped up
Each holds a whirlwind
Of consequence too heavy
To carry into spring
But here we are
The siding ripped from the house
An invisible force warning us
That sometimes the choice
Is to hide or fight
No in between
But remember joy is free
March 22, 2025 at 11:37 AM
The year of courage, day 61:
The days have slowed
And sped up
Each holds a whirlwind
Of consequence too heavy
To carry into spring
But here we are
The siding ripped from the house
An invisible force warning us
That sometimes the choice
Is to hide or fight
No in between
But remember joy is free
The days have slowed
And sped up
Each holds a whirlwind
Of consequence too heavy
To carry into spring
But here we are
The siding ripped from the house
An invisible force warning us
That sometimes the choice
Is to hide or fight
No in between
But remember joy is free
The year of courage, day 60:
A still life is a story of remnants
The painter's cloth draped
Across the floor the ladder
Holding up nothing but memory
All the pieces of a life in progress
Striking a pose in silent revery
At what we can build
When courage is our companion
A still life is a story of remnants
The painter's cloth draped
Across the floor the ladder
Holding up nothing but memory
All the pieces of a life in progress
Striking a pose in silent revery
At what we can build
When courage is our companion
March 5, 2025 at 11:08 AM
The year of courage, day 60:
A still life is a story of remnants
The painter's cloth draped
Across the floor the ladder
Holding up nothing but memory
All the pieces of a life in progress
Striking a pose in silent revery
At what we can build
When courage is our companion
A still life is a story of remnants
The painter's cloth draped
Across the floor the ladder
Holding up nothing but memory
All the pieces of a life in progress
Striking a pose in silent revery
At what we can build
When courage is our companion
The year of courage, day 59:
In the dream you were
On your way someplace
Beautiful but the bus flew
Off a cliff and you sailed
With everything you'd worked
For everything you'd ever loved
Floating and falling a slow motion
Death like every other death
But this one a ballet
In the dream you were
On your way someplace
Beautiful but the bus flew
Off a cliff and you sailed
With everything you'd worked
For everything you'd ever loved
Floating and falling a slow motion
Death like every other death
But this one a ballet
March 5, 2025 at 10:45 AM
The year of courage, day 59:
In the dream you were
On your way someplace
Beautiful but the bus flew
Off a cliff and you sailed
With everything you'd worked
For everything you'd ever loved
Floating and falling a slow motion
Death like every other death
But this one a ballet
In the dream you were
On your way someplace
Beautiful but the bus flew
Off a cliff and you sailed
With everything you'd worked
For everything you'd ever loved
Floating and falling a slow motion
Death like every other death
But this one a ballet
The year of courage, day 58:
Is it so absurd to believe
We might do more than survive
If we lock arms and declare
Joy a necessity like oxygen
And make a home for it
In every corner of our day
Is it so absurd to believe
We might do more than survive
If we lock arms and declare
Joy a necessity like oxygen
And make a home for it
In every corner of our day
March 2, 2025 at 6:31 PM
The year of courage, day 58:
Is it so absurd to believe
We might do more than survive
If we lock arms and declare
Joy a necessity like oxygen
And make a home for it
In every corner of our day
Is it so absurd to believe
We might do more than survive
If we lock arms and declare
Joy a necessity like oxygen
And make a home for it
In every corner of our day
The year of courage, day 57:
There is so much yet to discover
Just this morning in the backyard
This cardinal and his female
Companion feasted on the earth's
Offerings and in Taiwan
They found a blue mushroom
That must have been dreamed up
By David Bowie
So how can we settle
Into despair
There is so much yet to discover
Just this morning in the backyard
This cardinal and his female
Companion feasted on the earth's
Offerings and in Taiwan
They found a blue mushroom
That must have been dreamed up
By David Bowie
So how can we settle
Into despair
February 28, 2025 at 2:14 AM
The year of courage, day 57:
There is so much yet to discover
Just this morning in the backyard
This cardinal and his female
Companion feasted on the earth's
Offerings and in Taiwan
They found a blue mushroom
That must have been dreamed up
By David Bowie
So how can we settle
Into despair
There is so much yet to discover
Just this morning in the backyard
This cardinal and his female
Companion feasted on the earth's
Offerings and in Taiwan
They found a blue mushroom
That must have been dreamed up
By David Bowie
So how can we settle
Into despair
The year of courage, day 56:
To smile is not to give up
The fight is always there
Pushing at the edges
Looking for weakness
But your joy is built
On the courage to make
Music in the morning
And after work
When the day thinks it's done
But you have found
The strength to carry on
To smile is not to give up
The fight is always there
Pushing at the edges
Looking for weakness
But your joy is built
On the courage to make
Music in the morning
And after work
When the day thinks it's done
But you have found
The strength to carry on
February 26, 2025 at 12:00 PM
The year of courage, day 56:
To smile is not to give up
The fight is always there
Pushing at the edges
Looking for weakness
But your joy is built
On the courage to make
Music in the morning
And after work
When the day thinks it's done
But you have found
The strength to carry on
To smile is not to give up
The fight is always there
Pushing at the edges
Looking for weakness
But your joy is built
On the courage to make
Music in the morning
And after work
When the day thinks it's done
But you have found
The strength to carry on
The year of courage, day 55:
Aren't we all a little bit lonely
All the time searching
For a way to mend a fence
Or make our voices heard
From behind a wall
To be seen and invited
To stay a while
To tell your story
And be asked to say a bit more
About what shaped you
Into this singular masterpiece
Aren't we all a little bit lonely
All the time searching
For a way to mend a fence
Or make our voices heard
From behind a wall
To be seen and invited
To stay a while
To tell your story
And be asked to say a bit more
About what shaped you
Into this singular masterpiece
February 24, 2025 at 1:44 PM
The year of courage, day 55:
Aren't we all a little bit lonely
All the time searching
For a way to mend a fence
Or make our voices heard
From behind a wall
To be seen and invited
To stay a while
To tell your story
And be asked to say a bit more
About what shaped you
Into this singular masterpiece
Aren't we all a little bit lonely
All the time searching
For a way to mend a fence
Or make our voices heard
From behind a wall
To be seen and invited
To stay a while
To tell your story
And be asked to say a bit more
About what shaped you
Into this singular masterpiece
The year of courage, day 54:
Be vigilant but hold close
The softness of your heart
Let those who would hurt you
Know you see their smallness
And the fear that resides there
Hold the hurt of their smallness
Soft like a bird perched
On your shoulder whisper truth
Into the wind we are the same
Be vigilant but hold close
The softness of your heart
Let those who would hurt you
Know you see their smallness
And the fear that resides there
Hold the hurt of their smallness
Soft like a bird perched
On your shoulder whisper truth
Into the wind we are the same
February 24, 2025 at 12:19 PM
The year of courage, day 54:
Be vigilant but hold close
The softness of your heart
Let those who would hurt you
Know you see their smallness
And the fear that resides there
Hold the hurt of their smallness
Soft like a bird perched
On your shoulder whisper truth
Into the wind we are the same
Be vigilant but hold close
The softness of your heart
Let those who would hurt you
Know you see their smallness
And the fear that resides there
Hold the hurt of their smallness
Soft like a bird perched
On your shoulder whisper truth
Into the wind we are the same
The year of courage, day 53:
What will become of us
Even in the best of times
We can only guess
We are only holders of potential
We have only the past
To tell us what may lie ahead
But we can create new worlds
And books to guide us
Through both sorrow and joy
And ways to see what's before us
What will become of us
Even in the best of times
We can only guess
We are only holders of potential
We have only the past
To tell us what may lie ahead
But we can create new worlds
And books to guide us
Through both sorrow and joy
And ways to see what's before us
February 22, 2025 at 2:03 PM
The year of courage, day 53:
What will become of us
Even in the best of times
We can only guess
We are only holders of potential
We have only the past
To tell us what may lie ahead
But we can create new worlds
And books to guide us
Through both sorrow and joy
And ways to see what's before us
What will become of us
Even in the best of times
We can only guess
We are only holders of potential
We have only the past
To tell us what may lie ahead
But we can create new worlds
And books to guide us
Through both sorrow and joy
And ways to see what's before us
Biology is complex. Sociology is even more complex. Trans people are a normal part of both.
February 21, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Biology is complex. Sociology is even more complex. Trans people are a normal part of both.
The year of courage, day 52:
Every layer tells a story
Of the courage required
To build what resides
In your imagination
The day you stuffed the walls
With insulation
The day you decided on
Morning breeze for the color
To paint the surface
The day you woke up and knew
You'd be okay
Every layer tells a story
Of the courage required
To build what resides
In your imagination
The day you stuffed the walls
With insulation
The day you decided on
Morning breeze for the color
To paint the surface
The day you woke up and knew
You'd be okay
February 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
The year of courage, day 52:
Every layer tells a story
Of the courage required
To build what resides
In your imagination
The day you stuffed the walls
With insulation
The day you decided on
Morning breeze for the color
To paint the surface
The day you woke up and knew
You'd be okay
Every layer tells a story
Of the courage required
To build what resides
In your imagination
The day you stuffed the walls
With insulation
The day you decided on
Morning breeze for the color
To paint the surface
The day you woke up and knew
You'd be okay
The year of courage, day 51:
You weren't prepared
For the light to arrive
Amidst such frigid times
Not just the icy roads
But the vacuum of care
That stares at you
From every screen
But here you are
Looking straight at warmth
And someone to love
As if this was the answer
All along
You weren't prepared
For the light to arrive
Amidst such frigid times
Not just the icy roads
But the vacuum of care
That stares at you
From every screen
But here you are
Looking straight at warmth
And someone to love
As if this was the answer
All along
February 21, 2025 at 11:17 AM
The year of courage, day 51:
You weren't prepared
For the light to arrive
Amidst such frigid times
Not just the icy roads
But the vacuum of care
That stares at you
From every screen
But here you are
Looking straight at warmth
And someone to love
As if this was the answer
All along
You weren't prepared
For the light to arrive
Amidst such frigid times
Not just the icy roads
But the vacuum of care
That stares at you
From every screen
But here you are
Looking straight at warmth
And someone to love
As if this was the answer
All along
The year of courage, day 50:
Ennui is not the opposite
Of courage but a rebellion
Against momentum
How dare the universe
Use the law of inertia
To propel us and keep us down
Of our own volition
As if we should determine
Our own power
As of we can know
The weight of our own force
Ennui is not the opposite
Of courage but a rebellion
Against momentum
How dare the universe
Use the law of inertia
To propel us and keep us down
Of our own volition
As if we should determine
Our own power
As of we can know
The weight of our own force
February 21, 2025 at 11:11 AM
The year of courage, day 50:
Ennui is not the opposite
Of courage but a rebellion
Against momentum
How dare the universe
Use the law of inertia
To propel us and keep us down
Of our own volition
As if we should determine
Our own power
As of we can know
The weight of our own force
Ennui is not the opposite
Of courage but a rebellion
Against momentum
How dare the universe
Use the law of inertia
To propel us and keep us down
Of our own volition
As if we should determine
Our own power
As of we can know
The weight of our own force
The year of courage, day 49:
Resistance is a quiet act
On afternoons when
All we ask for is time
To wrap our belongings
With care and plan for
A future that may not arrive
But what else is there to do
Imagination is not equipped
To see the void
So we fill it up with hope
And keep moving
Resistance is a quiet act
On afternoons when
All we ask for is time
To wrap our belongings
With care and plan for
A future that may not arrive
But what else is there to do
Imagination is not equipped
To see the void
So we fill it up with hope
And keep moving
February 21, 2025 at 11:02 AM
The year of courage, day 49:
Resistance is a quiet act
On afternoons when
All we ask for is time
To wrap our belongings
With care and plan for
A future that may not arrive
But what else is there to do
Imagination is not equipped
To see the void
So we fill it up with hope
And keep moving
Resistance is a quiet act
On afternoons when
All we ask for is time
To wrap our belongings
With care and plan for
A future that may not arrive
But what else is there to do
Imagination is not equipped
To see the void
So we fill it up with hope
And keep moving
The year of courage, day 48:
Where do we go
When everywhere danger
Grows bright like anger
Hold on to the crisp release
Of onion mushroom garlic
The thick promise of noodles
Filling our mouths
So we forget to talk
About the news
Where do we go
When everywhere danger
Grows bright like anger
Hold on to the crisp release
Of onion mushroom garlic
The thick promise of noodles
Filling our mouths
So we forget to talk
About the news
February 21, 2025 at 10:55 AM
The year of courage, day 48:
Where do we go
When everywhere danger
Grows bright like anger
Hold on to the crisp release
Of onion mushroom garlic
The thick promise of noodles
Filling our mouths
So we forget to talk
About the news
Where do we go
When everywhere danger
Grows bright like anger
Hold on to the crisp release
Of onion mushroom garlic
The thick promise of noodles
Filling our mouths
So we forget to talk
About the news
The year of courage, day 47:
We wrap ourselves
In reference
In every direction seeking
A place to land
A lake of meaning to float upon
If the lake is your hand
And your hand is a thought
We have collectively agreed upon
We wrap ourselves
In reference
In every direction seeking
A place to land
A lake of meaning to float upon
If the lake is your hand
And your hand is a thought
We have collectively agreed upon
February 19, 2025 at 2:34 AM
The year of courage, day 47:
We wrap ourselves
In reference
In every direction seeking
A place to land
A lake of meaning to float upon
If the lake is your hand
And your hand is a thought
We have collectively agreed upon
We wrap ourselves
In reference
In every direction seeking
A place to land
A lake of meaning to float upon
If the lake is your hand
And your hand is a thought
We have collectively agreed upon
The year of courage, day 46:
The line from yesterday
To tomorrow is not a
Cloudy sky
Or race track horses
Galloping in circles
But the line also doesn't exist
Outside your mind the time
Is a conglomerate
Of sensation and task
Fingers holding a tight rope
Not your fingers
Not your rope
The line from yesterday
To tomorrow is not a
Cloudy sky
Or race track horses
Galloping in circles
But the line also doesn't exist
Outside your mind the time
Is a conglomerate
Of sensation and task
Fingers holding a tight rope
Not your fingers
Not your rope
February 19, 2025 at 2:15 AM
The year of courage, day 46:
The line from yesterday
To tomorrow is not a
Cloudy sky
Or race track horses
Galloping in circles
But the line also doesn't exist
Outside your mind the time
Is a conglomerate
Of sensation and task
Fingers holding a tight rope
Not your fingers
Not your rope
The line from yesterday
To tomorrow is not a
Cloudy sky
Or race track horses
Galloping in circles
But the line also doesn't exist
Outside your mind the time
Is a conglomerate
Of sensation and task
Fingers holding a tight rope
Not your fingers
Not your rope
Scheduled nationwide protests:
Feb 17: at state and territorial capitols and city halls
Feb 28: no spending for 24 hours
March 7-14: no buying from Amazon
Match 14: no work for 24 hours
Feb 17: at state and territorial capitols and city halls
Feb 28: no spending for 24 hours
March 7-14: no buying from Amazon
Match 14: no work for 24 hours
February 16, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Scheduled nationwide protests:
Feb 17: at state and territorial capitols and city halls
Feb 28: no spending for 24 hours
March 7-14: no buying from Amazon
Match 14: no work for 24 hours
Feb 17: at state and territorial capitols and city halls
Feb 28: no spending for 24 hours
March 7-14: no buying from Amazon
Match 14: no work for 24 hours
The year of courage, day 45:
Courage is a mirror
The truth reflected back at you
Holding it in your pockets
Like a prize you carry home
And place on your desk
A reminder that struggle
And pleasure are not enemies
Or even opposites
The mountain hides the view
Until you begin to climb
Courage is a mirror
The truth reflected back at you
Holding it in your pockets
Like a prize you carry home
And place on your desk
A reminder that struggle
And pleasure are not enemies
Or even opposites
The mountain hides the view
Until you begin to climb
February 15, 2025 at 1:42 AM
The year of courage, day 45:
Courage is a mirror
The truth reflected back at you
Holding it in your pockets
Like a prize you carry home
And place on your desk
A reminder that struggle
And pleasure are not enemies
Or even opposites
The mountain hides the view
Until you begin to climb
Courage is a mirror
The truth reflected back at you
Holding it in your pockets
Like a prize you carry home
And place on your desk
A reminder that struggle
And pleasure are not enemies
Or even opposites
The mountain hides the view
Until you begin to climb