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rteller.bsky.social
Rebekah 💙🏳️‍🌈
@rteller.bsky.social
810 followers 1.2K following 410 posts
Midwestern Gen Xer scouting for hope
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rteller.bsky.social
For #PoemsAbout #Desire, here's one of mine that was published recently in Locust Shells Journal locustshellsjournal.com/volume-2-iss...

@thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
that tension between the zucchini Change my mind about the sordid way he smiled at me and brushed his shoe against mine I apologize my foot was in his way again then again so I lift an eyebrow as the server arrives with a plate of appetizers and I’m granted another smile temptation tension I slip my foot out of its shoe desperate daring slide it between his knees into his lap he caresses the ankle my Achilles heel and finds out he loves zucchini
November 14, 2025 at 2:04 PM
rteller.bsky.social
I wrote this a few months ago for a different prompt, but I also like it for this week's #PoemsAbout #Blood @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
Nebulous Make my heart explode all over this bed so my skin and bits of ribs and lungs and blood cover the sheets Then you'll see how nothing was inside me from the start so there was nothing to be lost after all I must be a black hole the way light keeps coming toward me like it can't bear to stay away I miss that spark that lit me up back when I felt like more than stardust floating helplessly through space What is this place where hope can't hang around and there's no air to breathe
October 31, 2025 at 4:06 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my piece for #PoemsAbout #BurnForTheCamera @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
The Shadow Dance A shadow taps along behind Because it doesn’t have a mind. It shuffles back Along a track That bends away when spotlights shine. Now Plan, she was the brightest star. Her smile beamed from near to far, And we all knew That it was true, Her sparkling eyes could stop a heart. And me, my hopes are just a dream, From heel to toe my steps unseen. They look through me, “How cute is she? Trailing this flashy beauty queen.” Great beauties need a shadow there To echo back their every care, So people see When they should be Applauding that bright glow they share. And everyone will dance along To music she is playing strong. They sing her praise, Their cameras raised, When all I want is my own song.
October 24, 2025 at 4:00 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my offering for #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
Twelve Sometimes I feel I don't belong And being here Just feels so wrong. From deep inside A quiet moan. And all I want Is to go home. I get nervous. I don't know why, And all I seem to do is cry. It's dark and wet And hard and old. And all I do Is what I'm told. The world is there. It's big and bright. But all I see Is empty night. Nightmares and fear And evil queens Are all I have In place of dreams. But someday soon, I don't know when, This misery Will find an end. Can someone please Help me relieve The endless fray Of being me?
October 11, 2025 at 3:58 PM
rteller.bsky.social
I'm a little late. Here's my piece for #PoemsAbout #Mannequin
@alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk
Surveying I may as well be a mannequin All I can do is stand here and watch Even though I voted And I called my representatives And I filled out the surveys And I went to the town hall But still children are being tied up In the middle of the night While the President is building A golden ballroom And all that's left to do is Stand here with a sign that says Please do not touch
October 4, 2025 at 9:22 PM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my offering for #PoemsAbout #SilentPlanets @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
Quiet as dirt When I'm dead and buried I'll hear the earth sigh As I sleep silently The soil hums Inhaling with each winter Exhaling slowly with each spring No voice to issue complaints A chorus only visible in Vibrant autumn leaves Vivid and varied In their undying rhythm
September 19, 2025 at 3:59 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's one I've been working on today, "Wonderboy" #PoemsAbout #Candlelight #WednesdayWIPs @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
The day Robert Redford died I was supposed to call the IRS To reinstate my installment plan But I left the number at home The day before I had an interview For a new job I was excited about Only to find out it paid $15k less a year There was no way I could take that hit Robert Redford was 89 years old And died surrounded by loved ones Hollywood mourned and the world mourned and I thought of my mother For some reason she taught me to follow my dreams Then endlessly criticized me for it Maybe all along the lesson was to watch out for women you can't trust Light a candle for my dreams and mourn the passing of someone who followed his There'll be no headlines when I die Just a quiet dark house wishing for more time We can't all be there to strike when the lightning's hot
September 17, 2025 at 4:08 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my piece "On Brick and Concrete" for #PoemsAbout #Facades @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk and a photo from my hometown that inspired it
As the sun sets, let's walk around to the back alley, to the cracked paint and bent siding. The boarded up window doesn't care what it's hiding. I don't care how solid the street-side brick facade is. I rely on rotting concrete, rusted rebar breaking free. Layers of peeling paint show the true age of this place. The rusted dumpster isn't lying. The doorless shed isn't trying to be something it's not. I sigh in the comfort of gray shadows. These worn out walls are real. They haven't changed in forty years. They know me, and I them. In decay I trust.
September 5, 2025 at 4:03 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's a new piece "Trouble Brewing" for #PoemsAbout #Riots @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk

The struggle is real.
The morning is too quiet The air is cold and stale I fear the coming riot My worn out face goes pale The waters have run over The grounds are dull and dry How shall I find a way forward When all I ask is why I beg myself for fortitude For uproar in the street To not succumb to this foul world And this new day's defeat A grumble, moan, the stomp and roar The hopelessness defied How can it be on this dark day The coffee pot has died
August 29, 2025 at 2:50 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my piece "Dance with me..." for #PoemsAbout #Chandeliers ✨🎵

@thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
Under this nest of stars that sparkle silently, I can see the gold flecks in your eyes alight. And as we breathe each other's air we stare into the endless sea within each other's faces, within each other's hearts. What places rest within us where we find relief and laughter. Am I here? Are you real? Your smile, bright and brilliant, like the fountain of glass light floating above us here tonight. Dance with me... Under this moon of mirrors as it flickers, you can see the wild beat that flashes through this crowded room. And in my eyes the promise of tonight's surprises, waiting there. Adventure rises through our bodies, through our minds, our arms high. What boundaries exist in the sky? Am I you? Are you me? Your hair flies back, unleashed, rebellious as the darkness teasing us with ecstasy. Dance with me...
August 21, 2025 at 9:31 PM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's a piece for #PoemsAbout #Ceasefire @thebrokenspine.co.uk. @alanparrywriter.co.uk
Closure I won't apologize And neither will you So you moved A thousand miles away And every day As you sit on the beach And watch the waves The tide rolls in
August 16, 2025 at 2:05 PM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my piece "Adrift" for #PoemsAbout #BlackSky @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk
Adrift With no stars Leading the way I'm left Searching the sky Staring at sea The moon Black and new Offers no light To ease the endless Stillness The quiet rush Of wave after wave Pushing me toward This abyss before us Wide and open Weighty And waiting
August 8, 2025 at 2:00 AM
rteller.bsky.social
I just submitted my MFA thesis! 🎉

A 60-page collection of personal narrative poetry using a child’s perspective, including elements of magical realism and a childhood understanding of spirituality and connection to the natural world.
What the Grown-Ups Forgot
August 3, 2025 at 2:08 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my poem "Knowing Rain" for #PoemsAbout #StarCrossed @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk
If you cherish my beauty, Then soak in my pain. You can't understand sunshine Without knowing rain. Take a look out the window. I'll show you my heart, If you sit quietly. Here's a good place to start. There's a star out there somewhere. It's where I belong, In a far away land, Where the world knows my song, Where my logic makes sense, And my smile can last, Where my breath can run slow, And the night goes by fast. Somewhere those arms Make a steady embrace. I don't know who it is, And I can't see the face. I just know there's a star Up there where I belong, And I'm longing to find it. I know it's not wrong. Am I strong enough now To keep searching so far? I don't know where to look Or what's clouded by scars, Or how old I will be, Or what stories it keeps, Or which endless direction The twinkle might lead. There's a star out there somewhere. It's where I belong, In a far away land, Where the world knows my song. If you cherish my beauty, Then soak in my pain. You can't understand sunshine Without knowing rain.
August 1, 2025 at 3:19 PM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my piece "Waning" for #PoemsAbout #WaxTears @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
Do you think a candle knows, With every breath it burns, That as it glows with purpose, It weeps until nothing's left? Does it know fulfillment? Does it know love?
July 18, 2025 at 1:50 PM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my poem "Sacred" for #PoemsAbout #Keepsakes @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
He has a book of poems, But it’s much more. It’s traveled far. It’s been through war. Since the day it found him, Throughout his life, He’s moved house Over 30 times, But never lost it, This sacred book, In spite of all The hits he took. He holds it dear Within a drawer. The spine is cracked, The corners torn. For years it sat Hiding from use, Words locked tight In pages loose. And its long night In this locked drawer Means these dear words Were read no more. But here’s the thing About old books, They don’t care What hits they took. The words are there Upon the page And can be seen At any age. There’s just one rule Before you read: The more damaged it is, The more gentle you must be.
July 11, 2025 at 2:00 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's a slightly revised version. @rotherwrites.bsky.social thank you for the suggestion of making Man plural. #PoemsAbout #BurnItDown
They say the greatest spark is when Men invented fire But before that day we didn't have a way to Torch the fields next door Even though dynamite was invented to build things Men decided there was much more To be blown up And even though fireworks were invented for celebration Men decided to point them at each other To everyone's horror So I don't think it's fire Men are inventing
July 4, 2025 at 4:04 PM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my piece for #PoemsAbout #BurnItDown
@brokenspinearts.bsky.social @alanparry83.bsky.social
They say the greatest spark is when Man invented fire But before that day we didn't have a way to Torch the fields next door Even though dynamite was invented to build things Man decided there was much more To be blown up And even though fireworks were invented for celebration Man decided to point them at each other To everyone's horror So I don't think it's fire Man is inventing
July 4, 2025 at 1:47 PM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my poem "Ink Well" for #PoemsAbout #ItsASin @brokenspinearts.bsky.social @alanparry83.bsky.social
what kind of symphony our deaths might have been in this world that so quickly points out love and calls it sin
June 27, 2025 at 5:44 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my poem "Manufactured" for #PoemsAbout #Transitions @brokenspinearts.bsky.social @alanparry83.bsky.social @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social
No one is here to think about The sound it takes to make a couch, The thrumming of needled machines Stitching a quick and low thread count. Upholstery is mostly strings, All tied together tight and neat, From colors changing suddenly In some confusing, humming scene. The fabric doesn’t know the pit Of chopped up foam in fluffy bits That mingle in their flowing ways, Pushed into pillows ’til they fit. The cushion covers hear the way The vacuum pressure takes the stage To make an unsuspecting square Shrink down for slipping over there. And you won’t hear a wooden frame Flinch or quietly complain About the staple’s stinging wails When shot from guns with coiled tails. The buttons have the worst of it, Smothered with layers where they sit, Then pressed between heavy machines That bend and lock shapes as they click. When everything is said and done, The zipping, stitching, stinging hum, The stuffing, shrinking, tucked and wrapped, The creased and pleated patterns match. The screwy squat feet bear the weight, And everything looks plush and great. No one thinks about those sounds When all we see’s a perfect couch.
June 20, 2025 at 1:11 AM
rteller.bsky.social
For #PoemsAbout #FierceBattle #Scars @brokenspinearts.bsky.social @alanparry83.bsky.social
Can we stop for ice cream? I can’t believe you How dare you ask me that You are so ungrateful Why can’t you appreciate what I give you You never appreciate anything I do for you I’m a good mother You should appreciate what you have But you don’t You always ask for more Why should I do anything if you aren’t going to appreciate me I’ve never heard anything so rude in all my life You owe me an apology right now!
June 13, 2025 at 3:50 AM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my poem "Spirits" for #PoemsAbout #Spectacle @brokenspinearts.bsky.social @alanparry83.bsky.social
Sometimes I wonder who I am. I feel like I'm a grain of sand, And if I open up my hand I'll slip into another land, Where daffodils are blue and pink And everyone hears what I think, But no one understands a sink, And I could use another drink. So bring me some old rusty toys, And you and I can make some noise. We'll laugh and play beside our boys Because we know we got our choice. And maybe when our night is done, You and I can find the sun. We'll sit and watch while everyone Tries to something something some. All they know is all their chains. They're slowly marching to their graves, 'Cause they don't know how to behave, And we can see their hearts need saved. So come with me, come hear the call, You and I will have a ball. Maybe when we're done we'll fall, But we'll know we had it all.
June 6, 2025 at 12:44 PM
rteller.bsky.social
Here's my contribution to #PoemsAbout #Defeat 🖤 @brokenspinearts.bsky.social @alanparry83.bsky.social
For Wear I'm running out of black clothes I still have jewelry Earrings Necklaces The shoes are always the same now Black Doc Martens Classic boots They are at this point the only option But I'm running out of black clothes So do I make a uniform? One outfit Always the same Seems too impersonal Dehumanizing To standardize mourning But I'm running out of black clothes And how Demoralizing To build a wardrobe around loss The fashion of grief A closet open Ready for wear I don't know what's worse They say black goes with anything I'll need a purse to match
May 30, 2025 at 4:02 AM
rteller.bsky.social
For #PoemsAbout #Glory here's an excerpt from a longer piece, "Dripping Gown." @brokenspinearts.bsky.social @alanparry83.bsky.social

You can find the full poem here: www.kreativejoose.com/2020/10/drip...
I turn some music up so loud And dance all night under the clouds. The raindrops sliding down my skin Make me feel alive again. I stomp and splash And spin and scream, Sway back and forth Like it’s a dream. To lose myself In this wet night, Bare feet in puddles, I delight. Pour all this darkness down on me. You’ll never get a frown from me. Just find a silver crown for me And slip this dripping gown off me. ’Cause I’m the queen of what’s insane. I breathe lightning and drink the rain. And no one here knows my real name When every day’s a different game.
May 23, 2025 at 12:24 PM
rteller.bsky.social
This is a couple of days late. My firstborn graduated this weekend and there's been a lot going on for that! 🌟🎉

I'm catching up today. Here's my poem "Wrap" #PoemsAbout #NeverForget @brokenspinearts.bsky.social @alanparry83.bsky.social
You know how it feels when you slide the key into the knob and it fits smooth without a jiggle or jam? It was like that. You know how it feels when you catch a throw one-handed from across the room and you know you’ve pulled off something amazing? It was like that. You know how it feels when you’re soaking in the tub and you lean your head back against the wall, close your eyes, and for just a breath, gravity doesn’t exist? It was like that. It was a slide the key in smooth, one-handed catch across the room, floating in a dark, warm tub kind of hug. A bandage for my wounded soul. It was like that.
May 18, 2025 at 2:12 PM