Vismai Rao
@vismai.bsky.social
Poems: Up the Staircase Quarterly, Salamander, Rust + Moth, Jet Fuel Review, Ucity Review, & others | Edits: Night Heron Barks, Ran off with the Star Bassoon | https://linktr.ee/vismai
Excited to soon reappear in the pages of @rustandmoth.bsky.social, a forever favourite 💜
Sharing 'Ode to Em Dash' that found a home with them five years ago :)
rustandmoth.com/work/ode-to-...
Sharing 'Ode to Em Dash' that found a home with them five years ago :)
rustandmoth.com/work/ode-to-...
July 23, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Excited to soon reappear in the pages of @rustandmoth.bsky.social, a forever favourite 💜
Sharing 'Ode to Em Dash' that found a home with them five years ago :)
rustandmoth.com/work/ode-to-...
Sharing 'Ode to Em Dash' that found a home with them five years ago :)
rustandmoth.com/work/ode-to-...
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Natsume Soseki, tr. Soiku Shigematsu
July 22, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Natsume Soseki, tr. Soiku Shigematsu
"But why the last? I ask. Why not
live each day as if it were the first—
all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing
her eyes awake that first morning"
~Linda Pastan
poets.org/poem/imagina...
live each day as if it were the first—
all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing
her eyes awake that first morning"
~Linda Pastan
poets.org/poem/imagina...
July 10, 2025 at 9:54 AM
"But why the last? I ask. Why not
live each day as if it were the first—
all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing
her eyes awake that first morning"
~Linda Pastan
poets.org/poem/imagina...
live each day as if it were the first—
all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing
her eyes awake that first morning"
~Linda Pastan
poets.org/poem/imagina...
"If alive, then all alone and bleeding. If dead,
then freshly dead. If not alone, then swarmed
with ants and flies, thick flies like biting July
berries. If swarmed with maggots, biblical."
Dream of the Moose Calf, Zeke Shomler in @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/zeke-shomler...
then freshly dead. If not alone, then swarmed
with ants and flies, thick flies like biting July
berries. If swarmed with maggots, biblical."
Dream of the Moose Calf, Zeke Shomler in @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/zeke-shomler...
Zeke Shomler
If alive, then all alone and bleeding. If dead, then freshly dead. If not alone, then swarmed with ants and flies, thick flies like biting July berries. If swarmed with maggots, biblical. If...
www.upthestaircase.org
June 2, 2025 at 9:06 AM
"If alive, then all alone and bleeding. If dead,
then freshly dead. If not alone, then swarmed
with ants and flies, thick flies like biting July
berries. If swarmed with maggots, biblical."
Dream of the Moose Calf, Zeke Shomler in @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/zeke-shomler...
then freshly dead. If not alone, then swarmed
with ants and flies, thick flies like biting July
berries. If swarmed with maggots, biblical."
Dream of the Moose Calf, Zeke Shomler in @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/zeke-shomler...
A delightfully tragicomic poem by Matt Cariello in @rustandmoth.bsky.social
rustandmoth.com/work/the-bro...
rustandmoth.com/work/the-bro...
May 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
A delightfully tragicomic poem by Matt Cariello in @rustandmoth.bsky.social
rustandmoth.com/work/the-bro...
rustandmoth.com/work/the-bro...
"And what are you but this flicker inside me
for which I invent fingers and
elbows, a head of hair,
flux of light in a city I have not visited
in years,
pavement
that bears our fleeting mark"
Aubade for Longing, Sheila Black @westtradereview.bsky.social
www.westtradereview.com/onlineexclus...
for which I invent fingers and
elbows, a head of hair,
flux of light in a city I have not visited
in years,
pavement
that bears our fleeting mark"
Aubade for Longing, Sheila Black @westtradereview.bsky.social
www.westtradereview.com/onlineexclus...
West Trade Review Online Exclusive: "Aubade for Longing" by Sheila Black
Sheila Black is the author of five poetry collections and is published in The New York Times, The Nation, and beyond.
www.westtradereview.com
May 23, 2025 at 9:57 AM
"And what are you but this flicker inside me
for which I invent fingers and
elbows, a head of hair,
flux of light in a city I have not visited
in years,
pavement
that bears our fleeting mark"
Aubade for Longing, Sheila Black @westtradereview.bsky.social
www.westtradereview.com/onlineexclus...
for which I invent fingers and
elbows, a head of hair,
flux of light in a city I have not visited
in years,
pavement
that bears our fleeting mark"
Aubade for Longing, Sheila Black @westtradereview.bsky.social
www.westtradereview.com/onlineexclus...
Masonry
Were it not
for the carefully
constructed
wall between us,
I could reach
across the bed
and hold your hand.
~Ann Weil in The Inflectionist Review
www.inflectionism.com/19-ann-weil-...
Were it not
for the carefully
constructed
wall between us,
I could reach
across the bed
and hold your hand.
~Ann Weil in The Inflectionist Review
www.inflectionism.com/19-ann-weil-...
The Inflectionist Review - Ann Weil, Masonry
www.inflectionism.com
May 18, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Masonry
Were it not
for the carefully
constructed
wall between us,
I could reach
across the bed
and hold your hand.
~Ann Weil in The Inflectionist Review
www.inflectionism.com/19-ann-weil-...
Were it not
for the carefully
constructed
wall between us,
I could reach
across the bed
and hold your hand.
~Ann Weil in The Inflectionist Review
www.inflectionism.com/19-ann-weil-...
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Another fine poem from Tony Leuzzi's Fog Notes. This one is a lifetime in nine lines.
November 23, 2024 at 10:29 AM
Another fine poem from Tony Leuzzi's Fog Notes. This one is a lifetime in nine lines.
Reposted by Vismai Rao
I really admire this poem by Dane Holt. He takes that particular ‘flatness’ of grief and finds a playfulness within it… which is so hard! How on earth do you play with flatness? Like this:
March 5, 2025 at 7:40 AM
I really admire this poem by Dane Holt. He takes that particular ‘flatness’ of grief and finds a playfulness within it… which is so hard! How on earth do you play with flatness? Like this:
Sharing an old poem titled 'On Valentine's Day...' on Valentine's Day though it's not 'on' Valentine's Day :)
from Issue 64 of @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/vismai-rao-i...
from Issue 64 of @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/vismai-rao-i...
February 14, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Sharing an old poem titled 'On Valentine's Day...' on Valentine's Day though it's not 'on' Valentine's Day :)
from Issue 64 of @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/vismai-rao-i...
from Issue 64 of @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/vismai-rao-i...
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Five years ago today, @iambapoet.com was born. Just look how far we've come. Twenty waves and counting, 320 poets (so far), and almost 1,000 poems.
Thank you to the poets who've appeared – and to those who've visited, read, listened and shared. This celebration is for us all.
Thank you to the poets who've appeared – and to those who've visited, read, listened and shared. This celebration is for us all.
February 1, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Five years ago today, @iambapoet.com was born. Just look how far we've come. Twenty waves and counting, 320 poets (so far), and almost 1,000 poems.
Thank you to the poets who've appeared – and to those who've visited, read, listened and shared. This celebration is for us all.
Thank you to the poets who've appeared – and to those who've visited, read, listened and shared. This celebration is for us all.
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Hugely grateful to have a new poem in the beautiful new issue of @berlinlit.bsky.social, one of my favorite new magazines...
January 26, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Hugely grateful to have a new poem in the beautiful new issue of @berlinlit.bsky.social, one of my favorite new magazines...
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Reposted by Vismai Rao
My brother Robbie’s book THE BEAR WRESTLER comes out on March 15, from Saturnalia Books and is available for preorder now. I love this collection of poems and hope you’ll check it out!📚🤎
January 8, 2025 at 3:02 PM
My brother Robbie’s book THE BEAR WRESTLER comes out on March 15, from Saturnalia Books and is available for preorder now. I love this collection of poems and hope you’ll check it out!📚🤎
'After all, it has been proved, using highly sensitive equipment, that even a cup of tea is subject to lunar tides.'
~ Mary Ruefle, Madness, Rack, & Honey
~ Mary Ruefle, Madness, Rack, & Honey
January 7, 2025 at 11:33 AM
'After all, it has been proved, using highly sensitive equipment, that even a cup of tea is subject to lunar tides.'
~ Mary Ruefle, Madness, Rack, & Honey
~ Mary Ruefle, Madness, Rack, & Honey
Reposted by Vismai Rao
I have a new poem up at The Arkansas International that I’m really proud of & happy to share: “Strawberry Season” in praise of my mother. This poem is also forthcoming in MORE FLOWERS (@triohousepress.bsky.social, 2026)! Thanks to the editors for including this poem in The Women’s Issue!
December 18, 2024 at 12:32 AM
I have a new poem up at The Arkansas International that I’m really proud of & happy to share: “Strawberry Season” in praise of my mother. This poem is also forthcoming in MORE FLOWERS (@triohousepress.bsky.social, 2026)! Thanks to the editors for including this poem in The Women’s Issue!
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Nikki Giovanni
(1943-2024)
(1943-2024)
December 11, 2024 at 4:51 AM
Nikki Giovanni
(1943-2024)
(1943-2024)
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Gratitude to @esylviapoet.bsky.social for engaging DRESSING THE BEAR (@triohousepress.bsky.social) with depth & care. I'm loving thinking about how death “unteaches the ability to let go” & to be likened to Natalie Diaz in a review: no words, just thank you! 💙⬇️
psalteryandlyre.org/2024/12/06/b...
psalteryandlyre.org/2024/12/06/b...
December 6, 2024 at 3:26 PM
Gratitude to @esylviapoet.bsky.social for engaging DRESSING THE BEAR (@triohousepress.bsky.social) with depth & care. I'm loving thinking about how death “unteaches the ability to let go” & to be likened to Natalie Diaz in a review: no words, just thank you! 💙⬇️
psalteryandlyre.org/2024/12/06/b...
psalteryandlyre.org/2024/12/06/b...
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Cuddling Mocha this morning & reading the latest issue of The MacGuffin. Excited it includes my flash “Near Miss.” Happy Friday, friends.💚🐶
December 6, 2024 at 3:12 PM
Cuddling Mocha this morning & reading the latest issue of The MacGuffin. Excited it includes my flash “Near Miss.” Happy Friday, friends.💚🐶
Reposted by Vismai Rao
My poem, “Clean,” from DRESSING THE BEAR (@triohousepress.bsky.social) seems to be the most beloved, and I’m grateful for the ways it’s connected me with so many others who have experienced a similar loss. Thanks for this thread, Kelli! 💙
November 22, 2024 at 7:29 PM
My poem, “Clean,” from DRESSING THE BEAR (@triohousepress.bsky.social) seems to be the most beloved, and I’m grateful for the ways it’s connected me with so many others who have experienced a similar loss. Thanks for this thread, Kelli! 💙
Slow-reading @susanlleary.bsky.social's poignant meditations on grief @triohousepress.bsky.social
This work is a gift 💜
This work is a gift 💜
November 23, 2024 at 10:42 AM
Slow-reading @susanlleary.bsky.social's poignant meditations on grief @triohousepress.bsky.social
This work is a gift 💜
This work is a gift 💜
Reposted by Vismai Rao
Reposted by Vismai Rao
We released a small but lovely issue a few weeks ago. Check out issue 67 here: www.upthestaircase.org
November 21, 2024 at 10:02 PM
We released a small but lovely issue a few weeks ago. Check out issue 67 here: www.upthestaircase.org