Belonging in the Change

a tiny black wet

Schnoodle nose

nudges my arm as

marble-black eyes

covered with wild brows

peer up at me

from the camper seat

when I lift my arm

to raise my mug,

drink cold brew coffee

from my Halloween

Snoopy mug I truly

believe will make

the cool temperatures

arrive sooner ~

Fitz is slumped

against me,

seeking, too, all

the magic of

forthcoming fall

the changing

of seasons, gentle

wind blowing outside,

a tad early for the

acorns peppering the

camper’s roof but

all the rest of

the comfort of rituals

he knows as

reassuring trust

and belonging

in his forever family

the ding

next time he

goes to a

storytelling night

he will time his

cliffhanger at

exactly two and

one half minutes

and then when

they tap that

ridiculous spoon

on the coffee cup

to signal thirty

more seconds

he will smile

return to his seat

leave everyone

hanging

and sit down

It’s Book Launch Day! (Labor Day)

Today: Book Launch Day

order your copies to read

and to pass along!

(see the links below)

🌟 Exciting News! 🌟

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our new books designed to inspire and support teachers in creating classrooms where every student feels seen and heard. 📚✏️

Free download here: http://www.ethicalela.com/store
Free download here: https://open.library.okstate.edu/justya/
For sale here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sarah-J.-Donovan/author/B01GLZG89Y

Want to hear the story behind the books? Watch this video where we share the journey and heart behind these resources that aim to bring more connection, creativity, and compassion into your classrooms. 🎥✨

👉 https://youtu.be/tdRSC0dYPgI?si=QR9E7mY0l7LWGqX8

We can’t wait to see how these books will spark creativity and foster community in classrooms across the country. Happy reading and writing! 💙 #NewBooks #TeachingResources #PoetryInClassrooms #InclusiveEducation #90WaysofCommunity #WordsThatMend #JustYA

Refrigerator Casket

in my melatonin dreams

the cemetery trees

hung low over the corner

graves in a

chain link grocery store

parking lot ~

going in for milk and eggs

I couldn’t

believe my eyes.

A refrigerator.

a pine box with a plunger

stuck to the top to open it

for anyone who wanted to

see the body inside, there

above ground

no one would believe this~

I took a picture

then woke up

horrified that anyone

would be buried in

a display grave

The Muse

folks raise eyebrows at

kids with imaginary friends

holding full conversations

in complete worlds they

never see

but oh,

that kid with the

imaginary friend?

yeah, that one’ll be

a writer, and and that’s

the muse setting the

stage for all the stories

all the poems

all the books

all these memories

this journey that

fuels the pen

Celebration Shoes

it occurred to me

in the shower

this morning that

the work shoes

I just bought

may be the last ones

I’ll need for my career ~

these last-hurrah celebration shoes:

Life Stride flats with

Velocity 2.0 footbeds

in navy and taupe

may get me through my

remaining years

taking me straight into

the retirement years of

my soul spirit

classic hippie Birkenstocks

for all the frayed denim

and fringed shawl

days ahead

just not today,

not yet.

When I Travel

heightened awareness

sharpened observations of

places not traveled

I notice details ~

patterns on tiled floor lobbies,

artwork on bed walls

like something ignites

the flames of living in me

I don’t have at home

Getting a Grip

getting a grip on

her future starts with

burning the Christmas tree

boxes one decade now in

her attic

buying enough hummingbird

nectar to last through October

and watering the string of pearls

cascading from the porch table

getting a grip is festooned with

saying goodbyes to too much

long held hostage from living

new lives in better spaces

like all those music boxes

of childhood and sad, stained

table linens frayed with holes ~

gaps in the timelines of

lineage like broken branches

on that cross-stitched tree

of names and thread strands

of who goes where and how

pre-affair, divorce, remarriage,

cousins once-removed now

fully removed and never coming

back because they did the

same thing with their goodbyes ~

they burned the Christmas tree

boxes and all that’s left is

the cooling ash of

what once was

before their birds

left the nest for the skies

From Where I Sit

sheers in the window

sun streaked shadows

morning slants

ever-changing

golden eggshell glimmers

radiant shimmers

streaming in

to greet the day

in slow-paced

weekend rays

I savor this

tempting taste