Is casting out our demons the answer?

Is there no reconciliation?

What if we’ve misjudged them?

Are they really the villains we made them out to be?

What about their backstory?

What if we offered love and compassion instead of judgment and condemnation?

Do they continue to haunt us because they’ve been exiled?

What if we gave them a seat…

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for the last word

we are thine ears

quest begets sound

when nine ripples open

Hugin thought

no mere mortal mind

can find this sprinkled

peril

Munin memory

amnesia insomnia

my thespian shade

shaken

blood thirst

kvasir wisest one

o to awaken

core of the corpse

w o r l d

night seers

seek refuge

ask the last stone

for the first word

an alchemy

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You always kept me at arm’s length.

Did you sense I wasn’t easy to train?

I was tempted to feel left out,

but I knew it was better to refrain.

Sometimes I wondered how you compelled them,

why they chose to give you free rein?

Being part of the “in crowd” is alluring,

but it was nothing you could permanently sustain.

You had a way of…

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Before the Supperbell Rings by Josh Bond

Wait not until the wild

tiger takes you over
but let yourself run free
before the supperbell rings
drift no more through the fog
of wondrous plots tangled
in their contrivances
hold on to the pitch of your story
so the rubber bullets cannot reach you
nor the ones you love
the starwheels of fortune 
may…

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In a Corner of Apparent Insignificance by Josh Bond

Somewhere, in a corner of

apparent insignificance
I found a piece of honey comb
stuck at the bottom of an old jar

reminded me of the generosity
often hidden in small events
popping into life unexpected
with secret serendipity

signals of a whole other universe
just a hair's breadth away…

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expired exasperation

those who lay slain

in human fields of ashes

shadow play begins again

there is a ring around the sun

the puppeteer has tightened

every string

Bodhiisattva

one eyed goddess

horned one

you know what it is

a need to be broken

words flash on micro screens

covid o2 crises

economical war

far from politics

land…

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I’m so high.

You should see the view

from here.

Just like a dream,

but this is my

reality.

Everything is beautiful,

Everything is meaningful.

Everything is crystal clear,

When I’m high above the fear.

Everything makes sense to me,

When I’m high enough to see.

4/12/26

a celestial orbit drawn dawned

o great womb

from Venusian void

these four wolves emerge

Umai Grey wolf calls earth

she is moss and moist

Ulgen White wolf

spirit that transmutes

future keeper who guards

this trinket box

Reddish Brown Erlik

he is the healer

placenta of the past

Tengri blackens

walking volcanic craters

all that has…

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What if it’s better

than we thought?

What if the tears

were worth it?

°

Could we be wrong

about what we are sure of?

What if it isn’t

as bad as we think?

°

What if we can do more

than we ever thought possible?

Could our foolish faith

prove to be true?

°

Are we so certain

our childhood fantasies

were fantasy?

°

What if there’s more

than we dreamed…

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I found myself walking

down a trail in the woods.

Moonlight spilled across my path

lighting the way.

Unsure of my destination—

but something told me I was headed

in the right direction.

I didn’t know where I was,

only that I was getting closer

to where I was going.

Darkness surrounded me,

but the moonlight

was my guide.

As I traveled…

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Gift in the Gap by Josh Bond

A popular way to beat myself up

hides in the apparently harmless 
concept of an 'unlived life'
◊ plenty of roads-not-taken
◊ decisions-not-made
◊ opportunities missed
◊ potential-not-achieved
all in a bitter nutshell 
which holds more than 
enough to make me feel 
◊ inept
◊ stupid
◊ awkward
◊◊◊ a failed human…

Read more

Recipe for a Real Source by Josh Bond

A pinch of awareness
a dollop of humility
three table-spoons of courage
and half a pint of perseverance
mix all four ingredients 
until readily assimilated
and heat until hot 
enough to touch briefly 
without getting burnt

the source is now ready 
— which begs the question —
what does it mean to be…

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writes oceans

gathers sentient shards

spirals spheric

painting refrained lines

at the back of my skull

cosmic dolphins

are born

from marrow

unbroken

gestating arms

held by trees

spirit bear great grandmother

her nostrils widen with joy

sleep hides herd hive

little ones humble noble ones

epithet called earth

empress ermine

I am ready to…

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where each spectrum

exists between shape

colours

from off white

to coal black

camouflaged indigo

within tangerine

eager hands clasp

my stagnant fingers

slowly bowing

towards his

gurgling smiles

his tapping foot

rocking forth

we play airplane

drawing balloons

as kite like

we fly

NaPo Award:

I have been looking at awards for your participation in NWP NaPo..

I was originally going to get certificates for yall...

But I have decided to do something special for this first group...

I am truly impressed by all of you...

To be honest, I genuinely thought all was lost...

That I would be doing NaPo by myself...

I was like encircled…

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If I ascend,

will you feel hollow?

If I go ahead

will you try to follow?

Can you have peace of mind,

if I leave you behind?

Or will you be tempted to wallow?

4/9/26

Peeks slowly over the trees

Promise of the day ahead

In a stealthy secret breeze

Silver and gold transfix the sky

Atmospheric moment between two minds

Stable or kinetic?

Slumber or frenetic?

Suggest to sleep in or should I Carpe diem?

Covers call in early cold

Barefoot steps to coffee bold

Writing helps or so I’m told

But I gotta move…

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Understanding

Nothing

Before the western sunset

After the summer sprinkles

Clearly

Kindness

Touched by effervescent love

Over every mountain

MOUNTAIN

Eagles lift and fly you home!

Back and forth

Back and forth

It’s more difficult for me than it is for you.

No it’s much more difficult for me.

Is this a contest?

It’s hard for us all, can’t you see?

The pendulum swings.

Does my pain matter more than theirs?

Are we not all in this together?

What is easy to you, is a struggle for me.

What comes naturally to me,…

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twirling looms

o to weave

stitch crossed embroideries

nemesis

let me hold this lantern

cobwebbed clouds

cadence

candle

chrysalis

wings

flutter

listen

art becomes

an ism

it comes knocking

16 of 30

slithering slender tentacles

closer crawling staff like

sign language opened

into hermetic lemniscates

from dampness

dankness

through darkness

handfasting with silence

I allowed her to devour all fear

letting her chisel sculpt me

rinsing rustic tears

cleansing inner wombs

letting her nurturement

fill me with strength

moisturising…

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Sacred Space By Josh Bond

When

after many

years of seeking

two souls meet in sacred space

guided by the law of attraction of equals

both know that happiness is not made

by one on behalf of the other

both commit to being themselves

in each other's presence as a daily practice

both cherish their time shared

as a gift of their precious life

together…

Read more

Greetings. As some of you may know, I have been going deep into the poems of Josh Bond. There is saying about wisdom: When you take one step toward wisdom, wisdom takes two steps toward you. I think this saying has been worded in different ways. However the saying goes, Josh’s work is stepping into the frontiers of my heart and soul. 
My process…

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Why do you rage?

The world is your oyster,

yet you act like you’re locked in a cage.

Are you that disappointed

that you can’t have it all?

Will you only be happy

if you can consume every crumb?

Must everyone starve

for you to feel full?

Is there anything that can satiate you?

Must you devour the world around you to feel worthy?

You dream of…

Read more

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It feels like magic—

Words bubble up,

pen marks on paper,

fingers on keys.

Where does it come from?

I don’t think it’s me.

It’s like I’m tuning into

some frequency;

one that’s been waiting

to be heard.

I’m not sure if I should

even take credit

for writing these words.

4/6/21

Read more

Enter now

from vernal gardens

a cinematic photograph

opens

our unlaced shoes

soaked soiled

reminders

spiraling embers

we climb these stairs

slide down over

railings

he has worked for a living

hardened his hands

ceramic chasms

his pipe is a wind chime

rustic doors lead us

his scared toolbox

accordeons are weeping

he stitches into leather

bovine hides hide

there…

Read more

Rise to the Challenge 


As we walked through the door
long since glimpsed as open
waiting for so many years
we knew it had been 
a training for just 
this moment

All of a sudden the cards reshuffle themselves
the decades spent in training make total 
sense where the stakes had been 
ramped up and up and up 
and surrender finally 
is the only…

Read more

magpies come hither

further forming

their rasping sound

turns into flapping wings

ravens sharpen their beaks

pierced by wailing winds

scorn

scattered seidr songs

Freyja whispers rune secrets

into Odins blind eye

and the Night Mares

move foamed as sea crust

white beard nautical compass

sea horses turn form

into storm

an eight…

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fortresses towers pillars monuments temples

hindsight empirical shards

we stand in perfect pairs

orders by sisters Franciscan

they called it school

her name is Eudoxia

she twirls your ear

only shortly but firmly

her sealed ring glances

behind this window

she stands wavering a finger

each brutal act

only a pavement

for…

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manifesting kindness

giving space

I denied her existence

wore cloaks dark hooded veils

sharing strange elixirs

my pilgrimage began

wearing an eggshell

tendrils tremble

empath breeze

when in silence

answers came

embracing my ugly duckling

I became the little girl

striking matches

for lost light hearts

clocks strike twelve

a zillion…

Read more

Author’s Note:

This piece is inspired by “The Common Journey”, by Josh Bond, the fifth poem of thirty, selected by Veronika Bond. This poem, as with all of Josh’s poems, is filled with literary intricacies and mechanisms, from the subtle to the more pronounced, which he uses, adroitly, to pace the poem and create an ambiance for the…

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You might have been a bit like me

I read you were an artist

I tried to find you in your art

I couldn’t find you

Did you find you? There,

In your art?

Did you hide in landscapes?

Disappear in a tear?

Rage in abstraction?

Spill in color?

Did you play with form and texture?

Did you follow the rules

Or

Follow your heart?

Unabashedly…

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So vivid, so brilliantine bright

Lights the Eastern view

With apricot, orange, a bitten peach hue

A fruitful morning

Yet

With that timeworn sailor’s warning

Because what is whispered

Are naked words abhorring

The goodbye to our tryst

Unforetold destiny

In the dawn’s clear mist

Pressed forever into memory

The power of your insistent…

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Nothing has changed

yet

Everything

Rearranged

From full moon to new moon

Waxing and waning between

I listen, focus, and constantly glean

My intentions

Reinventions

Even psychic soul connections

That show me where I cede

And

illustrates the need

To Heal.

Become…

Read more

I look up to the sky

and taste my freedom.

Like a bird who escapes its cage,

I soar above the tree tops,

relishing my release,

never looking back.

I won’t feel guilty for those still in cages

because I’ve learned—

Inspiration unlocks more doors

than persuasion ever could.

4/5/26

The Common Journey

Piecing together the mystery 
of one's own life can take 
an awful long time 
sometimes

Sometimes I mistake the dots 
that were meant to be joined up
for the perforations 
on the piece of paper
lined up on the left-hand side

Sometimes I dabble 
without thought or care
then my life lurches one way 
or in too…

Read more

A craft presented among peers. The crowd of gathered crows ready to pick at my eyes and a still beating heart. Will they be supportive or rejecting? Bring them to tears with joy or pain. Unfolding the fear within the soul,…

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pendulums move above our wrists

chestnut curls blend with wild

white banshee hair

we peel red apples

throwing these over our shoulder

being told this can reveal initials

spouses to be

laughter merges with sun

our little brother babbles

he is the apple of our mothers eye

when first I met sea

she offered me mercy

her sight…

Read more

entered anchored setting sail

to known coasts

all the isles

voyager visionary

where to begin

chapters close

only to open anew

my vagabond blood boils

over nocturnal flights

each perimeter dances

Tarocchi his aristocratic nose

is crooked formed into

forked roads edged

palmistry

come sit at this table

there is only…

Read more

Author’s Note:

Inspired by “The Call To Adventure”, by JoshBond. To me, the underlying message is to do freedom responsibly. For me, this involves a mindfulness of both the internal and the external. In this poem, Josh incorporates subtle, irregular structures, such as: Broken stanza, slide rhyme, sparse punctuation, phantom rhyme structure as…

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NaPoWriMo 2026

Day 04. - April 04

#4

Just Like Me

What I am realizing is

he is someone

just like me

someone who hurts
and doesn’t know

How to express it

someone who wants to be held

but forgot how to ask

and someone who pushes

when what he really needs

is to be pulled closer

And I-

I’ve been selfish

not cruel

not heartless

just wrapped up

inside the…

Read more

2026

Day 03- April 03

# 3

The Death Maiden

this void— this anomaly

has a firm grip on me

she is ravishing my body

piece by piece

until my existence is no more

it’s nothing personal

it just is

there is no reason

or mercy

she just takes

no apology given

no explanation

no regret

some days I think

it will be today

other times I brush it off…

Read more

If you had asked

I would have been honest.

But you always seem to look away

When things get real.

Are you more comfortable

With the mask?

Does authenticity scare you?

Are you running from me?

Or are you running from yourself?

Don’t you want to leave the bullshit behind?

Don’t you want to transcend the lies?

Or are you content…

Read more

Indigo sunsets,
Layered altocumulous
Floating gray cloud banks.

Only the lonely
Observe past and future now
Leaving no facts out.

Surely, April Fools!

…

©Kathy J Anderson, All Right Reserved