Prism & PenOur eyes locked:
I spoke chancing it in Russian
He answered in English
We walked not quite together
Down toward the river Vltava:
Flowing dark...
https://medium.com/prismnpen/strange-gay-encounter-in-prague-1959-f168ebd0ef23
There is a kind of tired that lives in the bones. Not the tired of a long day, but the tired of watching men in good suits decide, again, that our joy is a problem worth solving.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-cost-of-being-seen-pride-2026-poetry-04e27caacf9f?sk=c2fc93a2cc7eaca46a59703e04f1d184
I don’t know what else to do
I will wake tomorrow
You have been denied that gift
...
https://medium.com/prismnpen/poem-for-juniper-99abc143cce9?sk=be0bd6f6ca945ad959c09fbd12ea1081
The fire didn’t come
With trumpet or flame.
It came dressed in paper,
With numbers and names.
It came for the children
Who already knew fear,
For the rooms where their mothers
Had whispered, “I’m here.”
It came for the healers,
The records, the doors,
https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-fire-and-the-rain-poetry-c8f95cc1609e?sk=ef41065dfbe78865b32befd41009189d
My love was a pomegranate, bound to rot in the fiery heat. I was going to make Her a pie. I dreamt of Her at night, my Darling my Love, of forehead kisses and strawberry picking...
https://medium.com/prismnpen/pomegranate-pie-6d9fa0d385e5
We stand apart at the bus stop
You stare for a moment then look away
I fiddle with my hair, embarrassed
Look in my handbag for my pass
Despite what you may think
I am not so different from you...
https://medium.com/prismnpen/when-it-rains-we-both-get-wet-a6ea0b0001fe?sk=7b25387229e1ad3973f6fa4702e1bc02
Call something wrong a thousand times,
It learns to stand alone,
It makes a life beyond the word
That others would have thrown...
https://medium.com/prismnpen/what-we-were-told-to-pull-poetry-23bef2b639c9?sk=6defaf5263372077c7630f6733acde31
Wendy"I will love you when no song is playing. I will love you when the song is over."
— Andrea Gibson (1975–2025)
The DOJ is spectacle. Cuba is spectacle. What you carry past the song is what stays.
#AndreaGibson #Poetry #QueerPoetry #Grief #Love #LGBTQ
thistleandmoss.com
thistleandmoss.com
wendythedruid"I will love you when no song is playing. I will love you when the song is over." — Andrea Gibson (1975–2025)
What you carry past spectacle is the love that stays.
#AndreaGibson #Poetry #QueerPoetry #LGBTQ #Grief #Love #SpokenWord
mk zarielI have a run of upcoming poetry events—mix of in-person + virtual—featuring *VOIDGAZING* (gender, technology, queer online life):
**Apr 25 (Madison, in person)**
Never Again Action gathering for immigration justice
(poetry: *VOIDGAZING* + *DIFFERENT WITH HIM*)
🔗 https://www.mobilize.us/disappearedinamerica/event/935395/
**May 1 (Zoom, 6pm CST)**
Full *VOIDGAZING* reading (9 poems)
🔗 https://www.redrosethorns.com/event-details/a-live-reading-of-voidgazing-by-mk-zariel
**May 8 (Discord)**
Reading from *VOIDGAZING*
(DM for RSVP)
**May 21 (in person)**
Headlining Cliterati Open Mic @ Charis Books & More
Poems about:
→ doomscrolling
→ group chats & surveillance
→ gender as something iterative
→ queer community online
Would love to see folks there.
#poetry #queerpoetry #transpoetry #immigrantjustice #reading
Communities Not Cages: National Day of Action to Stop ICE Warehouse Detention · Disappeared in America
*with Live Music and Poetry:* WHAT__ A joyful evening. Meet your neighbors and kick back on the Capitol Square at King Street. If we connect, we can build a world together where all are safe. __HOW__ Make connections and have a good time. Some options for attending: **Make posters that Voces de la Frontera can use for their May Day rallies. **Introduce yourself by bringing something a book or object that is special to you. **Bring snacks to share (please provide a list of ingredients). Stone benches will be available, feel free to bring a chair or blanket as well __WHO__ Bring yourself and your people, and enjoy the music of Amanda Jane Hoffman and the poetry of mk zariel (bios below). This event is hosted by Never Again Action and Detention Watch Network. __WHY__ Join us outside as part of a nationwide day of action to oppose the Trump administration's expansion of ICE warehouse detention and its attack on the due process rights of immigrants and all Americans. -------------------- Join us outside as part of a nationwide day of action to oppose the Trump administration's expansion of ICE warehouse detention and its attack on the due process rights of immigrants and all Americans. The Department of Homeland Security is moving to lock thousands of people in massive detention warehouses — disappearing them from their families, their lawyers, and their communities. We're taking to the streets to make clear that stands for dignity, justice, and the rule of law. We'll gather to: - Show visible, public opposition to ICE detention expansion and the criminalization of immigration - Stand in solidarity with detained immigrants and the communities fighting to protect them - Demand that our elected officials defend due process for everyone Bring a sign. Bring your neighbors. Bring your voice. This action is part of the Communities Not Cages National Day of Action organized by the Disappeared In America campaign and partners including Detention Watch Network, Public Citizen, The Workers Circle, MoveOn and many others.