Merril D. Smith

Thank you for reading and listening, Mo! I love that cover of Blackbird!

a white neon sign spelling “YES YES” glows against a dark background, with visible wiring and a power box beneath. The Broken Spine logo sits top left, “@thebrokenspine.co.uk” appears top right, and the lower right text reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #CONSENT”.

#PoemsAbout #Consent starts Friday.

Write the clarity.
The moment the body relaxes because it’s heard.
The heat that arrives only after agreement.

Consent isn’t the absence of refusal.
It’s the presence of want.

Draft now.
Share from Friday.
Tag your post.
Use Alt Text.

A gorgeous poem by Carmella de Keyser.
"She has been perma-sketched by early dawn in the Balkan sun."

Chasms by Carmella de Keyser, published by the Alien Buddha Press.

'Chasms', Carmella de Keyser's second collection, an editorial preview.

Carmella de Keyser holding her second collection Chasms.

It's finally here!🎉
My new book CHASMS is now available.
A special thank you to my editor Red & to the Alien Buddha Press.
'Chasms is a soul steeped in sunlight.'
#booklaunch
#Chasms
#Poetry
#NewRelease
#CarmelladeKeyser
#intersections
@alienbuddhapress.bsky.social
www.amazon.co.uk/CHASMS-Carme...

Advice Considered Vincent Van Gogh, “Wheatfield with Crows” 1890. Advice Considered Poets,(we’re instructed) don’t write of birds,without imagery,striking and unique— heron as last-man-standing,or as des…

A short #Poem for dVerse.

merrildsmith.org/2026/03/10/a...

Thank you so much, Carmella! 💙

I agree!

Famous Artworks – Jeanneke Pis, Brussels Hi everyone, it’s Robbie Cheadle here with you today with the March post in the Famous Artworks series on LatinosUSA – English Edition. If you have a favourite Famous Artwork you’d like to sh…

Famous Artworks - Jeanneke Pis, Brussels latinosenglishedition.blog/2026/03/09/f...

April Squeeze April Showers paints her beauties in the worst spots. This one was at a truck rental parking place. Yes, I almost got stuck squeezing through. Of all the graf tagged onto the wall, all I wanted was…

April Squeeze graffitiluxandmurals.com/2026/03/09/a...

Thank you, Leia! 😊 You're so kind. I loved your poem--so unique and creative!

Thank you, Carmella. I loved your poems!

You're welcome, Ann! 💙

Thank you so much, Paul! It is such a weird experience, isn't it?

Time and Rivers Monday Morning Musings: Time and Rivers When dreams die,no longer dazzling ordelicious, decayed, dashed on rocks,deaccessionedfrom the mind, yet heldin a file, marked “Someday,” I think how we exis…

Good morning! It's Monday, and I'm musing. This is my weekly post with a #Poem, #Photos, and commentary on the past week.

merrildsmith.org/2026/03/09/t...

Thank you for sharing humourus, beautiful, poignant and powerful work this evening.

@internetofwords.com
@jeffcottrill.bsky.social
@thepaulconnolly.bsky.social
@carmellapoetry.bsky.social
@johnadlam.bsky.social
@sarahraybould.bsky.social @secretsoliloquies.bsky.social

Thank you so much, Paul. It was a privilege to hear such great work, and you are such an excellent host!

You're welcome!

Arrows You watch me undress even though you can’t really see me because my body is a ruin and I have vanished under the rubble. I am writhing under your eyes which might as well be crosshairs, palpitating in this animal carcass that takes up too much space. Bits and pieces of me scatter everywhere like dead skin cells or eyelashes, tiny insignificant things you can wish on but that never come true. This is how I mark my territory, in chewed off fingernails and stray hair bands, careless words and stuttered apologies, sacred beads of spit and blood. This is where I have come to love and to haunt. This is where I will raise a little church. But you can’t really see me now because I’ve gone inside to pray. I am building nests on branches that can’t hold me. And my spine curves like the bent neck of a deer bowing before the hunter’s gun. Like it is trying to tell you something secret. Like it wants to bridge an enormous gap. You only come to watch me unravel so you can hide in the cracks. I am but a bird in the palm of your hand. Just one little twist of your fingers to break its brittle bones. You will only really see me once you dare to lift off the burial shroud and find out that the crumpled cerecloth once upon a time was a wing.

Late but here is my submission for #PoemsAbout #BeingWatched ✨

for @thebrokenspine.co.uk
& @alanparrywriter.co.uk

As others said, keep trying, if it's something you want. I assumed you had been published all over the place, but I only knew you from Poems About.

Echoing others--such a stunning piece! 🌟 Fabulous imagery.

You're welcome, Philippa!

A dark wall displays a glowing white neon sign reading “YES YES” on two lines. Visible electrical cables connect the letters to a small power unit below. The Broken Spine fountain pen logo appears in the top left corner. “@thebrokenspine.co.uk” is written in white at the top right. Bold white text in the lower right reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #CONSENT”.

Last week asked who was looking.
This week: #Consent.

Not silence.
Not assumption.
Not momentum mistaken for permission.

Write the yes that’s spoken.
The pause that matters.
The power in choosing, clearly.

New theme opens Friday.
Don’t post early.
Use Alt Text.
Tag #PoemsAbout to be found.

You're welcome, Matthias! 😂

You're welcome, Debbie. 😊

You're welcome, Paul.

Congratulations!

You're welcome, Andy!

How fortunate though to have them. 💙

You're welcome, Jan!

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Freya Pickard's prose evokes strong, emotional feelings from her Readers. This haiku is part of our Encircling Theme.