@chaossectionpoetry
Our second poetry anthology “What We Hold On To: Poems of Coping, Connection, and Carrying On” is now available to read or download for free at: https://thechaossectionpoetryproject.com/what-we-hold-on-to/
Fraiku: As My Country
Starts Another War
By Bart Barker
Safely out of range
I fall asleep without fear
but not without shame
@bartbarkerpoet.bsky.social
bartbarkerpoet.com/2026/03/06/f...
This poem succeeds in intimacy and lived truth—the tactile weight of depression rendered through precise domestic imagery: “pill bottles like lighthouses,” the child-self learning to walk again. The strength lies in its refusal of melodrama; survival here is quiet, measured in tea and messages sent.
Carol Anne Johnson
Carrying the Invisible
share.google/fQiNOLDirfOa...
"There are small victories no one sees...
This is not weakness.
It is survival in its rawest form—
an art of carrying the invisible
while still reaching for the light."
#poem #poetry #coping #hope #resilience #sisu #booksky
@merrildsmith.bsky.social
Thank you @chaossectionpoetry.bsky.social
@nickallison80.bsky.social @mother-poet.bsky.social
merrildsmith.org/2026/03/06/n...
Merril D. Smith
Now When We Are Living in a Darkening World
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"I want to remember that
feathered hope can fly
through black holes
and beyond space and time
into sighs of susurrus
or prickles of petrichor"
#poem #poetry #chapbook #booksky #hope #coping
Spring snows remember
dreams of flowers under frost,
budding bountiful
hope, the seed that defeats ice
when long winters reach their end.
#tankathursday #memory #wildwalkprompt #budding #faesense #springcoloursreturn #vss365 #bountiful #tanka #tankaboutit #poem #poetry #micropoetry #micropoem
Nicole Sara
The Last Forever
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"You always open the door,
and then a window
for my flight
not begun yet…
And I rewrite the same verse
from the abyss
always lost and found
in your eyes
when you rekindle the stars…"
Rachel Armes-McLaughlin
Here Now
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Excerpt:
"Cold, cold rain –
late winter,
early spring.
The heavy waste bag
keeps me weighted,
fingers numbing
from the looped strings,
arm tired, and my shoes
grounding me in the rain."
#poetry #chapbook #grounding #booksky #ptsd
#poetry #poems #poet #poetrycommunity #poem
A poem: The Distance Between Here and There
#bakedrhymes
Do not forget to return
To the stillness
Away from the world
Away from its wars
Away from the screams
Of those you love.
Return there
From time to time
Wrap yourself
In the silence
Breath deep and listen
To your own needs
featured multiple US Poet Laureates, including Joy Harjo and Ada Limón. To say that I am honored is an understatement. I will be there with my husband and daughter (who might read her first published poem!), and we will have copies of the most recent Chaos Section poetry chapbook. SO excited!!!
Prepping today for my very first #poetry #reading! Very excited to announce that #HotSprings #PoetLaureate Kai Coggin has asked me to be featured #poet at Wednesday Night Poetry (WNP) in Hot Springs, #Arkansas on March 25, 2025. WNP is the longest-running poetry open mic in the nation and has 🧵
Trump ordered flags at half staff for Charlie Kirk, but not the 6 soldiers killed in Iran.
Disgraceful
Nick Allison
Songs of Morning
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"I opened the back door,
pleased to hear the birds
singing their songs of morning
into the cool, quiet air.
Breathing in, I feel my lungs
expand, contract. Steady,
the beat of my heart,
a small promise of existence."
#poetry #peace #book
Brent Boeckman
The Quiet Landing
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"“The fog,” the brutal, constant split.
One moment: Powerful. Grounded. A fortress wall.
The next: Miserable. Disoriented. Ready to fall.
The brutal swing between the collapse and the strength."
#poetry #grief #coping #chapbook #book
“… barrels of oil and retribution …”
#typewriter #poetry #fuckwar
Melissa Lemay
employed
share.google/plv1r0lwuugD...
".. piercing my skin, a
dark-dance oblivion
follows after red.
i wake up, unsure
of when; where
begins to come into
focus.
i am late to work
again."
#poetry #coping #addiction #booksky #book
Erica Johnson
A Protest Piece
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"I was not prepared for
a capital crisis on the capitol
where the lines are drawn
not unlike the lines we drew
in permanent marker on poster
which warbles with movement
and the din of voices
ebbing, flowing, weaving"
#poetry #protest #book
#DavidsMonthOfMusic day 3:
Song by an artist whose name starts with C
Hayes Carll
Times Like These
“In times like these do I really need a billionaire
Just takin' all my time tryin' to tell me I was treated unfair?”
youtu.be/5dytT01GrmA?...
Zsófia Hajnal
Bird
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Bird in a cage
You want to be free
Imagine the world more beautiful
Than it could
Ever be
And so
The idea of wonder
Is born
And sung in an age
Of captivity
#poetry #poem #chapbook #book #freedom
Kate Bremer
Writing with the Herd share.google/iiGs2h8ugTKK...
...Thank you for lungs, bird wings stirring the air, sage clearing our bodies, leaf sounds, bare feet, large nostrils, gentle lips. Distracted by animal neurons, folds of grief, hearts unraveling..."
#poetry #chapbook #book #coping
#DavidsMonthOfMusic day 2:
Song by artist whose name begins with B
You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you sit back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
While the young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud
@edwardstjames.bsky.social
Edward St. James
Hartford Meadow
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"The nerves have long stretched outwards from my spine
Sudden noises and piles of paperwork stretching above
All while #fascism grows and #nightmares stand in a line
I dream of becoming a dove in a grove..."
#poetry #chapbook #booksky
Sam Hendrian
Another Two Dollars share.google/8zTPKutTIgbX...
"Ten days into sobriety so far
Which would have been an accomplishment
If it hadn’t been January
The month of false resolutions.
Longed to be held
But not held accountable..."
#poetry #coping #chapbook #booksky #book #SelfSabotage
Poem by Joseph Fasano @josephfasano.bsky.social
#poem #poetry #Iran
A photo from a protest Rachel attended with her husband yesterday.
Hi, friends. I (Rachel) needed a break from a few things this past week, including posting #poems from our latest #book. I aim to start posting again today. We are nearing the end of the book, and we will have a new call for submissions out soon!
We hope that you all are finding some joy. #coping
Al Green didn’t last long.
Ran into Aubrey Phoenix today, one of our poets with pieces in both @chaossectionpoetry.bsky.social books, “Record of Dissent” and “What We Hold On To.” Always good to see contributors out in the world and hand them a copy in person!