This project is coming along!
This will be a collection of new material from the last few years exploring the ‘what’s been left behind’ from my college years, who I am now and the joys and struggles of being an adult. There are themes of feminism, mental health, self-doubt…and some silly poems about the weather, of course.
There will be more posts about this project later on in the next few months.
In case you missed it, my other poetry book, Walking in Cemeteries, can be found on Amazon here.
This is a new project I’ve been working on. Spring is almost here and I’m feeling hopeful. To be published on Amazon in December 2025!
A little bit about the project…
This is a collection of new material from the last few years exploring the ‘what’s been left behind’ from my college years, who I am now and the joys and struggles of being an adult. There are themes of feminism, mental health, self-doubt…and some silly poems about the weather, of course.
I’m very excited with how this is coming together!
There will be more posts about this project later on in the next few months.
In case you missed it, my other poetry book, Walking in Cemeteries, can be found on Amazon here.
how many heroes
are lost to time
because of their skin color
how many women
forgotten
because of their sex
and if you’re a woman of color
you’re a ripped page
out of someone’s notebook
trampled into obscurity
until someone with power
or money
plucks your story into the light of day
To the Opposition:
A woman should be president
Do we have enough accessories?
Should we pin up your politics?
Should we clean up the mess we see?
Should we tie up a policy
in a neat little bow?
There’s no reason for drama
please, enough with the show
We’re not your courtesans
Or eye candy on stage
We’re not here to flaunt your ribbons
While you trap us in a cage
We won’t type your memos
while you admire our bra size
We’ll file your harassment along with
all your stupid small-pinched-lies
And while you slander us
We’re tying our kids shoes
We’re fighting in combat zones,
making headlines in the news
We’re scientists and astronauts
We’re surgeons and vets
We have our own voices and money
But there’s been no presidency yet
And while we gather our courage,
you tell us that we’re weak
Please shut your damn mouth
and let the women speak
We’ll tell you
A woman should be president
It’s not about IF we can
It’s because men are afraid
because we’re smarter than them
Hah…I love this one. And not just because it’s about women’s rights and all that good stuff. It’s because this poem is sure to piss some people off…and I’m here for it. Boy, am I here for it.
I dread the results of this election. The next few days are going to be so stressful. Here’s hoping! <3🤞🗳️
~AJM
she was three days old
at my high-school graduation
three years old when we watched
A Bug’s Life together
and now eighteen
and driving
and graduating today
about to embark on the world
nervous and unsure
but so beautiful
oh, so beautiful
she is gorgeous on the inside
and gorgeous on the outside
i wish for her
to always love herself
as much as she is
loved by everyone
My niece Maddie is graduating high-school today. How can it be? How can it be?
–AJM
she starts her morning without regard for herself
20 mins go by
she’s taken care of others, but not her own needs
he can’t find clean pants
why don’t we talk about
how
many girls
won’t discover
who they are
until they’ve become women
January has just been one big suck-fest. Anyone with me?
I have a poem I’ve been working on, but instead of coming together like things usually do, pulling the words out for this one is like trying to pull blood from a stone.
I am on the struggle bus. Physically. Mentally. Creatively. I long for sunny days. And warmth.
I hope everyone else is doing better than me. If you’ve kept up with this blog and my poetry book, you’ll know that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) hits me big every year. This past month, more so than others.
I take comfort in my light therapy, friends, comedy, and the dogs.
I don’t have anything creative for you today. I’m sorry. But here’s a few dog pics, because dogs are awesome and cute. Bowl is life. ❤️😆 love them. (The chocolate is Koda; the golden, Teddy.)
Every month, a woman sheds the lining of her uterus
Except, mine is scraping through me
like a sweater-rake that claws at those scratchy balls of wool
I’m shedding barbed wire and lava
Feeling red hot and deflated
Men laugh at a woman’s period
Think we’re over-exaggerating
Like that small-pinched-lie you’re told you’ll feel during a procedure
Why can’t we be honest about a woman’s pain
A woman feels pain as easy as a man succeeds
In this patriarchal society
Where a woman just bleeds
And bleeds
And bleeds
If you’ve liked what you’ve read, check out my poetry book Walking in Cemeteries available for purchase here.
I’ve been listening to Terry Pratchett’s The Slip of the Keyboard at work recently; it’s basically a collection of essays about his life, writing and his struggles with Alzheimer’s.
In one of his essays, he mentions how women are portrayed in fantasy. If there is a witch, she is generally evil and crouches around like an old hag, spitting curses at everyone. If she is beautiful, she is seductive, using her sexuality as a means to an end. (I think many Disney villains can be used as an example here: Ursula, Wicked Step Mother, Malificent, etc.)
On the opposite scale are the Wizards, who are male, wise, and that mentor that most protagonists seek out in times of great peril. Think Gandolf in Lord of the Rings, or Ged in A Wizard of Earthsea.
I guess my question is: Why is this so?
One of my own stories has a witch as its main villain, and I inadvertently made her beautiful, seductive and evil. I did this without thought, yet I’m wondering if this isn’t the time to mix it up a bit? Isn’t it time we had an evil wizard? Or a kind, yet sexy witch, who is not evil?
(J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books don’t really count in this musing, I suppose. As plenty of her witches are very nice, beautiful intelligent people. And Voldemort, a.k.a most evil wizard, ever.)
One thing I love about Terry Pratchett’s writing is that he doesn’t write characters that are predictable. Everyone (of the characters I’ve read so far) are unique and one of a kind. They don’t fit a basic formula, and they aren’t comfortable, which is completely fine. By comfortable, I mean you don’t always know what you can expect from them: one minute they might be performing an act of heroism, the next, you might question their sanity a bit.
The point: Terry Pratchett creates real characters that don’t fit into the formula of basic hero and that’s fine. (He also made the point that not all best-selling fantasy books are the best written either.)
This is something I agree with. But I guess what gets me is this whole idea of how women are portrayed in Fantasy. If she is a witch in some stories, why do we assume she is evil?
Do we automatically assign gender roles to specific aspects of fantasy? Do we like when witches are evil? Is the old hag expected to bring bad news? Or is this what we’ve just seen time after time, and so, we use examples of literature before us and think: ‘this the way it’s supposed to be.’
Or, if these gender roles are missing in the novel, does that automatically make it more unique than others? Just a thought.
What do you guys think? Any examples you can think of?
A. J. Morse 