Take a Walk with Me: Writing Poems Rooted in Mindfulness and Nature

Take a Walk with Me: Writing Poems Rooted in Mindfulness and Nature

I define a walk as moving at an even pace without having both feet off the ground at the same time. Merriam-Webster classifies a walk as “to move along on foot : advance by steps.” The Cambridge Dictionary suggests a walk is “to move along by putting one foot in front of the other, allowing each foot to touch the ground before lifting the next.” People go on walks for all kinds of reasons: curiosity, pleasure, exercise, even religious pilgrimage. Walking is a relationship unique to the individual. Every walk is different, even if the path or routine is the same. It is a process that, whether we are conscious of it or not, involves the whole self: the mental, the emotional, and the physical.

Poetic Mindfulness: Real People in Real Time

Poetic Mindfulness: Real People in Real Time

“Find the edges of your body.” K. Iver’s instruction sounded simple. I thought about the faded, spice-red, velvet-like seat underneath me, my back leaning against its smooth, unforgiving wood backrest. The sensation of cool sweatpants falling over my knees and the warm plate of to-go dinner sitting on my lap became increasingly apparent. I stared at K with great intent and curiosity, waiting for their next words.

Poems for June 2025's Trending Searches

Poems for June 2025's Trending Searches

Though we hope our summer days aren’t cloudy, we’re still spending plenty of time in the digital cloud. In an age of widespread anxiety and unrest, there’s more on our minds than vacation and BBQs and we’re looking to the web for guidance. Here’s a review of June’s trending searches, paired with relevant poems to help us reflect, relax, and think more deeply about this curious life.

"I Remember Saying Thank You" - Poems for Dad

"I Remember Saying Thank You" - Poems for Dad

If, like me, your last attempt to answer your dad’s question, “What’s so great about poetry anyway?” ended in monosyllables and nondescript grunts, maybe it’s time to show rather than tell. Here are five different poems for five different types of dads for those dedicated Father’s Day gift-givers that might shed some light onto what exactly is so great about poetry, while showing him some timely appreciation along the way.

The Impact of the Deaf Community on Poetry

The Impact of the Deaf Community on Poetry

As people, we have an instinct to sort ourselves into groups. From politics to religion to hobbies, we constantly seek out ways to fit into larger communities. Groups remove social ambiguity and allow us to feel secure. But poetry disrupts some of this security and puts us back into a gray area. Its possibilities offer versatility: every line in a poem can be meticulously interpreted and re-interpreted, each time teaching us a new lesson. Poems can be crafted, extended or shortened to form a shape. They can be read aloud, or they can be thought over in our racing minds.

Father Verses Son: An Interview with Filmmaker & Writer Ari Gold

Father Verses Son: An Interview with Filmmaker & Writer Ari Gold

Father Verses Son is a stunningly illustrated poetic correspondence about life, death and the human comedy - and about men bumbling towards love. Selected for Scribner’s Best American Poetry, this new book began when a 99-year-old Beat-era novelist is reactivated into writing again by his sons, who send him poems by US Mail. One of those sons, Ari Gold, is a member here at PSNY & sat down for an interview with How to Poet.

Mother's Day: Power & New Beginnings

Mother's Day: Power & New Beginnings

Maya Angelou said, "to describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power." Motherhood is power and motherhood is beginnings. Power because mothers grow a life into being and beginnings because that was the site our creation, our first breath began there, with a mother. This Mother’s Day, we’d love to share five poems to reflect today on our complex relationships to the many facets of motherhood.

Poems for March 2025's Trending Searches

Poems for March 2025's Trending Searches

March on the internet finally wore me down: I deleted the Facebook app. After learning how many poets in my community had ditched the platform years ago, I was a little embarrassed that I still had it. Even without social media (or certain forms of social media), the internet itself persists and with it, our curiosity. Here’s a look at what’s on our collective minds this month, per Google Trends.