donated words poetry

@donatedwords.bsky.social

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poems/experiments by K Weber (she/her) featuring 900+ donated words (& more!) from 370+ people since 2018! 8 FREE online collabs: kweberandherwords.com

purple square image with white, left-justified text that reads: i’m aiming for the release date of THE DELICATE COLLIDE to be july 1. and, yes, 2026! i am really sorry for the delay. my brain is weird. my body’s been really unlike even my most frustrating body. then i got fixated on visual art & crafting once i got some energy back, have been dealing with physical pain + mental whatever & i am overall just moving at a slower pace. dissociation, splitting & feeling low have not helped me hit my goals. but i have historically bounced back 100% of the zillion times i have struggled with this kinda stuff. thanks for being patient and lovely word contributors (& more) and people who cheer these efforts on. soon! K
square image has a brick red background. white rectangular box (longer vertically) contains the following black text (donated words and contributor names are in bold): Begonias Most of the petals remained the skin of a cherry, unswerving all summer. Those months and their heat rose to humid heights of hateful expansion. The waxy leaves never wavered but bronzed themselves with or without water. Where there is no cooling, the plant still thrives, burning yellow dandelion fireworks at the center; a lesson in perseverance. K Weber Jenna Mia - cherry Patrick Whited - unswerving Erin Murray - expansion Ann-Lene Olivier - water Carla Marchal - perseverance
square image. background is a black and yellow version of a Google Docs draft of a poem overlaid many times in different directions. at center there is a rectangular white text box, longer horizontally, that has black text. text reads as follows: the 7th poem for THE DELICATE COLLIDE has been blossoming quickly! the first draft almost turned out like a final draft. will this remain in tercets? i just love the 9 donated words that landed in this poem and the fresh special feature that helped inform the content!💛
square image. background is a black and red version of a digital Notes app draft of a poem overlaid many times in different directions. at center there is a rectangular white text box, longer horizontally, that has black text. text reads as follows: poem 6’s draft is coming alive while coming apart. it has been a complicated day so it only makes sense for this draft to start off on a challenging, more complicated note. but in a good way. i’m not sure i’d feel human if i didn’t infuse some of my personal feelings of overwhelm, suffocation & deep grief into anything recently. in addition to the donated words, this poem is also being supported by a special feature that really set the mood for this draft!
square image. background is a black and white version of a digital Notes app draft of a poem overlaid many times in different directions. at center there is a rectangular white text box, longer horizontally, that has black text. text reads as follows: the 5th poem draft for THE DELICATE COLLIDE is coming together so well! the added twist plus more random donated words made this one gel with a lot of unique imagery and energy. i am always grateful that people trust me to create poems with their hand-picked words (& more!). each is a gift and together they make a great deal of magic by sending my brain to such unique poetic territory!!!
square image. background is a tan/brown-tinted version of a digital Notes app draft of a poem overlaid many times in different directions. at center there is a rectangular white text box, longer horizontally, that has black text. text reads as follows: poem 4 of THE DELICATE COLLIDE is in progress. no handwriting today, but a decent draft happened in the Notes app. i didn’t have a lot of energy today so i focused on what i could develop on the page versus forcing things. this poem has more great donated words and a donated twist that’s so very tempting!
square image. background is a pink-tinted version of a hand-written draft of notes for a poem overlaid many times in different directions. at center there is a rectangular white text box, longer horizontally, that has black text. text reads as follows: the draft of the 3rd poem for THE DELICATE COLLIDE took a very unique shape when i worked on it today! while the 1st & 2nd poems had drafts that resembled fairly fleshed-out pieces, the 3rd became a whimsical list of to-dos… detailed notes for what i would like to see happen with certain donated words, the extra challenge and themes and wordplay i would love to craft. this poem has the largest amount of donated words. the special feature involves some very visual facets. all of the donated words poems, 8 in celebration of 8 years of collaborative writing, will be available as a free PDF. coming april 22nd! happy poetry month!🩷
square image. background is a green-tinted version of a hand-written poem overlaid many times in different directions. at center there is a rectangular white text box, longer horizontally, that has black text. text reads as follows: today i started the first draft of the second poem for THE DELICATE COLLIDE! the randomized donated words & extra-credit challenge are beginning to find connections and imagery and emotion and i look forward to seeing how it all lands! there’s one SUPER tricky word in this one! i haven’t figured out how to place it yet… but that’s always part of the added fun😊 these 8 donated words poems, in celebration of 8 years of collaborative writing, will be available as a free PDF. happy poetry month!💚
white square image shows a digital book cover at center. left side has orderly strands of colorful beads placed horizontally. an off-kilter line divides the page top to bottom. erratic overlaid photos of a stash of beads is on the right. on the left side the title starts in a crisp, white font with THE DELICATE appearing neatly between bead strands but they are titled up slightly. a larger, black, angled text box is toward the bottom at center. the final word of the title, COLLIDE, is inside in a pinkish bold font.
square image. background is a blue-tinted version of a hand-written poem overlaid many times in different directions. at center there is a rectangular white text box, longer horizontally, that has black text. text reads as follows: happy poetry month! i have started a draft of the first poem for THE DELICATE COLLIDE! sitting down with the randomized donated words that found their way to this piece and the added twist selected… so much fun! taking all of these seemingly disparate, collaborative elements… these gifts contributed by (many!) others… & weaving them into a poem is one of my most favorite things. as i usually do, i will detail my/our process in the completed, free online collection!!! i am still aiming to have this all done for an april 22nd release😃 thanks to everyone who has ever taken part in these projects the last 8 YEARS!
pink square image with centered, red text reads: super excited that there will be unique twists to each of the 8 poems in THE DELICATE COLLIDE! along with donated words, i have invited some people to contribute other aspects of the poem. i have done this in the past but this time it involves different individuals & some different elements. looking forward to starting on this collection soon! if you’d like to donate a word submit via the form soon! deadline approaching!!! tinyurl.com/dwform2026 or LINK IN BIO!
bright pink square image with centered, yellow text reads: IT'S TIME! you can start contributing to the latest donated words project NOW! i am using an online form this time. all details are on the form!!! thanks for joining in on some more poetry collaboration in celebration of the upcoming 8th anniversary of these projects!!! purple, centered text at bottom includes the link info to the form: http://tinyurl.com/dwform2026
yellow square image with centered, bright pink text reads: IT'S TIME! you can start contributing to the latest donated words project NOW! i am using an online form this time. all details are on the form!!! thanks for joining in on some more poetry collaboration in celebration of the upcoming 8th anniversary of these projects!!! blue, centered text at bottom includes the link info to the form: http://tinyurl.com/dwform2026
blue square image with centered, bright green text reads: IT'S TIME! you can start contributing to the latest donated words project NOW! i am using an online form this time. all details are on the form!!! thanks for joining in on some more poetry collaboration in celebration of the upcoming 8th anniversary of these projects!!! yellow, centered text at bottom includes the link info to the form: IT'S TIME! you can start contributing to the latest donated words project NOW! i am using an online form this time. all details are on the form!!! thanks for joining in on some more poetry collaboration in celebration of the upcoming 8th anniversary of these projects!!! http://tinyurl.com/dwform2026
white square image. in center there is an image of the back cover of a digital book. the cover background has different shades of yellows and oranges. the four colors are somewhat haphazardly broken into four sections. at top left is a bright yellow color. at top right is a medium yellow-orange color. a similar color is at bottom left. & a brighter orange color at bottom right. the two sections on the right pinch together on the keft in a subtle bird shape at the middle. black bold text at bottom of back cover reads “2025 / K Weber (editor) & Friends”
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. tthe title of this section, SPECIAL NOTES/PROBABLY TMI, is at the top center of the page in larger, bold font. text reads as follows: SPECIAL NOTES/PROBABLY TMI The cover art is by me, K Weber. I used the free version of the Pixir app and basically scribbled colors I felt fit the overall collection on a book cover-sized image. I then used various Liquify tools to gain the achieved effect. Particularly, I enjoyed utilizing the Shrink function to pull those colors together. I used Google Docs for the creation of this layout. Gentium Book Basic font is used for the cover and some page headings in various sizes. The majority of what appears throughout is Georgia font, size 12, but with some variations in poem titles and such. This collection is a free PDF. You will never be asked to pay for this compilation! With technology moving rapidly and the overwhelming chaos of AI, we have to be vigilant in ensuring our creations are not being utilized in any way other than that for which they were intended! Speaking of AI... nope! I did not use any AI tools in the creation of this project. I mentioned "no Al" as a stipulation when 1 asked for writers to take part in this, too! The authors in this collection have stand-out, unique voices and do not need a robot to generate poems for them. Authors featured in this collection are welcome to submit their daylight & tenfold orioles works for publication at other journals or for projects, collections, etc. that allow previously-published works. I just ask that this project be given credit for publishing your piece first. And I would love to hear from you if something you wrote for this project is published elsewhere! This being a one-of-a-kind project with much collaboration, there will not be any award nominations. I highly value the unique writings created for this project but also look at this effort being …
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. links are underlined in blue. the first title of this section, PRAISE FOR DONATED WORDS POEM PROJECTS, is at the top center of the page in larger, bold font. the second title heading, CONTACT DETAILS, is around the middle of the page in larger, bold font. text reads as follows: PRAISE FOR DONATED WORDS POEM PROJECTS daylight & tenfold orioles is one of several writing projects I have put together since 2018 that involves collaboration with many others! Hundreds of words have been gifted to me by hundreds of people to include in so many poems. Now, with this latest compilation, even more words have been included in writing by other authors! When I was working on TEAMWORDK in 2021, I asked if anyone would like to put together feedback in the form of a short quote or blurb about their participation in and readership of donated words poems. I received an abundance of responses! You can read all of these generous quotes in this supplementary document: https://tinyurl.com/donatedquotes This will remain a "living document" to which I will continue to add write-ups about our collaborative poetry projects! If you would like to share your experiences and thoughts on these poetry projects, you can connect with me through email and social media under CONTACT DETAILS below! So much gratitude to all who have provided me with lovely words and perspective! CONTACT DETAILS I do these collaborations on a whim sometimes and other times it is more structured. The best way to get in touch is through my social media and email. Instagram is my preferred social media app. Find me at instagram.com/midwesternskirt! I am also on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/donatedwords.bsky.social You can email me at donatedwords@gmail.com if you like. Or just go to my website and click "Contact Me" kweberandherwords.com page number 30 is at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. links are underlined in blue. the title of this section, MORE DONATED WORDS PROJECT INFORMATION, is at the top center of the page in larger, bold font. text reads as follows: MORE DONATED WORDS PROJECT INFORMATION COLLECTIONS • daylight & tenfold orioles (2025) is the 8th donated words poetry (& more!) collection! All of the pricts in this ties ine alable sa fing a Ss alot the can re colla mustions also look for an update at kweberandherwords.com if/when that is made available. • A Sum of Our Poetic Parts: Vol. 3 (2024) • Free PDF: tinyurl.com/2024asoopp3 • SCREAMWORDK (2023) • Free PDF: tinyurl.com/screamwordk2023 • Reunion Fruit Synergy (2023) Free PDF: tinyurl.com/rfs2023 • A Sum of Our Poetic Parts: Vol. 2 (2023) • Free PDF: tinyurl.com/2023asoopp2 • A Sum of Our Poetic Parts: Vol. 1 (2022) • Free PDF & audio version: tinyurl.com/2022asoopp1 • TEAMWORDK (2021) • Free PDF & audio version: tinyurl.com/teamwordk2021 • This Assembly (2019). • Free PDF & audio version: tinyurl.com/thisassembly2019 PRESENTATION I was fortunate to give a presentation in July 2024 about collaborations in writing and other methods I use to play around with words. It covers some of the details of the 7 previous donated words collections! You can find it at tinyurl.com/kw2024nbp page number 29 is at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of this section, THANK YOU, is at the top center of the page in larger, bold font. text is centered and reads as follows: THANK YOU Thank you so very much again to all who participated in the creation of the 18 works - 17 poems and 1 microfiction piece - that comprise this collection! A total of 17 authors were involved! 39 words were donated to these pieces by 37 people. 16 more words come from authors who participated in the addition of a challenge word. 55 words were contributed in total! Several people took part in more than one aspect of this compilation. Overall, 49 people made daylight & tenfold orioles happen! This has been a great group to have involved in the creation of such a satisfying project! This whole thing took a year and a few months to come together so I’d also like to express really big thanks for being patient with me as I really wanted to compile something special and not rush the process! I want to send and reiterate extra-special thanks to those 16 other authors who took on the task of writing a new poem or microfiction piece! Every single person who initially signed up to write for this was able to contribute. To have each of you involved from start to finish throughout the months has been very inspiring! I am so glad you trusted me with your words! Preston Danvers and Norb Aikin have been with me since almost day one with every zany writing experiment I put together and I hope they will continue along with me for the long haul! Melinda Farrar, Kim Mannix, Kiley Lee, Misty H, Millie H and Sara Matson are poets/artists/friends involved with daylight & tenfold orioles who have contributed to a vast majority of the donated words projects since we started and it makes me so happy to see their names take up so much real estate in my long-winded donated words data spreadsheet! As always, I’d like to shout sp…
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of this section, AUTHOR BIOS is at the top center of the page in larger, bold font. text is as follows: AUTHOR BIOS Julie Luepke is a reader, poet, and composer who lives in the Midwestern US, at the meeting of two rivers. K Weber obtained her BA in Poetry from Miami University. Her words have been featured in publications such as Stone Circle Review, Exacting Clam, Writer’s Digest, Memoir Mixtapes, HNDL Magazine and more! Including daylight & tenfold orioles, K has self-published 12 free, PDF-based writing collections (some have audio versions with original soundscapes and K reading aloud). 8 of these are online projects featuring donated words (& more!) in collaboration with hundreds of people since 2018. Her publishing credits and online books are at kweberandherwords.com. She has recently been a featured guest on several episodes of the They’re Just Records podcast. Karen Steiger is a poet, fiction writer, and breast cancer survivor living in Schaumburg, Illinois, with her beloved husband, Matt, and two dogs, Horus and Lexi. Her work has been published in The Wells Street Journal, Arsenika, Black Bough Poetry, Ang(st), Perhappened, Kaleidotrope, Mineral Lit Mag, Rejection Letters, Versification, Sledgehammer Lit, Bombfire Lit, Lamp Lit, and others. Her debut collection, Clean Margins, is available through Kelsay Books and Amazon. Kiley Lee is a Pushcart-nominated poet and artist, with work in multiple publications and exhibitions across the United States. She lives in the Appalachian foothills with her family and loves staring at the clouds. For more information, including a list of current and previous publications, please visit: linktr.ee/kileylee A Pushcart Prize nominee, Marie Marchand is the Inaugural Poet Laureate of Ellensburg, WA. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, Crannóg Magazine, Catamaran Li…
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Twinkling,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Twinkling I siphon all the beauty I can from this evening at the ocean. Any shreds of goodness, I tuck away for rainy days— the kind words, head tilt the sun, the sun, the sun glinting on vanilla cream waves, a cool frothiness my toes can taste. I am a creature swimming in the deep womb of the universe. Though half-drowning, perpetually, I twinkle to the frequency of stars waiting to be born. Marie Marchand long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: siphon womb frequency and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to flavor" and the author’s word choice: vanilla page number 24 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “desired outcome,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: desired outcome in its jacket, prolix and battered— a blossoming deified an ocean placed upside down and strung in playful disarray, almost a torrent, a babble reaching a symphonic corpse in its regards to light exposure the most jaded, left exposed wandering mostly in the bite of a brittle sun— the search in a chilled field leafing for apricity’s address through a prayer book & hymnal Will Davis long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: prolix symphonic apricity and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word that is a palindrome" and the author’s word choice: deified page number 23 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the poem is centered on the page. poem text is as follows: A heartsick plea To the universe and all the deities For permission to seek out love Letting go of my hangups The shyness, the lack of self-belief A simultaneous, silent release To kindle the sparks needed Letting my heart roam free Maybe, I’ll find that person Whether it be another girl Or, embracing all of me This is my plea to the universe It’s time now, to set it free To see where in the world An opened heart and soul leads me Oswald Perez long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: heartsick permission simultaneous and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to heat" and the author’s word choice: kindle page number 22 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Song of the Seasons,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Song of the Seasons Blooms all around, bursting with life Wonders and miracles ever free of strife Growing and sprouting, soft to the touch Relaxing then done, claimed by the bunch The frequency of the buzz that the bees left behind Flying through the flowers with a goal in mind Warmth and pollen floating through the air Laughter and giggles flowing without a care Leaves on the ground, bare trees around Calm and collected, graced by the sound Of animals burrowing and migrating To homes where they can't be found Missing the seasons that you can't go back to Heartsick and frozen from the snow that surrounds you Gather near the hearth with people you love Staring through the window at the stars up above Millie H long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: miracle frequency heartsick and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to an animal" and the author’s word choice: burrowing page number 21 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Keep the Change,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Keep the Change You and me were talking like static on the sea. – Hello June Some June tune carries the phasing out and in of every miracle season just following along the settled way of doing things Symphonic tones fill spaces and lines constantly pleading to only be understood— If only listening were the true intent Sensing frequency is a gift, kerfuffle simply means willfully adjusting the dial Kiley Lee long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: miracle symphony frequency kerfuffle and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a month of the year" and the author’s word choice: June page number 20 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. it is the first page of a poem. the title, “Entering the Haunted Manor of My Chronically Ill Body,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Entering the Haunted Manor of My Chronically Ill Body The windows of the body of the house watch as I approach the rotting threshold, They have watched me before as I howl at the moon, Pain floating across my body in a haze, This time I approach on human legs drawn inside like an inhale, The walls are raw and embracing me with bleeding arms, Whispering for me to continue into the belly of the halls, There, horned demons wreaking havoc, ripping insulation from the walls, Continuing on to the hall of mirrors, ghosts of who I’d been before reflected vanishing, one by one, when I go near, Their whispered words continuing through lips of vapor, An endless prolix chatter hisses in my ears telling me I cannot turn back, I feel like I’m being buried alive in ectoplasm, I claw my way back towards the front of the manor, To enter an unnecessarily opulent ballroom clad in spiderwebs and corpses, Undead dancers swirl out of tune Both time and space suspended, The dancers bump and fuse together, randomly creating masses of grotesque melded matter, Those masses follow my every movement, They will not leave me alone, There are no miracles here in this nightmare sentient house, page number 18 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Cnut,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Cnut The tide is out of joint; though once the flood would warm and feed the pools where urchins crawl, the ebb now leaves a bruise of brackish mud, the stench of fish or kings hangs over all. This unwound frequency of spring and neap desiccates the nurseries of love. Too many are content to bask and sleep, heedless of the heat of hate above. Those who slumber dream themselves exempt, exonerated from the headsman's axe. But those who wither in the sun's contempt, tied to the tides, can verify these facts: The years of drought deliver shriveled knives unless we heal our dehydrated lives. Scott Nickell long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: tide frequency verify and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to scent" and the author’s word choice: stench page number 17 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Sheltered,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Sheltered Beyond the hill the shed sits drab. Tilted to sun- up, the rough roof wears worn sandpaper. No garnet. This less-gem was once gun-struck. Saw gardens in full green dotted with daisies, tomato orange and wilted peppers and smelled dead dog under the dirt lump. Basked in February’s apricity that baked and cooled old wood until bowed, swollen, eased again, then splintered. Youth climbed out of the lea’s womb onto the eyes of it; seated upon great panes. Masts, swells and monsters floated the grassier seas of spring. The mission was no permission and true dare: jumped and hid the spoiled apples of kneecaps scraped by scraps in escape from the family’s branch. K Weber long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: apricity womb permission and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to cold" and the author’s word choice: cooled page number 16 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Tapestry of the Living,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Tapestry of the Living I will no longer weave my days on the loom of loss. No more warps of memory, no more wefts of sorrow. Gossamer threads— delicate to the eye, heavy as lead to the heart— I set them down. No one can verify love by circling dates in ink. Grief is not proof of devotion; living is not betrayal. I honor the gone by laying aside muted threads, and weaving now with brighter hues: my child’s hums, her songs like sunlight, her laughter the bright strand that carries my shuttle forward. Line by line. Color by color. The rhythm is life. The cadence is breath. Let there be no kerfuffle over how I remember. Trust that I do. If I must walk back through the shadow, I will ask. Until then— I choose the vibrant strands, the living threads, the tapestry still on the loom. Misty H long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: gossamer verify kerfuffle and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to music" and the author’s word choice: rhythm page number 15 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Shadowcast,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Shadowcast Siphon the heat of the day Into the palm of your hand Close your fingers around the warmth Press it to my skin To ward off the desert dip down The glow once stayed through the night But now fades before dawn returns And I shiver in the gray, gleaning The sun rises across the foothills Casts symphonic shadows Across the plaster that holds the walls intact Hollow inside, termites eating through the studs A sluggish harbinger of destruction It is not us entangled Just the outline of empty bedsheets Miniature dunes of dust along the baseboards Melissa Flores Anderson long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: siphon symphonic harbinger and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to light" and the author’s word choice: dawn page number 14 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Absorption,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Absorption We thought we were pretty special here, til the Earth was swallowed by a giant floating space amoeba. It loomed, translucent and pearlescent, pink and amorphous in the sky above. The tides lurched drunkenly from coast to coast; simultaneously an eerie wind raged. We all felt a pressure change deep in our chests, and a sick certainty deep in our souls. It extended itself and engulfed us, and all the fifth graders told us this was called phagocytosis. There had been no omen or harbinger of this calamity. Everyone was preoccupied with matters terrestrial, except for one scientist in Peru who had been trying to raise the alarm for 15 years, but no one listened to her then, and no one listened now. The president was sure mad about it. The alien that had conquered our world was some enormous single-celled, brainless organism. It could not be bargained with or threatened. It wanted no money, glory, weapons, or power. It swallowed us whole and kept moving through the galaxy. Instant planetary defeat, very hard on the morale. The good news is that it also devoured our sun, moon, and the rest of our solar system. And relative to us, everything is pretty much where it had been before. The air now has a kind of a murky rosy glow, like a permanent sunset, which has devalued the poetry of sunsets, but it could be worse. If we’re being digested, it will probably take a very long time. So we still have to go to work. We still have to figure out what’s for dinner and pay for things with money. We still have to see political ads and ingest microplastics and watch our carbs. Of course, some people have made a cult of it. Be one with Mother Amoeba, they tell us. Like we have any fucking choice. …
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. untitled poem is in the center of the page with text as follows: She's heartsick And doesn't know why. In her womb She bears The harbinger Of future doom. Julie Luepke long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: heartsick womb harbinger and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. page number 12 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Buoyant / Flamboyant,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Buoyant / Flamboyant after Maud Lavin's Mermaids and Lazy Activists: A Lake Michigan Tale This morning, the storm passed, and a rainbow stretched over Lake Michigan like Chicago's somehow-gayer aurora borealis, scarlet and violet temporarily covering mucus-colored algae. Daylight was gossamer under the veil of apricity / at any moment we might freeze every inhibition like the rocks we skipped, dipping in time until some wayward mermaid shimmies to the surface, grins at a technicolor sky never seen before, and decides to write in tender splashes a resignation to the indigo that's buried her. Preston Danvers long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: daylight gossamer apricity and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to a hobby" and the author’s word choice: write page number 11 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a microfiction piece, “Forever the regent of my heart,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Forever the regent of my heart There is a kerfuffle in the garden, the hummingbird chirps inside the Monarda. There is something digging in the soil, the back of a hoe hitting rocks and clay, digging further than needed, searching for something no longer there. To make purpose of this daylight, unseen for 23 years. A shift, pale blue, tiny red roses, drags across soil. She hums, content in movement, at times standing still, hand on hip, taking in, taking in, my little plot of land. Dad would never believe of course, but maybe he'd forgotten when I first put the Monarda in the soil, the way I felt her in the roots, in the stalk, and stem. How the red beat in my hands, beat in the air. Of course, that was last year. But who are we to say when our ghosts will visit? In the movies, it happens in a blink. They come when needed, when missed, sometimes, they come when they come. But Maggie comes as she can, mostly when I'm asleep, or the house still, because she's only checking in, the visits, peace above the stillness, if you know, you know, Tiffany Sciacca long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: regent kerfuffle daylight and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to sound" and the author’s word choice: chirps page number 10 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Birthday Wish,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Birthday Wish Orange gossamer curtains adorn the window. Another day unfolds like a love note. The man biking by precariously asks the time. The girl walks her gray pitbull as he sniffs the ground. My boyfriend ambles to the gas station next door. Permission to break down, on the brink of revolution? God wanted me to form a diamond from dust. I cut strawberries for my daughter’s snack. My baby sleeps the morning away, her tiny body Curled like a lima bean in the corner of her crib. There is no regent for today, happening to me In this most specific manner: a yawn from Trinity, A sip of water, a ghost, an exchange about the mundane. I want to be human again, and again. I want this searing pain if there’s that melody playing. I dreamt I died in an abduction, then a break-in, then a fall. I wish on a candle as if it’s my birthday: I’m not dead. I can evolve, erupt, enjoy. I can kiss my karma. The scent of lemon brings me back to here and now. If nothing else, remember me for my good heart. Sarah O’Brien long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: gossamer permission regent and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a shape" and the author’s word choices: unfolds, form, diamond & curled page number 9 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “Simultaneous Fields,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: Simultaneous Fields for Sadie It’s good to be with you, listening to the simultaneous fields— the warbler-filled meadow that yields alder saplings and milkweed glistening on May mornings, and the back forty of the old prison now dotted with nest boxes where swallows invest flies and winged ants from sortie after sortie. And between them the road with lines for the kestrel to perch like a regent, surveying the birch thicket the wind maybe sowed the year I was born. What does this age mean in your eleventh year, I wonder, which has yielded fear for my part—Thomas’s rage notwithstanding—since my own dad flew the world: time, grief-filigreed, dreaded siphon. But today I read in purple ink on your yellow legal pad: scarlet, indigo, black-throated blue, the colors that start and end our days, and the sorrow subsides. It will always be good to be with you. Michael Metivier long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: simultaneous regent siphon and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word that is the opposite of one of the words suppliedl” and the author’s word choice: filled page number 8 is in black text at bottom center of page
square image with black background and black border. a digital book page is at the center. the page is white with black text. the title of a poem, “slipper,” is at the top left of the page. poem text is as follows: slipper before daylight, i cleaned the humidifier + admired my nails stretching my palms beneath city tide a single shoe tumbles across the beach to uproarious applause a singular moment in time + laces i explained + explained (in my prolix way) until it was determined i had done nothing that could be proved i find her hand, we leave the scene and she skips, both of us thinking wistfully of the shoe Sara Matson long rectangular box, longer horizontally, is at the bottom of the page. has a black border and white background. black text reads the donated words author used: daylight tide prolix and then a blue underlined jump link to the donated words list. then the name of the challenge “include a word related to travel” and the author’s word choice: beach page number 7 is in black text at bottom center of page
white square image. a page of a digital book appears at the center. the book page has a close-up of the cover art in the background. the attention is mostly on the yellow shading but there is orange shading in a small sliver to the right vertically (but not straight) down the page. “& daylight” heading text is at the top left of the page in bold white font black text reads discusses more about how the project (alt text won’t fit - msg me if you need help!) a white box with a black border and two columns contains the following black text: APRICITY - Marie Marchard DAYLIGHT - Oswald Perez FREQUENCY - Julia Beach GOSSAMER - Linda Crate HARBINGER - Madeleine Corley HEARTSICK - K Weber KERFUFFLE - Elizabeth Fletcher MIRACLE - Karen Steiger PERMISSION - Melinda Farrar PROLIX - Meesh Montoya REGENT - m klein SIMULTANEOUS - Norb Aikin SIPHON - Genevieve DeGuzman SYMPHONIC - Patrick Dorsey TIDE - Kris Lindbeck VERIFY - Kim Mannix WOMB - Kashiana Singh The following appears in black text outside of the box at the end of the page: I am really excited for all to read these poems... for the authors to see who contributed the words they were assigned... and for the word donors to see how their words inspired the authors! The page number six appears in black text at the bottom center
black square image with black border has page from a digital book at center. book page is white with black text. poem title “Tenfold” is at top left. page number 5 appears at bottom center. all remaining contents of book page are in two columns, separated by a vertical center line. text reads as follows: Tenfold What's unfair is that a bulwark has been built and built too high: no climb to sit within stillness on top, between two wars. This bricolage of aged brick and outdated mistakes has crafted a too-steady divide. Tintinnabulation tolls in the form of tsk, tsk from the cool, hounding mouths of onlooking hordes on both sides. To be in the middle rouses unexpected fury. An inchoate stirring of sound rises in crescendo, sings a swarm like cicada. There is stark, night-dark penury inside the illicit pockets of apathy. A cacophony of cattywampus disagreement and the buzzsaw droning of insects become an agglomerate. Fight- to-fight defies real, oneiric forecasting of beautiful futures. Shouting schadenfreude seems appropriate while the sanguine purr of a kitten irks nerves. Sense goes missing like the ease of katabasis; could have shaken hands and called it a day. What's fair is that there is sometimes a sunrise or sunset the color of the belly of an oriole. Maybe it's lurking inquisitively in a mist of mysticism fraught with the weight of an under- lying schism. But it might be in a painting of beach swells waving their Atlantic greetings from Narragansett. It could be from a comic book blaring a good evening outlined with winking of the moon's horizon over gold-shocked iris- star- bursting "POW!" while the retina sleeps. The possibilities are wide as eyes peering from any angle of the aquarium glass. K Weber Morgan Marion Carey - bulwark Evelyn Anne Clausen - stillness Julie Luepke - bricolage Centa Therese - tintinnabulation Meesh Montoya - inchoate Keti Shea - cicada Alan Parry - night Anthony Robinson - penury Christian Garduno - …
white square image with page from digital book in center. book page background is a close-up of the front cover art but with gradients of orange being the focus. “tenfold orioles” is in bold black text near the top left corner. a white text box with bkack border takes up much of the page. it has black text that reads: “I am so pleased that this collection begins with what I consider an ‘original’ or ‘traditional’ donated words poem! This is where the collaborations I dreamed up in 2018 began. I remember reaching out to various people and asking if they would like to send me a word to use in a poem! So many people responded with enthusiasm and an array of words like no other. Donated words poems have been and continue to be such a fun challenge for me. I like that it encourages others to be a part of something a little different but still very much in collaboration with a larger group of people. It connects me to other writers, friends, and family in such a cool and memorable way! I also reconnect with people through the years when they donate a word again. There are quite a few people who have appeared in numerous poems over time and some have even been in nearly every donated words collection! With ‘Tenfold’ I was really lucky to revisit the experience that came from those first donated words poems. The 22 word contributors who participated in this poem were all donating a word for the first time! These words really covered a lot of territory! It is always an adventure finding a place for each word and crafting a poem that still stands on its own despite inserting words that I did not select. What a gift this experience has been no matter how many times I have written a donated words poem! Although this collection mostly focuses on having other writers create using donated words, a project will never feel complete without the type of collaborative poem that started it all! It is incredible to see how far these poems and collections have come.”
square image with black background. image of a white digital book page (page 2 of DAYLIGHT & TENFOLD ORIOLES) in center. this is the first of 2 pages in the WELCOME section. there are 2 columns of text. please contact me if you need the text. will not fit in this alt text. my apologies.
black square image with black border. at center there is an image of a white page from a digital book. it is the Table of Contents page. It is Page 1 as denoted by a 1 in black font at bottom center. some text such as author names, page numbers and additional info is in black font. but much of the headings for pages and sections and poem titles in the book are blue with an underline. these are links to jump to the corresponding pages/sections. text of the TOC is as follows: TABLE OF CONTENTS WELCOME 2 IN MEMORIAM 2 tenfold orioles about the "traditional" donated words poem, "Tenfold" 4 Tenfold - K Weber 5 & daylight about the 17 works created by 17 people using words donated by 17 people 6 slipper - Sara Matson 7 Simultaneous Fields - Michael Metivier 8 Birthday Wish - Sarah O'Brien 9 Forever the regent of my heart - Tiffany Sciacca 10 Buoyant / Flamboyant - Preston Danvers 11 "She's heartsick..." - Julie Luepke 12 Absorption - Karen Steiger 13 Shadowcast - Melissa Flores Anderson 14 Tapestry of the Living - Misty H 15 Sheltered - K Weber 16 Cnut - Scott Nickell 17 Entering the Haunted Manor of My Chronically Ill Body - Steph Patterson Keep the Change - Kiley Lee 20 Song of the Seasons - Millie H 21 “A heartsick plea..." - Oswald Perez 22 desired outcome - Will Davis 23 Twinkling - Marie Marchand 24 AUTHOR BIOS 25 THANK YOU 28 MORE DONATED WORDS PROJECT INFORMATION 29 COLLECTIONS 29 PRESENTATION 29 PRAISE FOR DONATED WORDS POEM PROJECTS 30 CONTACT DETAILS 30 SPECIAL NOTES/PROBABLY TMI 31
white square image. in center there is an image of the cover of a forthcoming digital book. the cover background has different shades of yellows and oranges. the four colors are somewhat haphazardly broken into four sections. at top left is a bright yellow color. at top right is a medium yellow-orange color. a similar color is at bottom left. & a brighter orange color at bottom right. title is “daylight & tenfold orioles” but daylight is in white font at bottom right of the top left color block. the rest of the title is in black font at top left of the bottom right color block. at the bottom center of the cover is a white text box with a black border. it reads “a donated words collaboration (& more!)” in black font.
Black square image with a rectangle video in the middle. Video is of a spreadsheet, but it is blurred. Video is scrolling through a spreadsheet to show just how much data has been added through the years.
white square image. in center there is an image of the cover of a forthcoming digital book. the cover background has different shades of yellows and oranges. the four colors are somewhat haphazardly broken into four sections. at top left is a bright yellow color. at top right is a medium yellow-orange color. a similar color is at bottom left. & a brighter orange color at bottom right. title is “daylight & tenfold orioles” but daylight is in white font at bottom right of the top left color block. the rest of the title is in black font at top left of the bottom right color block. at the bottom center of the cover is a white text box with a black border. it reads “a donated words collaboration (& more!)” in black font.
square image with black background. white, centered digital book cover image is has a black and white photo collage that looks like overlapping geometric shapes filled in with a hint of thin lines that are not straight. this image has a slight black border. after some white spade, the title is centered & in bold black lowercase: so composed (a concerted effort) there is some white space below the title
square image with light yellow background and pale pink firework designs. centered, bold text reads as follows: an update that our collab writing project in-progress is still going strong! deadline for our authors is fast-approaching (sunday, august 17)! poems already received are stellar and demonstrate a wide array of writing styles! this has been a really fun twist on the “traditional” donated words collabs i have hosted in the past. all pieces incorporate at least 3 words from a pool of 17 donated words & a “challenge” word. looking forward to seeing what everyone creates! i am tremendously appreciative of the time and care each writer has taken in crafting a poem for this collection.
white square image. left-justified, black text reads: started working a bit on the layout for the next collaborative collection today. no cover art yet, no title. in the next month, all of the pieces & poems will come together. that’s where all the excitement begins! the work i have received so far just makes my heart really happy. new participants & long-time contributors will comprise this compilation. welcome & welcome back! 7 years of donated words poetry, collaboration, 7 free online books involving others (soon… 8!)… i haven’t done a new count yet but since 2018 there have been maybe over 400 ppl now who have joined in on these poems! probably over 1000 words (and more) sent to be used in poems? i might try to do a recount/update in the coming weeks. anyway… whether it has been 1 collaborator or 1000 i am just so happy to do these projects through the years with all of you!💕
image has white background with black text that reads: just an update on the collaborative project in-progress. multiple people are writing original pieces for this one! a few months ago, i received 17 donated words. each writer in this project was given 3 of these words to incorporate into their work. they were also given a unique additional challenge that involved adding a word related to a theme (e.g. use a word related to flight, use a word related to food…). a few poems have rolled in (and damn are they good!) and the deadline is currently set at august 15th. i just started the final draft of my own poem today for this collection. the title of this collection is currently being wrestled with as i have ideas swirling, two possibly just-right titles set, but doing my usual “i’ll sit on this awhile until i know it’s right.” months ago i announced a really wordy title that just doesn’t mesh anymore. i am so grateful to have a lot of people willing to partake in this adventure! as always, this will be free & online when it comes together!
square image background has motion-blurred close-up of multi-colored knitted piece. white text box is centered and contains the following text in black (with a rust-colored arrow pointing right after the text indicating that another image follows): i gotta say… this new donated words project is starting out with all the big feelings. i was humbled to have people willing to take on the challenge of writing poems… but as poems start to be written… whew! looking forward to seeing how everyone takes on these somewhat random words and challenges & makes them their very own! i am really lucky to see these poems before the collection is put together! just some behind-the-scenes info: the participating writers have until august 15th to submit their pieces. i want to make sure everyone included has enough time to be a part of this and not feel rushed. and everyone’s process & timeline is so unique.
square image has art deco thin rectangles and angles design in gradients of green. yellow text in bold, all-caps reads THANK YOU!!! in center.
square image with cream background and black text (left-justified) that reads: who wants to write poems using words i recently sourced from a variety of people? i received 17 words. i am thinking of giving people 3-5 words to use in their written work & maybe an additional challenge to add with their words. i plan to write a poem for every grouping/challenge i come up with. hand-drawn red arrow after text in lower right corner pointing right indicates there is an image following this one.
white square image has black text that reads: on april 22, 2018, i took part in a poem-a-day writing prompt challenge. for fun, i asked a few friends on instagram to contribute a word to the poem i would write. i was so excited with the outcome and the participation aspect! from here, i started collaborating with more people (350+ and counting!) who donated words (i’ve lost count… heaps of hundreds… possibly approaching 1000?!) & more! together we have crafted poems that have turned into 7 free, online collections (some with audio)! our poems have taken on various forms (literally & poetically), experimented with “exquisite corpse”-style poetry, allowed others to take the reigns and choose certain elements to add further, unique perspectives to the poems & so much more! we’ve had a really good run with lots of projects in the mix the last 7 YEARS!!! i plan to get something new started this year. i love to get new people involved as well as people who have contributed a word (or more!) in the past. stay tuned! http://kweberandherwords.com is where you will find our collaborative writing projects for free, online! attached is the poem that started it all… written on this day 7 years ago. (a red arrow drawn on lower right of page indicates this text continues in next image)
image of a page from an online book of poetry. white background, black text. title is bold. text is left-justified from top of page. author’s name is italicized. several words are italicized for emphasis. text reads as follows: Ground Wells I was overjoyed to see, rebel reds turn tawny and fall — Revolution: To dying spirits still living in green fields fair forever Hardly. Ever. Young eyes tell who’s in the corner: baby, baby. Heart hammers bringing rage as heavy footfall — ringing in ears and collapsing chest caverns have me signing my life away Every breath should have Purpose. Should Have Need. - Kiley Lee
image of a page from an online book of poetry. black background, bright green text. title is all uppercase black text, bold & highlighted bright green. donated words are in bold font. text is left-justified & reads as follows: GRASP The daze of acedia arrives, long-lingering and body-draggled. Want for a blissful sleep won’t come. We start the day anyway, earlier, weave fingers through grass and dirt like scouring the attic for a dead relative’s bric-a-brac. We stuff our faces with fireweed to put out the budding blaze of a purplish, dragon hunger. Before we foraged for each other, haustorium poked in vicious strokes seeking to suck the life away, corybantic and eager. The good earth intumesces with the hiss of fumaroles, emits omission whether we are together or pushing apart, immiscible. A composer puts water into the glass. Sound becomes visible with a finger’s print. Touch reverberates the rim. Here’s to soaking our over-grinned bones.
white square image with mauve, left-justified text reads “from the cloudless mouth of our words.” font is all lowercase, typewriter font, and each word is on a new line. each word is highlighted in light grey except for “cloudless” which is highlighted in neon yellow.
image of a page from an online book of poetry. grape purple background, mauve text. title is underlined. text is left-justified from top of page. donated words are bold. text reads as follows: Matters of the Heart of the Matter It often begins easy and airy: a billet-doux with hearts and handwriting fluttering right off the stationery when read. Newness bursts open, exciting, like bougainvillea blooms delighting with raspberry braggadocio. They have the buoyancy of feathers, lilt, sway, blink away, purple. All conceptions so pink. Then the looking-past as all gives way; blister to wilting, while hoping to grow.
image of a page from an online book of poetry. white background, black text. all lowercase letters. title is all uppercase & bold. text is left-justified & reads as follows: INVERSE THEORY I am at the fault line. No fault of mine can hide. Trembling, I am not ready, but there is no cult of my body; no temple entrance. What gongs inside this mountain? It beats itself unsacred inside a sealed cave. And what of the wingbeat in you chorusing in me? What is it about journeying together seeming good on paper but not in real life? Is it that life lifts the proportionality sign off love's equation only to burden lovers with pestering constraints? Or can there be equality of power between us in the subtle dance that divides love and loathing?