This year has been a doozy, huh? I wish I could tell us that we just have to make it through December, then 2026 will be rainbows. But I think we know better.
We’re in a large, collective process. And a brighter era doesn’t come with a flip of the calendar, but with small shifts we make day after day. The choosing. A day at a time, to step into what’s true, real, and life-affirming. Again and again.
Recently, it became clear to me (again :)) that while I don’t have the energy to publish my writing, I also don’t have the energy not to. Some things are not negotiable. Taking our medicine is one of them. Offering our medicine is another. And for me, poetry is both.
So here I am. Tired. (You too?) Still scratching a poem out in my journal each night. Choosing to share some of them with you. An offering I like to call poemedicine.
May the pieces keep you company on your journey. May they spark what needs sparked, soothe what needs soothed, fan embers that need fanned into a shining flame.
Thank you for being here,
Kai
Bedtime Under the noise— of airline jets, interstate traffic, and my buzzing brain are the slow sounds of life being alive— the evening rain filtering softly through trees, my breath finding its way home to my body, and the silent but real whisper of candle flame as I descend into prayer— for loved ones, our earth, and medicine dreams. It’s good to remember how darkness holds us. —Kai Madrone June 16, 2025
