Merril D. Smith
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merrildsmith.bsky.social
Merril D. Smith
@merrildsmith.bsky.social
1.1K followers 780 following 3.3K posts
Poet, Historian, Lover of river walks and the sea. Cat Lady. Poetry Collection: River Ghosts (Nightingale & Sparrow Press) New Poetry Collection: Held Inside the Folds of Time (Jane's Studio Press).
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merrildsmith.bsky.social
Merril D. Smith @merrildsmith.bsky.social · 18d
Good morning! A poem for #PoemsAbout #LockedDoors. This is a revision of an old poem. Thank you, as always to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk for these weekly prompts!
Poem Threshold The massive door has always been locked until now it stands slightly open like parted lips whispering yes. You imagine a turquoise sky, peach sorbet clouds— the opposite of this grey-shrouded world. You touch the weathered wood dotted with knotted eyes, wonder how far eternity is-- how wide? How deep? But there is the latch, undone, there is the handle, so, you inhale, exhale, and pull-- a sea-salt breath brushes your skin as you step over the sill. No more doors. No more locks. This is where your life begins.
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
blackboughpoetry.bsky.social
Last year’s Christmas - Winter anthology featuring Matthew Hollis, a dazzling array of poetic talent, and artwork by Emma Bissonnet.

❄️ 🧊 🐻‍❄️ 🌟 🌊

www.blackboughpoetry.com/christmas-wi...
November 24, 2025 at 4:07 AM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
Sunflower Tanka Updates tankatuesday.com/2025/11/24/s...
Sunflower Tanka Updates
Hello, beautiful poets! Robbie and I want to update you on the status of the 2025 Sunflower Tanka Anthology. It’s been a crazy summer and autumn for me. Between my husband’s surgeries a…
tankatuesday.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:30 PM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
It's Monday, and I'm musing! This is my weekly post of #Poetry, #Photos, and commentary about the past week.

merrildsmith.org/2025/11/24/o...
On the Mountaintop, Sliding Towards Dawn
Monday Morning Musings: On the Mountaintop, Sliding toward Dawn Heroes appear in every generationordinary people with stinky feet,and morning mouth, imperfect beingswho smoke, drink, are unfaithful…
merrildsmith.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:37 PM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
Different Kinds of Art - Chocolate and Sweet Creations latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/_...
Different Kinds of Art – Chocolate and Sweet Creations
Hi everyone, it’s Robbie Cheadle here with you and this segment of art posts covers all sorts of different mediums of art, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. If you have art to share, pl…
latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
November Book Reviews, and Portland's Warzone mythsofthemirror.com/2025/11/24/n...
November Book Reviews, and Portland’s Warzone
Before I dive into book reviews, I bring you a glimpse of Portland, Oregon’s “warzone” and the “violent carnage” outside the ICE facility. This is typical Portland. I …
mythsofthemirror.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:18 PM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
Roberta Writes - Reblog: “The Soldier and the Radium Girl Part 1: The Bloom of Youth, Chapter 1: Enlist in haste, repent at leisure (cont. 6)” by Roberta Eaton Cheadle roberta-writes.com/2025/11/23/r...
Roberta Writes – Reblog: “The Soldier and the Radium Girl Part 1: The Bloom of Youth, Chapter 1: Enlist in haste, repent at leisure (cont. 6)” by Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Jake Tanner 25 September 1917 The previous day, Jake’s platoon had boarded a train heading for an unknown US port. The first men of his battalion to be leaving for “somewhere over there.” Many were…
roberta-writes.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
thebrokenspine.co.uk
Last week was fire. This week? Ashes. #PoemsAbout #NoFuture starts Friday. Write ruin, hopelessness, rage. The end of days or just Tuesday. Don’t post early—fade into the feed. Tag #PoemsAbout. Use Alt Text. Sign up for Saturday prompts: shorturl.at/0Xm7A
A burning treeline glows against a pitch-black night sky, flames and smoke rising in the background. Leafless trees stand silhouetted in front of the blaze. Top left: The Broken Spine logo. Top right: "@thebrokenspine.co.uk". Bottom right text: "Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #NOFUTURE".
November 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
rteller.bsky.social
Two things I learned
growing up next to
a military base
friends can come
from anywhere and
#dogtags are all
the same color

#PoemsAbout
@thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
November 22, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
stacebot.bsky.social
This week's #PoemsAbout #DogTags got me thinking about what should the world know about you in an emergency?

Thank you to the host
@alanparrywriter.co.uk and
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
and to all of the other writers.

#poetry #poem #writing #PoetryCommunity #BlueSkyPoets
Dog Tag On hold with the repair shop I draw concentric circles on a lavender piece of junk mail. I write my own name so many times it starts to feel vulgar— unspeakable. There’s a flyer telling me to be all I can be-- dog tags dangling. The small weight of a name you can’t put down. To pass the time, I make a list of the three things the world would need to know to save me. But nothing comes. Only my own breathing down the dumb phone and the blank page waiting.
November 22, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
janes-studio.bsky.social
Poetry - art - creativity - creative process & inspiration... I loved this post by Resa McConaghy @resalis.bsky.social
November 23, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
rotherwrites.bsky.social
Not able to find your fellow poets' posts? Here is one way to set up tabs to follow favourite hashtags and poetry communities:

1/ swipe right until you have the 'Following' tab on the left at the top.
November 23, 2025 at 1:02 PM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
From @dalectables.bsky.social
When November Bares Herself adelectablelife.com/2025/11/22/w...
When November Bares Herself
On November 10th, Kim  hosted the prosery challenge on dVerse.  We were to use part of Robert Frost’s poem November Guest.  With prosery, we must use the lines of poetry provided exactly, in …
adelectablelife.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
robbiecheadle.bsky.social
artgowns.com/2025/11/22/h... @merrildsmith.bsky.social @resalis.bsky.social
Held Inside the Folds of Time
by: Merril D. Smith This book of poetry is luscious, rich with words and resplendent with photographs. It inspired me to draw. Sister Songs This was the first poem that I remembered when I fin…
artgowns.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
paulwritespoems.bsky.social
Tickets are now live 🫣
paulwritespoems.bsky.social Paul @paulwritespoems.bsky.social · 4d
Back for Session 2 in January.

Who’s in?

Tickets 🎟️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-book-b...
November 21, 2025 at 7:29 PM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
Where do we get our inspiration? This beautiful post of #art by @resalis.bsky.social inspired by my new #poetry collection, Held Inside the Folds of Time. Thank you so much, Resa!
@janecornwell.bsky.social

artgowns.com/2025/11/22/h...
Held Inside the Folds of Time
by: Merril D. Smith This book of poetry is luscious, rich with words and resplendent with photographs. It inspired me to draw. Sister Songs This was the first poem that I remembered when I fin…
artgowns.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social
For #poemsabout #Dogtags @alanparrywriter.co.uk @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social
Dogtags Since the autocracy got in promising more freedom, less immigrants, reduce crime figures we wear Electronic Dogtags. Those who refused were deported. Natives, close friends, the sick and elderly. Surveillance tags used to buy goods and services prices tailored to your job, and where you live. Injected Just above your fifth vertebrae, so removal will break your spine. Links to ai in your phone and Appliances in the home, who decide when you eat, exercise, have sex, your social life. For your own safety, and those of others.
November 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
A #Poem from my collection with a reading.

merrildsmith.org/2023/01/19/l...
“Letter from My Mom” (with a reading)
I’m sharing this poem again, this time with a new audio reading and photo. I’m linking it to dVerse’s Open Link Night Live. This poem is included in my new poetry collection, Held…
merrildsmith.org
November 22, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
karenpgonzalez.bsky.social
I offer this for #poemsabout #dogtags @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk #StayCreative #PoetsSupportPoets
Ukrainian Dog Tags     No one wore them We all knew who they were Boys at play in vineyards And wheatfields Almost grown Into fine men Ploughed under On battlefields Watered with tears - Bloodied homeland Invasion Reaps only what it sows karen pierce gonzalez
November 21, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
bernp.bsky.social
Huge thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk for hosting #PoemsAbout #Dogtags
Facade Now in the years That fall like pine straw, my wife Counts the tags on my eyelids. Tiny barnacles of skin Collect around tear ducts Like teenagers at a slow party. I have always had outliers, But in the bell of age They are more prevalent. It may be true that some Newborn babies look Like wizened old men, However, it is not their own faces, They regard as hysterical © Bernard Pearson
November 21, 2025 at 9:19 AM
merrildsmith.bsky.social
Photography - Nature latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com/2025/11/21/p...
Photography – Nature
Hi everyone, it’s Robbie Cheadle here with you today with the first post in my new Photography section on LatinosUSA – English Edition. The Photography Section will comprise a weekly photography po…
latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
pvcannon.bsky.social
For #PoemsAbout #DogTags
with thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk
A poem that uses military dog tags as a metaphor for relationship battles.
November 21, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #FridayPoem. Still struggling with the #poemsabout prompt this week so instead here’s the fresh start of a snowy day in a #haikuset
#haiku #poetry #poems #poets #poetsofbluesky #poetrycommunity #alttext #HaikuAltText #PoemAltText
Whiteout a haiku set by Dawn Mclachlan In the silent night Snow came down like memories and cleansed the landscape Smoothed to sugar-white Harshness sweetened to the eye Winter confection From the far forest Rooks rise in conversation Punctuating sky Now the dead trees In the disguise of winter Cannot be discerned In the pink of dawn An unexplored day stretches As if newly born
November 21, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
rayhourigan.bsky.social
Mystery deepened,
Archaeological dig
Uncovered dog tags.
#PoemsAbout #DogTags #haiku #senryu #poem #writing #writingcommunity
@alanparrywriter.co.uk
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
sueimnw.bsky.social
For this week's #PoemsAbout #DogTags with thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk and everyone involved.
November 21, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Reposted by Merril D. Smith
drnaturegirl.debbiemross.co.uk
Good morning #BlueskyPoetry pals @thebrokenspine.co.uk & @alanparrywriter.co.uk facilitating today’s #PoemsAbout #DogTags this fag packet offering is for a friend’s husband, Dave who was killed in Afghanistan in 2012. He was military police not army but she wears his ID.Dogtag jewellery is a thing.
A short poem by Debbie Ross for hashtag poems about hashtag Dog Tags hosted by Broken Spine Arts and entitled Signaculum A signaculum was worn by Roman soldiers in a leather pouch suspended around the neck on their enrolment. This disc, made of lead, bore the name of the recruit and their assigned legion. The text of the 2 stanza poem follows: There was no mouth left to place your tag, the bits of you scattered across a foreign field. Barely any need for a 'body' bag. Your service and your sacrifice I wear around my neck - symbol, memorial, commitment to fight back.
November 21, 2025 at 7:22 AM