Gary C. Sterling
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garycsterling.bsky.social
Gary C. Sterling
@garycsterling.bsky.social
13 followers 5 following 460 posts
Writer / Poet

Lots more at https://sterlingbooks.org!
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garycsterling.bsky.social
My rosebush and me. I love my rosebush and it loves me back. When I work myself in to get to the inner branches, the outer branches hug me and the thorns don’t want to let me go.

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/my-rosebush/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 13, 2026 at 7:32 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Choices. In or out. Cats or people, the eternal dilemma of having to choose, or not to choose at all.

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/which-way/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 12, 2026 at 7:40 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Another Grimm Fairy Tale.
In the Sandbox
Another Grimm Fairy Tale.
sterlingbooks.org
January 11, 2026 at 9:40 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
The kitchen makes its own noises. I got the milk from the fridge, and assessed the shelves again. “Hmm...” Cheese, lunch meat, the makings of an incipient sandwich. Maybe later. I won’t go hungry.

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/sounds-from-the-kitchen/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 10, 2026 at 6:59 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Détente. Sometimes one must simply be firm to end disputes. I'm sure it has nothing to do with...

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/stop-it-right-now/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 9, 2026 at 8:12 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
when I sit too long
in the seat of the car
and look through the window
like a pickle in glass
jarred by the sour
ways of the world
take me out quick
before I go bad
and sour turns bitter
and I’m…

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/too-much-at-once/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 8, 2026 at 8:42 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Memories and food. I turn my mind around. Not to focus on the loss, but the joy, how lucky I was to have had such experiences.

And here I am with my memories. Dutch Indonesian…

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/wolfe-burgers-and-dutch-indonesian-pasadena/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 7, 2026 at 9:59 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Now we know. The strong, clear, rich, flexible voice that has been described as “mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced.” The great Kiri Te Kanawa sang Handel’s “Let the Bright Seraphim” and…

https://sterlingbooks.org/essay/who-is-this-kiwi/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 6, 2026 at 7:57 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
I’m just a high school English teacher, though,” I added modestly, “there was that time not so long ago when I was The Voice of God.”

“We want you to read “The Creation” by James Weldon Johnson.”

I…

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/the-voice-of-god/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 5, 2026 at 7:58 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Q & A.

Why should I believe you?

You shouldn’t.

Then why am I talking to you?

You’re not.

https://sterlingbooks.org/squib/overheard-2/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 4, 2026 at 6:32 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Some guns are mental, just like the finger gun we used to point at each other, sometimes just one finger, but two fingers made it look more gun, and we’d go “Bang!” and fall over on the floor and adults…

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/i-have-a-gun/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 3, 2026 at 8:46 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Setting the record straight. Cartoon “cute.” I don’t want to see my beloved characters presented that way. Chubby grins, and too much emphasis on hairy feet.

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/when-bakshi-killed-the-hobbit/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 2, 2026 at 9:19 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
A high school senior came up to me with overwhelming eagerness. “Mr. Sterling! Mr. Sterling! You gotta go downtown to Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks! There are people sleeping on the street!”

It…

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/homeless-in-pasadena/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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January 1, 2026 at 8:35 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Get it right. Strike while the iron is hot or douse it in cold water but don’t just sit there while the metal cools and hardens into the present.

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/strike-while-the-iron/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 31, 2025 at 6:52 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
We pretended to build a Wall in bits and pieces but that didn't work. We screen applicants and then throw our own citizens to the wolves. It's a border of the mind. All those borders!

https://sterlingbooks.org/essay/borders/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 30, 2025 at 6:54 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
I looked across the table at the girl
I thought I’d give a whirl
to see if we were both sympatic.

Yes.

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/in-common/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 29, 2025 at 7:33 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Covers all the basic bases and gives me what I choose,
SciFi on the tele
Radio has news
Food is in my belly
and the neighbor pays my dues

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/the-good-life/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 28, 2025 at 7:53 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
We can do it. We have everything we need to let nature flow and slake a thirsty world.

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/controlled-release/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Remembering a vacation in Tacoma when the whole family was engaged in writing during a long rain storm.

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/writers-colony/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 26, 2025 at 6:06 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
The old chants were Gregorian
Now we meet
them on the street
and wave at a Delorean

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/squibs-of-the-day/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 25, 2025 at 8:18 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
This time of year, there are colorful spots on everything! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, all!

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/house-measles/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 24, 2025 at 8:01 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Shirley and I loved the season as we loved each other. We joked, as our gift to each other, we could wrap ourselves, put a bow on, and snuggle as presents under the tree.

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/christmas-music-and-movies/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 23, 2025 at 8:21 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
While Pasadena has long been known for roses, Altadena's flower is if the Golden Poppy, the California state flower. Altadena, where golden poppies grow.

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/in-highlands-fields/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 22, 2025 at 8:56 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
Still kicking at 84. In December, Dylan announced dates of the 2026 edition of his “Rough and Rowdy Ways” tour with 27 U.S. concerts, commencing in Omaha, Nebraska, on March 21 and finishing in Abilene, Texas,…

https://sterlingbooks.org/poetry/bob-dylan/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 21, 2025 at 7:38 PM
garycsterling.bsky.social
We’d cut out the egg pouches, glue them into a coherent shape, then paint glue sprinkled with glitter. We were thrilled by their loveliness.

https://sterlingbooks.org/story/and-presents-under-the-tree/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
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December 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM