John Guzlowski
@jzguzlowski.bsky.social
380 followers 450 following 400 posts
Writer. Poetry. Novels. Newspaper columns for oldest Polish newspaper in America!
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
What Makes Me Happy

my family, my writing, my breathing, the trees in my back yard, the way the deer wander through them slowly, cereal in the morning, wine in the evening, a back porch that is screened in, a granddaughter who loves to practice her ballet everywhere.
Reposted by John Guzlowski
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
Great News

The online travel journal CULTURA just published a piece I wrote about a heart attack I experienced on a transatlantic cruise.

Check it out and please leave a comment.

And don't forget to check out the journal. Great stuff there

cultura.me.uk/2025/10/06/b...
Bad Day at Sea. On Cruising and Heart Trouble
Fifteen years ago this summer, I had a heart attack on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic, on the way to England. My wife Linda and I were on board the Independence of the Seas, doing what…
cultura.me.uk
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
My heart seems fine. After 12 my cardiologist said I didn’t need to see him any more. But I’ve got walking problems, balance problems, bones disintegrating, arthritis. I’m even going blind in one eye! But I can still write.
Reposted by John Guzlowski
dailyscreenplays.bsky.social
Today’s Screenplay Festival Deadline (Oct. 6th): WESTERN Screenplay Contest

storypitches.com/western-scre...

The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute asfilms which are “set in the American West that [embody] the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier.”
WESTERN Screenplay Festival – Deadline October 6th
The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute asfilms which are “set in the American West that [embody] the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier.&#822…
storypitches.com
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
Great News

The online travel journal CULTURA just published a piece I wrote about a heart attack I experienced on a transatlantic cruise.

Check it out and please leave a comment.

And don't forget to check out the journal. Great stuff there

cultura.me.uk/2025/10/06/b...
Bad Day at Sea. On Cruising and Heart Trouble
Fifteen years ago this summer, I had a heart attack on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic, on the way to England. My wife Linda and I were on board the Independence of the Seas, doing what…
cultura.me.uk
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
the dog was sniffing
through the woods,
trotting, his tongue
just hanging,

he knew he was
getting close to something
and he was happy.

then suddenly
he didn't know anything,
his heart just stopped
and he dropped like a stone
on the leaves.
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
Poetry sits at the table
drinking coffee

she wonders
why it's so quiet here

she remembers all the coffee
she ever drank

and stirs the star of words
into the cup
Reposted by John Guzlowski
jfallows.bsky.social
If and when normal "rule of law" returns, any federal employee who follows this MAGA instruction would be vulnerable to prosecution under the Hatch Act.

("If and when" doing a lot of work here.)

www.wired.com/story/govern...
Federal Workers Are Being Told to Blame Democrats for the Shutdown
Workers at one agency were given unhinged, partisan language to use when setting out-of-office replies.
www.wired.com
Reposted by John Guzlowski
jasonsanford.bsky.social
Beautiful, insightful words from the amazing author Zig Zag Claybourne: Yes, evil people have hijacked much of the world, but it's good people who keep it livable. Good people are saying let me kiss your forehead, let me feed you, what do you need, how can I help? 1/
zzclaybourne.com/write-on-rig...
This Is Not A Writing Entry, So I’ll Keep It Brief — ZZ Claybourne
Sometimes I feel a deep need to apologize without knowing specifically to whom or for what. That vagueness is probably a good thing. Keeps me honestly reflective and aware enough to know wishing I cou...
zzclaybourne.com
Reposted by John Guzlowski
fobhaiku.bsky.social
Originally wrote this haiku for Tom Ricks' "Best Defense" blog at @foreignpolicy.com. Seems appropriate to re-post today.

Background story & all 7 haiku:
www.fobhaiku.com/2018/07/from...

Also printed in "Twelve O'Clock Haiku: Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems":
amzn.to/3ShSDCr
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
I tear up old poems.
Stick them to the wall.
Listen to their groans.
Wait for the silence
to come like night.

Then I paint over them.
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
Fuck Foreign Films!

Trump Doubles Down on 100% Tariff for Movies Made Outside the US

The next tariff will be on foreign books.

This kind of stuff just makes us stupider.

Imagine a world where you can’t see a movie by Fellini or read a book by Charles Dickens.
a woman in a black dress is kneeling in front of a waterfall in a black and white photo .
ALT: a woman in a black dress is kneeling in front of a waterfall in a black and white photo .
media.tenor.com
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
Every morning is a poem waiting to be read.
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
On the last day of life on earth, a little boy asked his mother for a drink of water, and she smiled and kissed him on the forehead.

——-

And 23 other things happened on the last day.

Here's a link to my story "The Last Day of Life on Earth"

atticusreview.org/the-last-day...
The Last Day of Life on Earth - Atticus Review
On the last day of life on earth, a little boy asked his mother for a drink of water, and she smiled and kissed him on the forehead. In Chicago a bartender walked outside and stared at the sun for a m...
atticusreview.org
Reposted by John Guzlowski
oyoguhito.bsky.social
for that one moment
my thought of you returned
to where you left it

oyoguhito
#haiku
haikueye.blogspot.com
haiku eye
as eyes seize it
haikueye.blogspot.com
Reposted by John Guzlowski
Reposted by John Guzlowski
suehardy-dawson.bsky.social
Today's #NationalPoetryDay poem, what could be more playful than a shape poem. This one from my 1st collection Where Zebras Go Otter-Barry Books @domconlon.bsky.social @piecorbett.bsky.social @brianbilston.bsky.social @brianmosespoet.bsky.social
Reposted by John Guzlowski
oyoguhito.bsky.social
and still they flower on
Reposted by John Guzlowski
oyoguhito.bsky.social
the church is locked
there is no room at the inn
get out go away

oyoguhito
#haiku
haikueye.blogspot.com
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
the dead breathing

you can hear it
in the night
when your body
gathers into sleep
& your breath
becomes all
that’s left
of you

listen
Reposted by John Guzlowski
jzguzlowski.bsky.social
Sept. 25, 2020

the first cold morning

the last tomato pulled rotting
from the vine

the first grey, rainfilled sky
sunless as February
lonely as April
Reposted by John Guzlowski
hinduwisdom.bsky.social
Truth is one, the wise call it by many names.

Rig Veda