Kyla Houbolt
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luaz.bsky.social
Kyla Houbolt
@luaz.bsky.social
3.5K followers 2.1K following 13K posts
I write poems and I garden. *Becoming Altar*, new and selected poems, available here: https://asterismbooks.com/product/becoming-altar-new-and-selected-poems
https://kylahoubolt.us/becoming-altar.html
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luaz.bsky.social
Comfort food.
Chili in a skillet. Slotted spoon propped at the edge.
February 2, 2026 at 4:39 PM
luaz.bsky.social
#Poem #Poetryhelps -- A Monday in the Year We Have
A Monday in the Year We Have It’s a normal morning in the world. First, the pink light on treetops. Next, the news of a new doom. Well, no, not a doom, just part of a doom. We could make jokes and say “This doom has legs but no head.” If we found it at all amusing.
February 2, 2026 at 2:09 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Winter aftermath
Icicle, bright sky, bare tree tops, some branches snow covered. Echinacea seedheads poking out of the snow.
February 1, 2026 at 5:46 PM
luaz.bsky.social
I also dislike daikon radish this much! (Image from this post: bsky.app/profile/agro... )
A small child in a zipped up parka, holding a just pulled daikon radish in one hand, the other hand gesturing with the index finger like a teacher making a point, eyes squinched shut, making a grimace of distaste , and tongue out. Ptui! I agree, kid!
February 1, 2026 at 11:07 AM
luaz.bsky.social
Snow #caturday
Gray cat in thick snow. Seems fascinated with it. Gray cat in thick snow peering out a partially open wooden gate, turning to look back over her shoulder.
January 31, 2026 at 9:41 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Lotsa snow, birds at feeder, not very visible....
January 31, 2026 at 9:28 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Snow poofs on the screen.
Snow clumps on screen, piled on wooden fence and plastic chair. Snow clumps and tiny seed pods.
January 31, 2026 at 4:50 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Brave explorer in the snow
Gray cat, thick white snow, footprint dots, snow covered pots.
January 31, 2026 at 4:47 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Comfort food
Round loaf of brown bread on a black wire cooling rack, on a wooden table.
January 30, 2026 at 2:16 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Comfort and ease
Fluffy gray and white cat zonked out on a blue couch.
January 30, 2026 at 11:26 AM
luaz.bsky.social
❤️‍🩹
Missing the Trick let me defend you said the mirror in the sea, then vanished. all of them singing so kindly, the gunslingers, slinging their guns in harmony. we know you can't live in a world so sweet without training so watch how I do this she sang and then vanished.
January 28, 2026 at 6:45 AM
luaz.bsky.social
DO NOT SHOOT THE SHERIFF It was a large boulder the size of a small boulder, no it was a pebble, it was a mountain of itself and in the road there became the size it needed to be, the large size but not the largest, only the size of a small boulder, in order to flummox the sheriff who kept thinking he saw a large, no wait, it was only a, no it was huge! no, no, it was the size it needed to be, for its own self-development, having been assigned some rocky self-esteem work by, well, nevermind that, the sheriff finally knew just what to say, and the road was blocked, a pebble doing the job of a small boulder pretending to be large but the SIZE of small, you see, and meanwhile, the Trooping Faeries managed to cross the road altogether, once again, safe, no one the wiser, not even the sheriff.
January 27, 2026 at 6:34 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Thawing
Thin sheet fragment of etched ice sitting on leaf litter in the sun.
January 27, 2026 at 6:18 PM
luaz.bsky.social
DO NOT SHOOT THE SHERIFF It was a large boulder the size of a small boulder, no it was a pebble, it was a mountain of itself and in the road there became the size it needed to be, the large size but not the largest, only the size of a small boulder, in order to flummox the sheriff who kept thinking he saw a large, no wait, it was only a, no it was huge! no, no, it was the size it needed to be, for its own self-development, having been assigned some rocky self-esteem work by, well, nevermind that, the sheriff finally knew just what to say, and the road was blocked, a pebble doing the job of a small boulder pretending to be large but the SIZE of small, you see, and meanwhile, the Trooping Faeries managed to cross the road altogether, once again, safe, no one the wiser, not even the sheriff.
January 27, 2026 at 3:00 PM
luaz.bsky.social
#Poetryhelps. This one seems appropriate for the moment.
Another Death Poem, originally published by @thebrokenspine.co.uk in *Surviving Death*, now collected in *Becoming Altar*.
Another Death Poem It's everywhere I look: leaf fall, roadkill, sleeping with swords. To sleep with swords means a dive beneath danger, lying still, camouflaged like a bug. Statued like a rabbit, let the threat move first. Time will tell what it tells; you can't count on that either. Hard ground's a fabric woven all through with lies that truth outlasts. It's trust that or go with the lies wholly? Navigate rust and decay. But who's who? Cling to the whole fabric, pick and discard. Impossible. Necessary. Not a trap. Choose just a few lies for seasoning. Bee stings. Birdsong. Foothold.
January 27, 2026 at 6:09 AM
luaz.bsky.social
Rosemary, snow, dried leaves.
Rosemary, snow, dried leaves.
January 26, 2026 at 4:57 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Monarda seedheads, rosemary spears, against a brick wall.
A spray of seedheads and a few rosemary spears in front of a brick wall.
January 26, 2026 at 4:55 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Became entranced by the sky.
Bare treetops in front of a blue sky with white clouds. Bare tree branches, white/pinkish clouds, blue sky.
January 26, 2026 at 1:24 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Went out to fill the birdfeeder,
Birdfeeder, nearly empty, with icicles hanging from its top. Wintry white ground and dark branches beyond.
January 26, 2026 at 1:24 PM
luaz.bsky.social
In the interests of the healing power of silliness (#Poetryhelps) here's probably the silliest poem in my book. Full text in alt.
The Devilry of Eggs Here come some eggs. Travel is always fraught for these fellows, their delicate wings having been shattered before they left the henhouse, and the hen, for that matter. These are just your ordinary eggs, too, not used to taking the train, and forget legging it. They roll, constantly course correcting for the built-in wobble. After all, they are just babies. We can't expect much from them, only fragility, and, inside, a gooey clear gel around that yellow blob. Eggs have no bling, no sting, can't sing. Poor things. They’ll never make it in this world.
January 25, 2026 at 10:43 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Out front, one of the three birdfeeders is pretty busy. We got enough snow mixed with the sleet that it looks pretty, for now.
Scene of a snowy yard, a birdfeeder and cage with suet cake are hung from a shepherd's hook. White and bare branches and a white covered street. Treetops with bare branches against a gray-white sky.
January 25, 2026 at 1:10 PM
luaz.bsky.social
Winter from my window.
Through a window just past dawn. The window has wide-slat blinds open but not raised. Out there is snow covered ground, some low tightly trimmed shrubs, and tree trunks toward the back. The window is right over my desk.
January 25, 2026 at 1:08 PM
luaz.bsky.social
#Poetryhelps -- Military Grade Heart
Military Grade Heart It’s useful to have. Like this: Withstand. Hold fast. Sway. Stay. And so I think. Therefore I tree, I upside-down, I rain, I call forth numbers, words. Highly going along. Sky. Ground.
January 25, 2026 at 7:08 AM
luaz.bsky.social
#Poetryhelps. If you are wanting some soul nourishment to support your travels during this rough and perilous time, may I offer my poetry. It helps! A signed copy of *Becoming Altar* for just the cover price, I pay shipping. Send DM if interested. And, stay groovy. 📚 🎶 💞
Book cover is blue with yellow type. Becoming Altar, New and Selected Poems by Kyla Houbolt. Daily Riffs in the limited realm of the candle there are few choices, and who makes them? burn, melt, drip, or don't. I woke just as it started to rain so listened to that for a little while. exactitude sits on the day like a thick heavy hat, one that's a size too large and keeps falling down to cover the eyes. oh season! how long are you going to be? the game board is getting dusty but does anyone care? no. let's go outside. it's raining or isn't. animals are waking up. a bird has something to say.
January 22, 2026 at 4:34 PM
luaz.bsky.social
#Poetry -- Hell is Freezing Over
Hell is Freezing Over It’s a dry hell. In snow, the shape of drifts and what they hide is a lovely and welcome thing but here? We have to see everything we bother to look at. Come on over here, long time sun, we been missing your heart.
January 21, 2026 at 8:44 AM