Mike Smetzer
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msmetzer.bsky.social
Mike Smetzer
@msmetzer.bsky.social
270 followers 220 following 100 posts
Photography. Mixed-media art. Poetry. Fiction. Personal essays.

No DMs from people I don't know.

http://mike-smetzer.pixels.com
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msmetzer.bsky.social
A wish for the winter solstice.
December 21, 2025 at 2:50 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
An early-fall photo of #downtown Knightville, #Maine. #Knightville was a village that became part of the city of #SouthPortland.

#photography #Knightville #MillCreek #SouthernMaine #photo #street #StreetPhoto #StreetPhotography #scape #cityscape #UrbanVillage #SmallTown #SundayAfternoon
A late-afternoon photo of downtown Knightville (Mill Creek), Maine, by Mike Smetzer. A quiet downtown street is captured, with shops lining one side and a few parked cars visible along the curb. The left side of the street and much of the foreground are shadowed. The right side is in sunlight.
December 18, 2025 at 12:27 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
The Portland Harbor skyline as seen beyond a boardwalk in South Portland, Maine.

#photography #LandscapePhoto #scape #cityscape #portland #maine #SouthernMaine #PortlandHarbor #SouthPortland #ForeRiver #MillCove #knightville #CoastalMaine #CoastOfMaine #MaineCoast #EastCoastKin #CoastalNewEngland
This late-October photo by Mike Smetzer features a tree along a boardwalk in the foreground. Beyond is the Portland, Maine, skyline. The shot is taken from the South Portland bank of the Fore River at Mill Cove.
December 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
A #bnw view of #PortlandHarbor, #Maine, in the late afternoon on a mostly cloudy day in October.

#photography #mono #grayscale #greyscale #bw #Black-and-White #blackwhite #BWPhotography #scape #seascape #BugLightPark #SouthPortland #CascoBay #ForeRiver
This photo by Mike Smetzer was taken from Bug Light Park in South Portland, Maine. It shows the park and its tiny lighthouse in the foreground and a busy Portland Harbor on the other side of the Fore River. A large cruise ship is docked at the Ocean Gateway, and an island ferry is approaching the Casco Bay terminal from the right.
December 4, 2025 at 3:48 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
Thoughts by Mike Smetzer about following Jesus and following Trump.
November 29, 2025 at 12:27 AM
msmetzer.bsky.social
Trout Brook entering Mill Creek Park in South Portland, Maine.

#autumncolors #LandscapePhoto #landscapephotography #treescape #autumn #scape #SouthPortland #maine #AutumnLeaves #MillCreekPark
This autumn photo by Mike Smetzer looks downstream from where Trout Brook enters Mill Creek Park in South Portland, Maine. The Greenbelt Walkway is on the right. Mill Creek Pond is under the open sky to the left.
November 23, 2025 at 1:35 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
This shot from October looks down Trout Brook (Mill Creek) in South Portland, Maine. Not a season for much water nor a spot for much color. A peaceful study in browns and greens.

#photography #LandscapePhoto #landscapephotography #treescape #autumn #TroutBrook #SouthPortland #maine #SouthernMaine
This photo by Mike Smetzer shows Trout Brook in South Portland, Maine, with the Greenbelt Walkway on the right.
November 22, 2025 at 4:44 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
The mouth of Trout Brook as seen from bridge over the brook at Cottage Road in South Portland, Maine. I framed this shot to include a generous amount of the seed-laden branch at right.

#photography #LandscapePhoto #landscapephotography #autumn #fall #MillCreek #SouthPortland #maine #SouthernMaine
This late-October photo by Mike Smetzer shows the mouth of Trout Brook (Mill Creek) from the bridge at Cottage Road in South Portland, Maine. Trout Brook enters Mill Cove along the Fore River between Knightville and Ferry Village in South Portland. Portland Harbor can be seen across the Fore River on the horizon at left, and Ferry Village can be seen across Mill Cove on the horizon at center and on the right. Casco Bay begins out of shot to the right of the harbor.
November 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
Looking up Trout Brook from the bridge at Cottage Road in South Portland, Maine.

#photography #LandscapePhoto #landscapephotography #treescape #autumn #fall #TroutBrook
This photo by Mike Smetzer shows Trout Brook (Mill Creek) as it runs along the edge of Mill Creek Park in South Portland, Maine. The Greenbelt walkway is on the left and Mill Creek Pond is out of shot on the right ahead. Autumn has begun, but the late-October trees are still mostly green. A small flock of ducks has taken refuge in the relative privacy of the brook.
November 20, 2025 at 1:31 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
Trout Brook entering Mill Cove at the mouth of the Fore River in South Portland, Maine.

#photography #LandscapePhoto #landscapephotography #autumn #fall #TroutBrook #MillCove #ForeRiver #SouthPortland #maine #SouthernMaine
This color photo by Mike Smetzer shows Trout Brook entering the mouth of Fore River at Mill Cove. Mill Cove separates Knightville and Ferry Village in South Portland, Maine. Portland Harbor is just to the left of the shot, and Casco Bay is just beyond Ferry Village.
November 19, 2025 at 5:23 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
#Veteran'sDay #VeteransDay #ArmisticeDay #WorldWar
Thoughts about Veteran's Day.
November 12, 2025 at 2:34 AM
msmetzer.bsky.social
This is one of my favorite spiritual dreams. It seems a good time to put it up as democracies struggle and dictatorships advance in countries around the world, including my own.

#poetry #spirit #spiritual #dreams #freedom #purity #transcendence
"Pure Again" by Mike Smetzer is a spiritual poem about rising above the darkness and losses of the world today.
October 10, 2025 at 6:47 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
A bnw seascape of Casco Bay with Bug Light and Portland Harbor on the far left. The photo was taken late in the day from Bug Light Park in South Portland, Maine.

#photography #LandscapePhotography #monochrome #BlackAndWhite #portland #maine #seascape #CascoBay
In this late-day photo by Mike Smetzer, dark and moody clouds hang over a tranquil bay with a rocky shoreline in the foreground. A bit of city skyline and a lighthouse appear to the left. The horizon is a line of land made up of islands and the distant shoreline.
October 2, 2025 at 3:31 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
The Portland Harbor skyline as seen through a tree in South Portland, Maine. bnw.

#photography #LandscapePhoto #monochrome #BlackAndWhite #portland #maine
This photo by Mike Smetzer was taken through a tree on a boardwalk along the South Portland bank of the Fore River at Mill Cove. A wooden fence that runs alongside the boardwalk and a tree with mature leaves boldly occupy the foreground. Below is the grassy shore of the river. The opposite shore is developed, with the city harbor in the distance.
September 9, 2025 at 12:12 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
A black-and-white photo of one end of Mill Creek Pond in South Portland, Maine.

#photography #landscapephotography #BWPhotography #blackAndWhitePhotography #SouthPortland #maine #pond
This shadow-and-light photo by Mike Smetzer presents the lily-pad end of Mill Creek Pond in South Portland, Maine. The pond is viewed from under a large tree that frames the image. A sturdy tree trunk anchors the foreground of a monochrome landscape featuring a reflective pond. Tall grasses and lush vegetation surround the water, while dappled sunlight patterns the ground.
September 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
The Portland, Maine, skyline as seen through the trees and bushes of Thomas Knight Park in South Portland.

#photography #Portland #Maine #SouthPortland #skyline #landscape
This photo by Mike Smetzer presents a blend of natural and urban landscapes. Lush green trees are in the foreground with a hazy view of a river and city skyline in the distance.
August 15, 2025 at 12:42 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
This is a color photo of the mouth of the Saco River from the pier in Camp Ellis, Maine. A previous version was in black and white. The harbor was still a lonely scene when this shot was taken in April.

#photography #landscape #seascape #SouthernMaine #SacoRiver #Maine #CampEllis
This color photo by Mike Smetzer looks across the mouth of the Saco River from the pier in Camp Ellis, Maine. On the other side are Hills Beach and the South Jetty, with the community of Biddeford Pool in the distance beyond.
August 6, 2025 at 5:49 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
An across-the-river view of Portland Harbor taken from Bug Light Park in South Portland, Maine.

#photography #photo #PortlandHarbor #Portland #seascape #Maine
This photo of Portland Harbor by Mike Smetzer was taken from Bug Light Park in South Portland, Maine. The shot was taken in the late afternoon on a mostly cloudy day. It shows the park and its tiny lighthouse in the foreground and a busy Portland Harbor on the other side of the Fore River. A large cruise ship is docked at the Ocean Gateway, and an island ferry is approaching the Casco Bay terminal from the right.
August 4, 2025 at 1:20 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
A seascape of Casco Bay with Bug Light and Portland Harbor on the far left. The horizon is a line of land made up of islands and some distant shoreline. The photo was taken from Bug Light Park in South Portland, Maine.

#photography #photo #landscape #seascape #Maine #SouthernMaine #CascoBay
This photo by Mike Smetzer is a seascape of Casco Bay with Bug Light on the far left and a bit of Portland Harbor further back across the Fore River. A deep moodiness is created by the dark blues of the water and the bottoms of the clouds on this mostly cloudy day.
August 2, 2025 at 4:01 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
This poem was written after a small dust storm in Lawrence, Kansas.

#poetry #writing #midwest #kansas #DustStorm #GreatPlains #LawrenceKansas
"A Kansas Anthem" is a humorous nonsense poem in ballad stanzas by Mike Smetzer. It describes an encounter between the narrator and a disgruntled stranger after a dust storm. The poem was first published in Midwest Quarterly.
July 29, 2025 at 11:48 AM
msmetzer.bsky.social
Just a bit of nonsense.

#poetry #poem #writing #humor #humour
"The Letter" by Mike Smetzer is a humorous nonsense poem about a vagrant and a dropped letter.
July 25, 2025 at 2:43 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
A happy poem written after walking home in the rain.

#poetry #writing #childrenspoetry #childrenspoems #KidLit
"Blonde with Fingers" by Mike Smetzer is a humorous poem about a chance encounter while walking down a street in the rain.
July 21, 2025 at 3:43 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
A #black-and-white version of the view across #CascoBay from #BugLightPark in #SouthPortland #Maine.

#photography #photo #mono #monochrome #grayscale #greyscale #bw #bnw #blackandwhite #blackwhite #blackandwhitephotography #seascape #summer #SouthernMaine #bay
This panoramic black-and-white photo by Mike Smetzer shows a tranquil bay under a mostly dark-and-moody sky. Fort Gorges is behind the sailboats. Spring Point Ledge Light is near the right edge. I think Little Diamond, Great Diamond, and Peaks Islands are in the middle distance. And the Wyman Power Station on Cousins Island is near the middle of the distant horizon.
July 17, 2025 at 12:02 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
Mill Cove on the #ForeRiver in #SouthPortland, #Maine. #MillCove is a tidal inlet across the river from #PortlandHarbor and between the communities of #Knightville and #FerryVillage.

#photography #mono #monochrome #grayscale #greyscale #bw #bnw #blackandwhite #blackwhite #blackandwhitephotography
A tranquil cove with tall grasses in the foreground is captured in a black-and-white photo by Mike Smetzer. In the distance, the residential houses of Ferry Village line the opposite bank under a mostly cloudy sky. Mill Cove is at the mouth of the Fore River where the river opens into Casco Bay. Portland Harbor (Maine) is on the other side of the river, to the left of the shot. The line of birds are in the channel from Trout Brook (Mill Creek), which enters on the far right. The photo was taken in the late afternoon.
July 11, 2025 at 1:34 PM
msmetzer.bsky.social
When we lived in Missouri, we had a little house with a back door that faced north and that opened off the bedroom. Our visitors at that door included a very large walking stick and occasional knocks in the night with no one there.

#poetry #poem #writing #spirits #ghosts #spiritual
"Spirit Door" is a poem by Mike Smetzer about the ominous spiritual qualities of a north door.
July 8, 2025 at 12:40 PM