Skip to main content

Fragments of Frost and Fire - Episode 9 - The Ones Who Gather

It was only yesterday that I discovered a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope, and I had to put that in a poem. So I started thinking about all the beautiful, strange, and poetic names we give to gatherings of animals—murders, parliaments, flamboyances—and how each one carries a kind of quiet unity. This poem is what came out of that wondering, and maybe a little loneliness too. 

The Ones Who Gather

A kaleidoscope of butterflies,
turning air into stained glass,
wings brushing wings in a hush of color—
they move as one,
a prayer held aloft by sunlight.


A murder of crows
circles the edge of dusk,
black-threaded thoughts
sewn into the hem of sky.
Even in omen, they arrive together.

A parliament of owls
sits in the cathedral of trees,
silent but listening,
wisdom not as one voice
but many held in counsel.

A pod of dolphins—
spindrift and shimmer,
laughing through salt and wave,
mapping the world
with echoes answered.

A mischief of rats
in the alley’s forgotten script,
bold in the shadows,
writing survival
in footprints no one follows.

A flamboyance of flamingos
leans into the marsh light,
all awkward elegance
made holy in the mirror of water—
not alone, never alone.

But I—
no murmuration to move with,
no swarm to hum beside,
no tangle of fur or feather or fin
to fold myself into.

Just the echo of a question
unasked by the herd,
unheard by the pack,
and unanswered
by the sky.

Support Independent Content Creation

I know, I know, I know...

These donation messages can be intrusive. I understand that. (Trust me, I feel awkward writing them too!)

But reaching out like this is crucial. Being reader-funded gives my work something valuable that many content creators don't have: true independence.

1. Your support means I can write about what matters. I'm not chasing sponsorships or compromising my voice to please advertisers. I can pursue stories and topics I believe are important, creative, and thoughtful, regardless of their commercial appeal.

2. Your support means I don't have to chase viral trends. Instead of engineering clickbait or jumping on every passing bandwagon, I can focus on creating thoughtful content that genuinely adds value to your life.

3. Your support means this content remains freely accessible. My work stays available to everyone, including those who can't afford to contribute financially right now. Quality independent content should be accessible to all.

I understand not everyone is in a position to contribute, but if you found any value in this post you can

For the price of a coffee, you'll enable me to invest more time in creating in-depth, creative journal posts and episodes of the Stone & Signal podcast. If you'd like to contribute more, consider purchasing one of my e-books (priced at roughly two cups of coffee) – a way to support my work while gaining additional value for yourself.

Thank you for considering. Your support makes all the difference.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fragments of Frost and Fire - Episode 13 - Walk-On-By Society

 Sometimes a passing phrase cuts through the noise of the day and stays with you. I recently came across a video shared by @modelstrangers on Threads , where a man—soft-spoken but resolute—spoke about the loneliness we often feel even when surrounded by millions, and the deep importance of respecting every person, no matter their role in society. His words reminded me of how easy it is to walk past others without truly seeing them. And how powerful it can be when we choose to see. This poem was born from that moment of reflection. Walk-On-By Society Millions of footsteps echo, side by side, but hearts pass like shadows— unseen, untouched, eyes fixed forward, never meeting yours. In the crowd, you could scream, and still be an empty whisper. P hoto by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz : https://www.pexels.com/photo/elderly-man-with-a-broom-and-a-dustpan-19408637/ This is a walk-on-by world, where silence is safer than kindness, where pain is private and everyone is "fine." But listen— n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fragments of Frost and Fire - Episode 12 - How That Worked Out.

In a world unraveling—from genocide in Gaza to war in Ukraine and Congo, from rising fascism to ecological collapse—many choose silence, hoping distance will spare them. But silence is not neutral. It is not protection. This poem is a reflection on complicity, comfort, and the cost of staying quiet while the world burns. How That Worked Out —a poem for the age of excuses The children of Gaza do not dream of war, but they wake beneath it, wrapped in dust and grief and headlines written by cowards. In Congo, the river carries the weight of our luxury— blood-colored cobalt, futures mined by hands too small for the machines they power. And still, the world scrolls, safe in its distance, safe in its silence. The forest doesn’t argue with the axe. The ocean doesn’t plead with the net. They remain silent, wanting only to live— and they die anyway. Those who say silence protects you should ask the land how that worked out. Photo by Anderson Santos: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-doing-...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stone and Signal - Episode 3: The Fire and the Frost

Welcome back to Stone and Signal.  If you haven't heard the first episode yet you can find information on Episdoe 1  here  and Episode 2 here . The Podcast Links Edpisode 3 on YouTube Episode 3 on Spotify The Essay The Transcript  What Doesn’t Scale Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-boat-with-oars-on-both-side-during-golden-hour-panoramic-photography-33582/ We’ve built a culture obsessed with scale. If something can’t be made faster, bigger, more efficient, it’s dismissed as quaint—or worse, irrelevant. We praise the viral, the exponential, the optimized. We’re told to build audiences, to batch content, to repurpose our thoughts into ever more digestible forms. Nothing is allowed to stay small. Nothing is allowed to simply be. But there’s a quiet power in what refuses to scale. A handwritten letter. A meal cooked slowly for one person. A moment of real attention, offered without a motive. A poem read aloud to no one but yourself. These are...
Post a Comment
Read more