Beauty Just Being Beauty ~`♡´~

Daily Poems, Finding Joy in a Chaotic World plus a Meryl Streep Portrait!

Hey friend,

It’s been a while, so I thought I’d slide into your inbox and say hi—Hi! I hope you're managing to catch any small flashes of beauty amidst the daily chaos. In my small town, the goldfinches are at the feeder—our state bird here in Washington, though I doubt the birds are aware of their title. To me, they look like flying candy as their colors are so bright!

In the early 2000s, I worked at a tech job on Bainbridge Island, Washington—our office was on the third floor surrounded by trees. One day, I overheard two coworkers having a discussion—one said, “I think a pet store burned down. Or maybe someone’s canaries escaped?” Wait, whaaaat?!

I looked out the window and saw what they were seeing—dozens of yellow birds flickering through the evergreens. I turned back to them and said, “Gentlemen, those are goldfinches.” 😅

Sometimes when beauty shows up, and we panic and think the worst—or we mislabel it. But it’s still there. Beauty just being beauty.

Since the start of 2025, I’ve been trying to write a poem each day (another kind of beauty). There’s something funny that happens when you try this practice—you write a lot of bad poems (okay, that’s not really funny, but it is.) This daily writing practice is kind of like batting practice, except instead of baseballs, you’re swinging at metaphors and images, and occasionally, one cracks the sky open—in a good way.

Daily poems remind me that beauty can still be created, even when it feels absent everywhere else—wordbeauty—when you pair two words together and they surprise you.

Things Bringing Me Joy This Month:

1. This portrait of Meryl Streep on the wall of a little shop in Port Townsend, Washington. When I asked why there was a portrait of Meryl Streep on the wall, he said, “Well, it’s an odd story, but my mom had it commissioned.” When I asked why, he said, “Um, we don’t really know.” —I am doing everything in my power not to purchase this portrait and hang it directly above my bed. It brings me so much happiness.

2. Seattle’s new waterfront park. The city has really stepped it up by creating this gorgeous space where you can sit, breathe, and stare out at Puget Sound for hours alone or with a friend. Cost: $0

3. I turned in the FINAL version of my manuscript, Accidental Devotions, which will be published by Copper Canyon Press in May 2026! I have worked so hard on this collection! And one thing I’ve learned through it all is how revision is its own kind of devotion. My advice when revising a manuscript: 1) Let go of what isn’t strong enough. 2) Bring in a few newer poems to create energy. 3) Continue to allow the manuscript to evolve—even when you’re certain it’s finished.

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Other Things:

Two Sylvias Press’ Weekly Muse is hosting ELLEN BASS on ZOOM, September 11 from 4 pm - 6 pm PST to teach one of my favorite classes— The Long-Armed Poem / Controlled Chaos.

CLASS DESCRIPTION: The Long-Armed Poem / Controlled Chaos: A certain kind of poem has a long arm and sweeps disparate, unexpected things into its net. It scoops in a great deal of material that is more or less obviously related. It doesn’t hug the shore. It doesn’t walk a narrow line. It retains a kind of wildness. It can seem untamed. And yet all the elements have enough magnetic or gravitational attraction, enough resonance, that the poem feels organically whole. We’ll look at examples of the long-armed poem and I will give some practical suggestions about how you might experiment with this form in your own poems. Time: 2 hours. (Note: This class will be recorded and sent to you in case you can’t join us in real time!)

If you want to sign up, it’s through Two Sylvias Weekly Muse Substack, which is $18.99 monthly—OR—get the full year of Zoom classes (and weekly poetry prompts & more) for $198 (Melissa Studdard and I are leading a class on collaboration, Traci Brimhall will teach a love poem class, plus many more poets to be announced soon!)

Anyway, if you’re interested in attending, sign up here and join us!: https://twosylviaspress.substack.com/subscribe

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Wishing you all love, light, and poetry.

Hold each other close,

xo Kells