Deborah reads her beautiful and haunting poem "Wild" and we discuss how we live in and are part of nature, the way that she structured this piece as a poet, as well as some suggestions for how to rewild your own garden. See our show notes for details and today's prompt. Included are details of the Open Mic today at the Good Table Gathering Space, and for joining the "Restoring Nature, Restoring Ourselves" monthly community forum at The Shed, both in El Sobrante, Ca. Season 2 with our next episodes will be coming at THE END OF APRIL.

Restoring nature, nature restoring itself and the resilience of nature is celebrated in today's poem "Spring Break School". The conversation and the show notes highlight rewilding, with some inspiring examples. Nature longs for itself, it's resurgence is just below the surface, waiting to reclaim it's own. We hope you'll enjoy this playful poem and a bit of hope for the future.

Today we continue our poetic exploration of the pandemic. Deborah reads her “Kneading the Challah,” which was published in the anthology Pandemic Puzzle Poems from Blue Light Press. This is a beautiful musing on the power of ritual like this had during the pandemic and how ritual can braid together generations. What rituals do that for you? Write to today's prompt in our show notes, where we also list resources mentioned in our conversation.

Remember that terrible time that's disappearing in the rear view mirror? The sense of impending doom, the fear and isolation, before we knew exactly how it was spread and what to do to stay alive. The lock down. The great pause. Except for 'essential workers' to whom we owe so much. Sue shares her poem distilling details from that time and a tiny bit of hope as nature flourished in the quiet. For the written poem with artwork, as well as links to the fascinating world of epidemiology as well as the prompts and open mics, see our show notes and our website.

We read two short poems of Deborah's about wildfire, the first "Dry Lightening" is a frightening description of an approaching wildfire and if to evacuate or not, followed by "Return of the Golden Crowned Sparrows" which is about the resilience of nature, sparking a wide ranging conversation - rewilding, the ecology of fire, grace and the possibility of hope for nature (and ourselves) are all touched on. Lots of links in our show notes!

We read and discuss a poem "Chimneys" that was written in response to the fire that destroyed most of Paradise, Ca in 2018, including Sue's beloved mother in law's home. Wildfire is a fear that creeps in at the end of every dry summer in California and other wildfire-prone zones. We examine the emotions and some of the science behind it. Lots more detail in the show notes here, including today's prompt "Wildfires". You can read the poem "Chimneys" here.

We read and chat about Sue's poem "Raven against Fate" and at the end, some natural history about crows and ravens because they are so fascinating! Show notes for all the links and more mentioned in the episode. The prompt for today is "Ravens, crows or black birds." Send to curiositycatpodcasts@gmail.com. Check out our website for upcoming episodes and prior prompts and more.

We read listener poems Pete Brown’s Seastar Sashimi and Allegra Sillberstein’s: Goldfish Gift
Deborah reads her "In the Season of Crows" and Sue and Deborah chat about it before challenging you to write to today's prompt: Write an ekphrastic poem - a poem inspired by visual art. It’s best done in person rather than a photograph or online image. If you can... Send to us at curiositycatpodcasts@gmail.com. Check out the website for upcoming episodes and show notes.