I had the most exhilarating time performing poetry LIVE last night at Fogartyville for the 2026 Giving Challenge "Be The One-a-thon!" A huge thank you goes out to @on_poetry_road (whom I consider The Poet King of Sarasota) for inviting me, @theprincesspoetess , to read as one of nine lucky poets in the lineup alongside my dear friend and Queen Poet, @thoughtsat2ampoetry . ❤️🔥🎤
Thank you, also, to my sweet friends @zenllth@inaglassball@lindzgames & @artavenuefl , who all came to support our local @wslr96.5 radio station and absolute gem of a performance venue that is Fogartyville.💎
I CANNOT believe I FORGOT to mention it when I went up last night, but Fogartyville was actually the FIRST place I EVER read a poem on stage!🤯 And, therefore, it will forever hold a special place in my heart as the beginning of my journey to co-hosting an open mic nearly every Wednesday night for over a year now, as part of The Stardust Goddess Alliance with Cyndi & Marina via @stardustpresents .
Through poetry nights such as this one, I have had the opportunity to get to know some of the most amazing people in our community and exchange cathartic, creative expressions on multiple occasions.🥹
What a treasure it is, has been, and will always be to exercise the gift of the gab!✍🏽
#thegivingchallenge #sarasotaevents #fogartyville #poetrycommunity
take me back
to kauai sunrise, on a balcony where
I write poetry while you sleep.
take me
to that first day of sculpture class
where you cut my wax, then roll the scraps
into a turtle I still have.
take me
to key west, in the pelting rain
on a dinghy, where the pirate lets me
wear his plastic bag.
take me
the morning after
so I can hear you
for the first time
when you tell me you
have love for me.
I spend 5 years searching.
ex—marks the spot, does it?
I'm still looking
between moments
I dared to jump
out of your car
when you would not
stop yelling,
between memories
of my learning
how to cry
into pillows, then in showers
and eventually, the driveway
so as not to wake your parents—
though, sometimes, I did.
do you ever wish I still did?
buried treasure
beneath a roof
that was not our own,
we forgot to bring it
any other place
you never stayed
long enough
for us
to call home.
there!
the rules of my kingdom
pasted on the fridge:
thou shall not yell.
thou shall not leave a mess.
thou shall not forget
to keep promises.
me with my clean feet and dirty mind!
me with my no need for a couch or bedtime!
me with my only need—a love story I dreamed
could last a lifetime
without
a lifeline.
💄: @lidia_kostecka
📸: @ravenousbrain
(behind the scenes of the @bts_creative_collective photoshoot with @agaignasphotography in collaboration with @artavenuefl )
#poetry #photoshoot #artgallery @artavenuefl
This April, Art Avenue is proud to be hosting two FREE community events in collaboration with @bts_creative_collective , led by @bellestike and co-facilitated by one of our AA team members, @theprincesspoetess .
Sensory Oasis: Build a Neurodiversity-Affirming Business
📍Siesta Mall Gallery
🗓️ Saturday, April 25th 11:30-1:00pm
A joyful, interactive hands-on design lab that welcomes children (ages 8-14), business leaders, and community leaders. Collaborate to invent sensory-friendly tools and spaces that celebrate neurodiversity, supporting businesses in creating sustainable and inclusive communities. Spark creativity, deepen empathy, and walk away with actionable strategies.
Language of Love: Family Art Lab for Belonging
📍Siesta Mall Gallery
🗓️ Tuesday, April 28th 4:00-5:30pm
A hands-on, interactive workshop where neurodivergent kids, teens, and grownups explore art, movement, and redefine love to understand how their bodies say "yes," "no," and "I need help." Families co-create, practice regulation tools, and build stronger, more compassionate connections together.
Registration is required for both events so comment on this post and we will DM you a link to sign up✨
Hope to see you there! 🖼️ Visit TheSpectrumSpeaks.com to learn more.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay updated on events and collaborations. Link in bio!
#sarasotaevents #artgallery #neurodiversityaffirming
I wish we could try again.
I know you know
we'd get it right this time,
if you would just
let yourself
imagine it—
I won't cheat
and you won't lie.
you won't yell
and I won't cry.
you know I know
this isn't over,
not when you text me
the same night
I drop off a letter
in your mailbox,
7 days after
you said goodbye.
(try to tell me
you don't still feel me
whenever you close your eyes.)
our love survived
the worst of us.
who else deserves our best?
I said I'd live with you
in a cardboard box!
(that doesn't mean
we'd actually live
in a cardboard box.)
finally—a heater for the pool,
and my first thought
was, of course, how cool
it would be
to swim
with you.
every little blessing,
I wish
I could share
with you.
so why bring me a stuffed bear and dark chocolate?
why sign a redemption arc contract?
why write me love letters and poems
(so long overdue)
just to make me fall back in love with you?
as if last time
didn't hurt enough.
you had to steal
every last bit
of faith and love.
you had to shatter a heart
I'd barely healed,
but first,
you had to make us real.
how do you claim to choose me every morning
then, still, choose to leave?
how can you love me better than you ever did
then, again, force me to grieve?
how do you care more about what they think
than about what we both know?
I guess the same way you call me
the love of your life
just to let me go.
#poetry #ThePrincessPoetess #lovepoem
I am so honored I got to participate in this photoshoot for @bts_creative_collective to announce their debut partnership with @artavenuefl , welcoming diverse minds and creative talent alike through neurodiversity-affirming events and workshops in Sarasota.
Registration is now open for "Language of Love," seasonal workshops and monthly webinars on unique expression and authentic belonging led by @bellestike featuring co-facilitator @theprincesspoetess . Visit TheSpectrumSpeaks.com to learn more about Behavioral Teaching Solutions (BTS) and our collaborative offerings.
To celebrate, we are sharing just a few photographs taken by the incredibly talented @agaignasphotography during our official photoshoot.
Stay tuned for more!🥳
#neurodiversityaffirming #sarasotaevents #artgallery #photoshoot #creativeworkshops
by god, someone ought to love you.
they ought to take your ocean hair,
finger-comb through every strand,
heat your numb heart in their hands
and will themselves to drown—
from the inside out.
someone ought to wield a diamond sword,
lovingly cut through
to the truth of you,
free you from their web
of gilded lies.
someone ought to whisper
a thousand names
to call forth
every
ancient
part of you,
someone ought to coat your skin in saliva,
simp to suffer indigestion,
paint the amber
glow of your eyes,
melt a mixtape
of your laughter,
wrap you in a warm towel
as you slip out of the shower.
someone ought to seal
your soul cracks
with gold,
pluck the weeds
from your mind stream,
sell them to buy you
every fantasy
to spoil
the princess
who still rules inside you.
someone ought to give your petals
a season to bloom,
reasons to soften.
they ought to protect the little girl
you can't help but love like
especially when no one's watching.
someone ought to man the ship
while you rest.
ought to hold you up
instead of push you down
when you're depressed.
they ought to breathe your breath
in each kiss,
plan dates
they'd rather die than miss,
greet you
palm to palm,
face you
chest to chest.
by god, someone ought to.
they ought to love me
like I loved you.
happy valentine's day to all🫀👑
#theprincesspoetess #poetry #spokenword
"All my writings are fish hooks...If nothing got caught I am not to blame. There were no fish..."
"It is more important that a judgment be 'life-advancing, life-preserving,' etc., than that it be true."
"There can be no facts, only interpretations."
"One punishes oneself by distrusting one's feelings."
"Every person is a prison."
"Love of one is a piece of barbarism: for it is practiced at the expense of all others. Love of God likewise."
"He who attains his ideal by that very fact transcends it."
"Moralities too are only a sign-language of the emotions."
"To hear something new is hard and painful for the ear."
"One is much more of an artist than one realizes."
"Actual philosophers...are commanders...they say 'thus it shall be!'"
"Truth...is, after all, a woman: one ought not to violate her."
"The best that one is one does not know."
"To understand one another, it is not sufficient to employ the same words; we also have to employ the same words to designate the same species of inner experiences, we must ultimately have our experience in common."
"He who knows about love...seeks death."
"Everyone goes backwards who wants to take a big jump."
"We have all no doubt eaten at tables where we did not belong; the most spiritual of us are most difficult to feed."
"Does one not write books precisely to conceal what lies within us?"
"Every philosophy also conceals a philosophy; every opinion is also a hiding-place, every word also a mask."
"Art...pleasure at the sight of the soul."
"O heart, you have borne up well...If once you were young, now—you are younger."
#beyondgoodandevil #friedrichnietzsche #philosophybooks #favoritebookquotes #readphilosophy
I'm missing you a little extra today,
just remembering the way
you used to smell my face,
lift and spin me in the air
above your head,
balancing my frame
in the palms of your hands.
I can still hear your fire
in the cadence
of my own anger.
back scratching 101:
my fingers
only know
how to go
in circles.
walking hand-in-hand,
you would lift yours high
to help me fly
and at the amusement parks,
we'd go on all the rides.
you always drove too fast
in every car you ever crashed,
but after work, you'd bring home treats
like sweet and sour candy
or 6 gallons
of my favorite purple cow ice cream.
I can't fathom it now—
you were only my age
when they had you caged,
dressed in beige.
you were always
coming and going,
fighting demons we couldn't see
so mom & I'd wait
in the alley,
to see you
on a cold Sunday morning
and when you and dad would scream and fight,
the girls and I'd sneak to sit at night,
at the top of the steps,
peek around the corner,
hearts beating,
half-breathing,
not knowing
how
but wishing—
always wishing,
one love
could have been enough
to save you.
🖤🐍♾️
