Sandcastles in Gaza (or What We Destroyed) is a poem reflecting on the involvement of the United States in the most-recent attack on Gaza. This poem is dedicated to journalist and mother Reema Saad (30), who, along with her young children, was killed in the bombings of residential Gaza just days before the Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations. News reports announcing her death featured a picture of her and her toddlers enjoying the beach and noted how she was pregnant with her third child at the time. This picture and her story inspired this piece, which reflects on the simple joys that we as Americans often take for granted, despite our country’s own involvement in perpetuating such horrors.

Sandcastles in Gaza (or What We Destroyed) will be featured in the Protest 2021 Anthology, published by Moonstone Arts Center (in association with 100 Thousand Poets for Change), and I will be reading the piece on September 25, 2021. See flyer here for more details.

Pleased to announce my recent poem, “Settlement_Letter_Template_v2,” has been published in Friends Journal‘s September 2021 issue on Policing & Mass Incarceration. This piece was inspired by Breonna Taylor’s murder & reflects on the persistent pattern of extrajudicial police killings and the fact that despite there being more public attention on these tragedies, there is an apparent unwillingness of police forces to look within to engage in real, preventative solutions. You can read the full piece here.

I am pleased to share that a tanka I wrote about my grandmother was published in the most recent issue of Ribbons, the official publication of the Tanka Society of America. “Grammy,” as she was affectionately known was a complex character who, as the poem suggests, could be difficult to “read,” but who is missed dearly. If she were here to see this, she would probably say “that’s nice, Katie” or something as hilariously dismissive.

In February 2021 (I know it’s late), my poem “What the Birds Don’t Know” was featured by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in a group exhibition reflecting on the theme of Love in the Time of COVID-19, alongside other new and found artworks from the Pandemic.

I wrote this little piece in my backyard in late 2020 as I still struggled to make sense of the changed world around me. Reflecting on all that we lost and wondering whether we would ever come out the other side (seems more likely now, fingers crossed), I continued to find comfort in nature and the obliviousness of the world around us to this mess we had created. And that, is what the birds don’t know.

“A Simple Request” is an exactly 100-word microfiction piece that dives into the complex emotions and fears from a seemingly small interaction. Without saying too much, you can read this and all of the amazing tiny stories in Volume 2, Issue 1 here.

Since 2015, O, Miami has teamed up with WLRN to bring the beauty of poetry to the every day experience with their poetry initiative Zip Odes. What is a Zip Ode you ask? A Zip Ode is a short poem that reflects on what makes your neighborhood unique or interesting. Great, but how do you write one? Easy. Each line contains the number of words as each number of your Zip Code. For example, 33143 would be 3 words, 3 words, 1 word, and so on.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, I am proud to share that mine (below) was chosen as a 2021 finalist. See more finalists or submit your own here.