Story Embers | Graham Jackson | Activity https://storyembers.org/members/graham-jackson/activity/ Activity feed for Graham Jackson. Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:42:05 -0400 https://buddypress.org/?v= en 30 hourly 2 3dfc1364314dfbfa4306514b687953fa Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/three-powers-of-personification/comment-page-1/#comment-12451 Tue, 26 Sep 2023 23:01:25 -0400 Hey there! Thanks so much for the kind comments on my articles. If you would like to follow more of my writings (mostly poetry and such) you can search up my Substack. It’s titled “After-Image.” I’d share the URL here, but not sure if it will come out. Again, thank you for the kind encouragement, and happy writing!

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post When you take the leap and attempt writing poetry, you’ll find a multitude of tools at your disposal. Some are self-explanatory, some are surprising, and some are downright s […] ]]> 4b563c299fca1049d763c95cfe553c1f Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=150583 Thu, 26 May 2022 14:00:12 -0400 Inhale—
my feet pound
upon the earth
I once thought
could support me.
But it’s not enough.
 
Exhale—
I reach down, deep
into my burning self,
for fiery gulps of air
seething up from dark
strong places […]

]]> 9c3a74ef77f06973768c08f000ac5f4e Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=147749 Thu, 10 Feb 2022 14:00:57 -0400 I feel the silent march of time
Like a glacier crawling, haltingly,
Toward an open and unknown sea,
The gulls’ joyful weeping haunting me
Under the wintry brilliance of sun
And the piercing sky. It calves, w […]

]]> e3fc5baec4058dac0c844683c73c34a2 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=146639 Thu, 06 Jan 2022 14:00:30 -0400 While I’m waiting, I am
Distilling neon signs in a drop
Of rain, nearby the rushing
Of the world’s many neurons,
Held by the weight of stillness:
The back and forth and back of
This daily game of hid […]

]]> 1d539de9218ab68fa6690a9b4fe7a6fc Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=136695 Thu, 12 Aug 2021 14:00:06 -0400 Each bee that’s crystalline  
with spring’s golden frost
(each filament gleaming
with the idea of flowers)
 
carries with it the possibility of true
abundance—the hope of things not yet
seen by the manifol […]

]]> 5196f5656b554a9757016760c3726b7f Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=134747 Thu, 10 Jun 2021 14:00:44 -0400 I am fearfully made
In this garden of wonders
Where sun dapples down
Upon bench and bed,
Upon creeper and crocus,
With shoots lancing quickly up,
Defiant through dampened earth.
 
I am wonderfully […]

]]> 89ef04ccb24fdcdb2f858968bedaaf03 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=133329 Thu, 29 Apr 2021 14:00:42 -0400 That sunny day I stepped upon a shell,
Its bitter clam’s edge digging in my sole.
I remembered why we pain, remembered well.
 
So I dug in deeper, dug deeper still,
My foot on the shard in the fleeting ho […]

]]> 1a8d39fa99d5f9fb84ec38835de0da11 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=126797 Thu, 01 Apr 2021 14:00:28 -0400 Miracles are quiet,
great as the blades of mountains
that rise and score the clouds,
rending greater gashes
and letting light inside
a world that’s gone too loud.
 
Miracles are small
as a child’s feet ru […]

]]> c72000508a0a9ed2810d87df28197237 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/progress/comment-page-1/#comment-6364 Tue, 23 Feb 2021 16:16:25 -0400 Such an honest and poignant poem! It’s so lovely how the reader enters the poem with loose screws…and leaves the poem with the screws finding their place. Comforting.

In reply to - Cindy Green wrote a new post I don’t remember living without this doubt. Confidence was suspicious, like the shadows of dark streets that I never dared wander. Certainty was the friend I watched others get to k […] ]]> e21a731b2f408ff25bb995fef7afede4 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=124720 Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:00:38 -0400 The snickering blade draws a fine, sharp smile
across the wrinkled surface of my thumb,
and the bread I pursued with all my guile
turns real, running flesh and blood. Numb
with pain, I watch and wait as dark […]

]]> 00b31455aea1cd5c066f70b297a7da7f Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/the-bird/comment-page-1/#comment-5778 Sat, 21 Nov 2020 22:26:17 -0400 Thanks Bethany! When I saw the bird hit that window, its story likewise hit me.

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post The bird quickly rapped Against the window, hard, The azure pane, that false pane. At least, that’s what others Told me—I wasn’t There.   When I made it Outside to see if It […] ]]> ca8e4d6e729b734be97a9582a3ef8c6a Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/the-bird/comment-page-1/#comment-5777 Sat, 21 Nov 2020 22:25:26 -0400 Thanks, Scott! Amen and amen.

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post The bird quickly rapped Against the window, hard, The azure pane, that false pane. At least, that’s what others Told me—I wasn’t There.   When I made it Outside to see if It […] ]]> 7573e992c1b35dce70d3075ba3505135 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=120796 Thu, 29 Oct 2020 14:00:50 -0400 The bird quickly rapped
Against the window, hard,
The azure pane, that false pane.
At least, that’s what others
Told me—I wasn’t
There.
 
When I made it
Outside to see if
It still lived, still moved […]

]]> 1b343f825480cd51c510ce47cf70d967 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=120790 Thu, 22 Oct 2020 14:00:04 -0400 When you’re waiting for the curtain to rise at a theatrical production, you wonder what the stage will look like. Will the first few moments show dazzling scenery or characters prancing about? Will silence or s […]

]]> 3f071df263ad7d6efb5b5e8115a23632 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=116017 Mon, 27 Jul 2020 14:00:14 -0400 You’ve probably heard the expression “That was epic!” thousands of times. But what does it actually mean? Epic is used to describe a myriad of experiences, but we typically treat it as a synonym for big, awe-i […]

]]> e2efeb2a81eb462d3d0a8c9c042efcba Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=115319 Thu, 09 Jul 2020 14:00:49 -0400 “Tell me, Wind,”
said Rain, “you
who catches me in
your cool embrace,
what it means to wander,
to wander the world,
to want no direction.”
 
“Simple, Rain,”
said Wind, who
caught its breath.
“So […]

]]> c1f9e88853979707f13ecda6384265b5 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/how-to-brainstorm-a-topic-for-your-poem-when-youre-out-of-ideas/comment-page-1/#comment-5145 Mon, 01 Jun 2020 13:06:26 -0400 Hi Libby, I’m glad this article was helpful/encouraging. 🙂 Thank you for reading!

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post Whenever I’ve asked my students to write a poem, I invariably hear the question, “Where do I start?” My immediate reaction is consternation, plus a certain level of frustration (in c […] ]]> 5b90859ccc2f67245a3f1be138a461a8 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=110892 Mon, 27 Apr 2020 14:00:51 -0400 Whenever I’ve asked my students to write a poem, I invariably hear the question, “Where do I start?” My immediate reaction is consternation, plus a certain level of frustration (in case you don’t know, writing […]

]]> a9c8185611389404a366cae1a176e6dc Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=107155 Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:00:31 -0400 Found: a poem, down a dusty old path
that leaves have scraped with many final breaths.
When asked why it lingered so, it laughed
and held onto my arm, and hopped with wreaths
of dry, pressed daisies (all the […]

]]> 32af46980d26dad209257e81a39cc452 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=99226 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 14:00:14 -0400 Editor’s Note: This is the second installment in our three-part series on harnessing the power of poetry, which explores the insights and techniques novelists can glean from poets. You can read the introductory p […]

]]> d6f6ef8043408079e3a6de25c37b9f93 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/three-steps-to-create-a-vibrant-villanelle/comment-page-1/#comment-2924 Tue, 23 Apr 2019 17:26:50 -0400 Happy writing! Thank you for reading.

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post Poems come in all shapes and sizes. Some are short like blips on a radar screen, provoking a burst of thought in the reader (haiku, for example). Others are long, sweeping songs full […] ]]> 83fed30a1b25ab4bf47187be90e0b6a4 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/three-steps-to-create-a-vibrant-villanelle/comment-page-1/#comment-2923 Tue, 23 Apr 2019 17:26:25 -0400 Good to know! Happy writing. And thanks for reading.

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post Poems come in all shapes and sizes. Some are short like blips on a radar screen, provoking a burst of thought in the reader (haiku, for example). Others are long, sweeping songs full […] ]]> 695c1aafef9bb2f82b35815379b8d277 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/three-steps-to-create-a-vibrant-villanelle/comment-page-1/#comment-2863 Wed, 17 Apr 2019 16:39:53 -0400 Hi Evelyn. I’m so glad you found the article inspirational! Thank you for reading. Happy writing.

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post Poems come in all shapes and sizes. Some are short like blips on a radar screen, provoking a burst of thought in the reader (haiku, for example). Others are long, sweeping songs full […] ]]> 9b0aceef9ce2206f311c7be0fc511157 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=86417 Wed, 17 Apr 2019 14:00:07 -0400 Mountains are where I’ll lay my head,
And in the ocean’s trench I’ll rest my feet
Till the stars above show me the path I’ve led.
 
The most I do is wonder at what’s said
Among the ruins of some distant, l […]

]]> 6cf2733a2c7cf8fd2c09bfc50457ce4f Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=86412 Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:00:59 -0400 Poems come in all shapes and sizes. Some are short like blips on a radar screen, provoking a burst of thought in the reader (haiku, for example). Others are long, sweeping songs full of passion, emotion, […]

]]> e7472227782f6be4d81ed327c9bff265 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/three-timely-techniques-poets-can-steal-from-classic-rhetoric/comment-page-1/#comment-2660 Sun, 10 Mar 2019 13:53:03 -0400 Thank you for reading!

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post A glance at the pages of history reveals that poetry is not a young art. Poets from the Greek and Roman epochs were often renowned rhetoricians—their speeches captured the minds, i […] ]]> 7385fb1cb05f33e684e50dfaeeac3e61 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/three-timely-techniques-poets-can-steal-from-classic-rhetoric/comment-page-1/#comment-2659 Sun, 10 Mar 2019 13:52:50 -0400 I’m glad poetry makes you happy! Poetry certainly makes me happy. Wasn’t it once said that “man die every day for from lack of poetry”?

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post A glance at the pages of history reveals that poetry is not a young art. Poets from the Greek and Roman epochs were often renowned rhetoricians—their speeches captured the minds, i […] ]]> f348182692364e2e751bf1e2ff1a33cc Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=80664 Mon, 04 Mar 2019 14:00:39 -0400 A glance at the pages of history reveals that poetry is not a young art. Poets from the Greek and Roman epochs were often renowned rhetoricians—their speeches captured the minds, imaginations, and sensibilities o […]

]]> ef7b03bb5ac3bfad321375235359943d Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=55495 Wed, 28 Nov 2018 13:00:05 -0400 My rushing sigh
Flows in and out
Like the ocean surf
That writes in the dark
On reams of slimy kelp
With the ancient ink
Of primeval octopi.
 
It’s as if the storming,
Obsidian face of waves
Is a mi […]

]]> 84127e0dae4deb5d53c0fe8536e2ec78 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=47138 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:00:39 -0400 Two broken
 
Youths in the wild wood
Watch the dying daylight fade
Among the ancient ferns,
 
Too broken
 
To see the colors
As they flame across the sky
And promise them warmth.
 
One, bro […]

]]> c3e963bc3e2552b2bc1de0d480efaecc Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=45029 Mon, 10 Sep 2018 14:00:40 -0400 When you take the leap and attempt writing poetry, you’ll find a multitude of tools at your disposal. Some are self-explanatory, some are surprising, and some are downright strange. All you need is practice. You c […]

]]> a9bfc62953e1efcbc5cd7d85bd056b88 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/three-unique-ways-poetry-affects-us/#comment-515 Mon, 02 Jul 2018 15:42:50 -0400 Thank you, Jonathan. I will proudly resemble “quasi-clickbait” as long as I am saying something meaningful, and relevant. 🙂

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post I have a couple confessions to make.   First, I am biased toward poetry, not because I believe it is inherently better than other art forms (like novel writing), but because […] ]]> e4f591acbdfae2c46cd149f0f68a61ae Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=39065 Mon, 18 Jun 2018 14:00:40 -0400 I have a couple confessions to make.

 

First, I am biased toward poetry, not because I believe it is inherently better than other art forms (like novel writing), but because poetry is largely misunderstood. […]

]]> 623eddd06891f09f2de8fbbdecfbd0ff Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=34688 Thu, 31 May 2018 14:00:45 -0400 You have never seen life until you’ve stepped
in a fall of rain, as Autumn slow and long
creeps to hidden music, a Tuesday song
on a steel-gray morning, in a chair you’ve kept
for the Friend who may yet com […]

]]> 1452f3c3ede00fb50a9a113dc7dbaa72 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/letter-to-a-wildflower-friend/#comment-349 Sun, 27 May 2018 12:19:21 -0400 “You have yet to meet all of you.” Truly blown away by this poem, no pun intended. What a beautiful use of language to convey such redemptive human qualities. Keep doing what you’re doing, poetry buddy. 🙂

In reply to - Cindy Green wrote a new post Listen. There is a soft beat inside you— the sound you so often interpreted as the footsteps of those who have run away, echoing, imprinted on your soul. But listen c […] ]]> bf9178ea30c55aa030dda9d0406f0e3f Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/fortress/#comment-305 Tue, 22 May 2018 02:49:18 -0400 Thank you so much! I have to say, I like how the ending turned out. It genuinely surprised me when I wrote it.

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post I’m used to thinking this city of the world proud and impregnable, with our ideals the bunting, vividly shaded on election day, with the hum of hymns for social justice r […] ]]> d877cedfa27778b2bb397049e4922a9c Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/fortress/#comment-304 Tue, 22 May 2018 02:40:48 -0400 Yay Poetry Buddy! And thank you, I appreciate the encouragement.

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post I’m used to thinking this city of the world proud and impregnable, with our ideals the bunting, vividly shaded on election day, with the hum of hymns for social justice r […] ]]> 3ed7431b243015cc9c96ec4fad11ef05 Graham Jackson posted a new activity comment https://storyembers.org/fortress/#comment-303 Tue, 22 May 2018 02:39:37 -0400 Thank you!

In reply to - Graham Jackson wrote a new post I’m used to thinking this city of the world proud and impregnable, with our ideals the bunting, vividly shaded on election day, with the hum of hymns for social justice r […] ]]> 52d24666b00484450ec8ebac6005fe60 Graham Jackson wrote a new post https://storyembers.org/?p=31152 Thu, 17 May 2018 14:00:48 -0400 I’m used to thinking
this city of the world
proud and impregnable,
with our ideals the bunting,
vividly shaded on election
day, with the hum of hymns
for social justice ringing in
my ears—hear ye, hear ye! […]

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