2026 Poetry Challenge - Poems

Meteorological

It is the first day of 
Meteorological Summer
and that sounds important
so I take a midday stroll
through sun-dappled,
leafy-green-shadowed streets.

I have eleven minutes of unscripted time
as I wait for my lunch order at the local grill.

Basking on a splinter-free picnic bench
watching commerce and leisure
bustle around me,
I soak in the sunshine like a
maple manufacturing chlorophyll.

My phone blinks with notification;
meal is ready.
Time to return to reality.
I collect my take-away and turn on my heel.

While I ascend the elevator
up, up, up, and darkness folds in
my sun-warmed cheeks remind me
I was once wild, and it is now summer.


Poet, writer, photographer and slightly distracted day-dreamer who muses on (gestures at everything) from the petty to the profound. On a semi-serious, fully earnest search for meaning in the mayhem. Perimenopausal, melanin-deprived, irony-enhanced recovering perfectionist Type A+ millennial woman. She balances the ever-continuing quest to Know Better/Do Better, with the distinct ego-death of parenting a smart, full-throated child who was raised to know the power of her voice. Mothering a teen means catching a side-eye in almost every interaction. Diana navigates the minutiae of everyday life through seeking the magical in the mundane. Follow along and laugh with her as the world flames out!

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