Writer's Update - Jan 28, 2026 - A Small Detour Inspired by Minnesota
Inspired by Minnesota, Jan 2026
I was supposed to be working on my book this week. Paradise Beyond Pulse has been on my desk in a near-final state, waiting for me to give it one last, decisive push. Instead, I put the whole project aside for two days.
The reason was a note from Minnesota. I read Teri Leigh’s account of what is happening in her community right now, and it pulled me entirely out of my orbit. It wasn’t the headlines, but the details:
a donut shop turned into a medic center,
a bookstore owner walking through tear gas at seventy,
people cleaning tear gas debris at sunrise so children wouldn’t wake up to it,
mothers in reflective vests taking night shifts in sub-zero weather to watch over strangers’ kids,
the National Guard offering donuts and cocoa the morning after a death.
These were not stories of disaster. They were stories of people being stubbornly human, against the odds. It was impossible for me to read without feeling something shift.
Poem Them Down?
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I read Nicoles article The Brown House and jokingly said maybe the best we can do is simply poem those bastards down. Nicole gives us an open mandate, Permission to Weird.
So this is me, doing exactly that.
A Brief Pause from Heart
I stepped away from my manuscript and wrote eight small poems. All of them about community. All of them about ordinary goodness. All of them about the quiet ways people hold each other up when systems fail.
I wrote the poems and, as usual, I created the soundscapes and visuals with AI. I’m releasing these all for free use with no copyright restrictions.
If these pieces help you spark hope, support your community, or simply remind you that kindness still happens in real time, then take them. Share them. Pass them forward. Credit me if you want, but it’s not required.
It’s Not Them, But Us All
I don’t live in Minnesota. Actually, I’m pretty far from it. I don’t pretend to know what you’re going through there. I’m seeing only fragments of it from the safe distance of my screen.
But as a mother of two, reading about families trying to stay safe, neighborhoods improvising survival, and strangers stepping in when parents “disappeared,” hit closer than I expected.
Some situations are local, others belong to all of us. This is the latter.
Thank you for reading and caring.
Minnesota Inspired
I’ll publish the eight poems individually here on Substack and on my website. They’re all available to you at once.
About & Context
These poems, soundscapes, and visuals are unrelated to my main project. These pieces exist purely as support, no commercial intent, no conditions attached. You’re welcome to copy, share, and pass them forward in any way that feels useful.
🖤Feeling it? Share your thoughts below ↓
Thank you from Pakistan. My heart is beyond broken about the horrific events in Minnesota. Kindness always wins
Sam, kindness is what makes the world better for all of us, especially now. Fully engaged in helping alleviate food insecurity in my suburban community has taught me more about the strength in extending a hand to others than anything I have done in my 68 years. It is what saves me from despair when I read about the unthinkable as it occurs in places like Minnesota and at detention facilities. Yet, people get up each day and help others, that is grace. Kindness wins.