
…although perhaps there should be, to honor the poet who was so brutally killed a few days ago. What I mean by it, really, is that I won’t be writing today with an eye towards beauty or lyricism. I am here because I don’t really know where else to go…what else to do…other than create something that can be one of the innumerable threads in the world that can weave people together…people who need that togetherness.
I’ve looked and looked and haven’t been able to find it deeply or for long, but what I have found and what has helped I want to start sharing here. And eventually, make this a storehouse for like-minded souls, or at least, a supportive haven.
When a friend and I were texting yesterday, mourning together the murder of Renee Good, my friend said that one of the videos caught Renee’s wife saying “I don’t know what to do!” Unimaginable, the circumstances that brought out her cry. But I have felt the same, in a different and my own way, over and over again, for the past year. If you feel the same, let’s talk about what to begin to do, shall we? In the comments, simple old-school style. And please let me know if anything about my comment box makes it burdensome to comment. I can’t figure that out by myself, but even something as simple as making commenting easier than it is in many places feels like a “fist to the man” which is what I wanting to get way more comfortable doing.
Here is what I want to share today. I will share all of my resources soon, but this gave me such hope and clarity this morning, listening to it in bed as the sheltering rain came down, pillowed and blanketed, safe, and wondering what to do next…



nofixedstars January 11, 2026 at 5:31 pm
thank you, lesley. it has been a heavy time. i think most women viscerally recognised the murderer’s recorded words after he shot her. too many of us know it personally or second-hand. my heart is breaking for her children, for her wife, for the witnesses, for every woman and black or brown person who knows the violent contempt evidenced in this event and is subtly, or not so subtly, re-traumatised by it.
i have taken what comfort i can in cooking good food, texting with my loved ones, watching the sunsets. also in seeing the response of all kinds of people to the monks who are walking for peace. i fear the time we are in and the time that may be coming. but knowing that others are in the good fight along with me, in various ways, is helpful.
Lesley January 12, 2026 at 3:31 pm
Yes, as it is for me to read your thoughts. There is *so much* this tragedy has brought attention to. Those two words haunt me, what they reveal. I was reminded today of the saying “Men are afraid women will humiliate them.Women are afraid men will kill them.” and the tears fell again…
xo