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BLUE-GREEN COMPASS by Laura Kutney

I have been writing almost daily my entire life, but had never publicly shared any of it until I made a dare with myself last October.

I thought to myself that on January 1, 2014, I would submit my first poem or article to someone. The more I thought about it, however, the more I felt that I should just take the leap and submit a poem on November 1, 2013. After all, I knew it would be rejected, so why wait for the New Year for bad news?

As it turned out, my poem was accepted nearly immediately and I was elated. It was published just days later and since then my public writing has taken off. Six months have passed and I have now published 90-someodd poems and articles for various publications and journals.

I was also asked to edit a friend’s book and loved the experience. I have met other writers and my life has been expanded and lifted like a helium balloon. I feel so blessed and overfilled with a new kind of joy that I haven’t experienced before.

I do wish that I would have taken that initial step a bit sooner, but everything comes in its own season when we are ready. Still---I would encourage writers who are sitting on the fence to take the leap and share their work. Start a blog. Submit a poem or story. Listen a bit closer to what your heart is trying to tell you.

I would like to share my first publication with Women’s Spiritual Poetry with a wish that even just one more person will find the courage within themselves to share their voice for the first time as well . . .


Blue-Green Compass

I sail towards enduring gestures of the sea
Unwavering ebb and flow
Celebrating each brilliant silver moon phase of
Eternal and irrefutable episode of tide
Keeping time of moments and eras alike

Within the sea, detectable and unrevealed elements
Of imminent shoreline and enduring deep waters

Infinite polished granules make the sandy terra firma
Shaped by eons of abounding wave surges
Made over, and over, and over, and over, and yet once more over again
Each wave unique
Never repeated

Beautiful colors and light dancing on the water’s surface
Appearing serene upon the horizon, yet a raucous line where sea and shore meet
Beneath the calm distance and dynamic swells
Dwell secrets kept from those above

Now moving past the edge of the water and wading in waist deep
Beyond threshold of sand, luminous azure blue swells and frothy foam
Into the gritty, underwater terrain of nomadic sand crabs
I burrow my feet and curl my toes into their shifting homes
Strengthening and bracing myself in my mysterious aquatic bath

Unbending, I wait
One, two waves
I hold steadfast
A third wave reaches out and then withdraws
White spray, grainy sand and salty water mixing into my nose, eyes and mouth
The salty tears of the sea are realized

I recognize myself as a grain of sand
Dependant upon receiving equal tumble and polish of my body, mind and spirit

Each of life’s moments
Weathers my soul
Into the person I am becoming



Laura Kutney loves to laugh until her face and stomach hurt, and to sing really loudly. If you opened her toy box, you would find books, words, art, photos and a world of feelings. She can ponder a word for a day, or write a story in an hour. She has a photographic memory but is also dyslexic. Yep, the two coexist inside of her just like a little universal joke. Originally a chemical engineer, she is now a mother to her three children (12, 15 and 17) and writes everyday, writing mainly poetry and short stories. She has been married to her true love for 18 years and counting. Life is good and ever-changing. She counts on the second part of that last sentence sometimes hourly. She can be found as a featured author for the elephant journal, on her blog Mosaic Commons, and on Facebook.

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~ 

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