Free Verse Archives - The MockingOwl Roost

January 17, 2026

Background of brown paper with strings of shark's teeth and seashells clipped throughout. TEXT: My dearest Sister has cancer. Martha Ellen. Poetry

Published by Martha Ellen at January 17, 2026

My Sister Has Cancer

I’m going to see my sis today. She loves when I tell her stories. [Laugh.] So I’m wearing my fossil bracelet with a chambered nautilus [66 million years old]; Amber [I’ll make up a date]; A shark tooth — not a fossil.

January 11, 2026

Steaming coffee in a warm, inviting brown mug resting on a colorful red, brown, black, and cream tablerunner on a dark wood table. A creamer pitcher of the same warm brown glaze is in the background, along with a blurry window with greenery present. TEXT: Coffee Ritual - Blog Series: Positivity Corner - Poetry - Rachel Turney

Published by The MockingOwls and Rachel Turney at January 11, 2026

Coffee Ritual

Always the same large cups, mine from Fretboard and his from Trailhead. Always the same dance of the mugs, clinking the ceramic, the scalding first sip. The coffee is a ritual of purpose, of togetherness. Of starting a day, and taking on a responsibility for myself and another person. Something I chose and continue to choose.