Poets of Substack

a curated list for the new moon

Nov 19, 2025

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Stargazer (Citlali) by Pedro Reyes, San Antonio, Texas

New Moon / November 20, 2025

If you’re new here, these New Moon posts usually feature curated lists of people, places, and things that I’ve been appreciating. In some parallel universe I’m certain I am a librarian because I take great joy in putting these together and connecting readers with goodies that I hope will nourish your soul.

Today’s post is dedicated to some of my favorite poets here on Substack. From the outset I should say I don’t know a whole lot about poetry, but I do know when it touches my heart. Poetry is such a different animal from prose (though of course there are works that cross boundaries), and I find myself turning to it when my emotional world needs to come more to the surface, or when I’m swimming in intense emotions and desiring to find a home in someone’s words.

The four writers highlighted here have touched my heart through their poems. I hope you’ll take time to explore their Substack publications and see what speaks to your heart, and consider supporting their work with a subscription (free or paid).

Luisa Kolker, Black Butterfly Diaries

Black Butterfly Diaries is the name of Luisa Kolker’s Substack. Luisa has been writing poetry for over six decades (she started young!). In her words, her work comes from “the threshold of shadow and light, intertwining beauty, struggle, and liminal states. For all who are drawn to the wobbly, intimate work of being human.”

Luisa has been a friend and colleague for a long time, we first met at Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe many years ago. I know her to be a gifted healer (she practices shamanic psychotherapy), and it’s been wonderful to discover her gifts as a writer and poet. Here’s one that she recently shared on Black Butterfly Diaries:

Sea Change

We hunker down for the storm,
knowing neither of us will survive.
No one ever has.
The halyards scream at the wind,
sails slap with fury against the inevitable
change of course.
You and I and this world
are getting old.
And, yet, I see the miracle of morning sunlight in your eyes.
I fold my hand into yours.
There is no safe harbor,
but there is home.

Marisol Munoz Kiehne, Pausing for Ponderings

Marisol Muñoz-Kiehne is a kind of haiku bodhisattva here on Substack. I kept seeing her name and brilliant haikus pop up on other people’s posts, and then on my own, echoing and amplifying the spirit of the post. It’s like the most beautiful butterfly has just alighted on your words and graced it with their magic, then taken the pollen and spread it to the next flower. Marisol shares her haiku, reflections, and photos on Pausing for Ponderings, which is a wonder to explore. In her own words, “This pondering psychologist has no training in poetry 😊. Pausing for poems? Out of respect for poets and reverence for poetry, a clarification. When words and paragraphs are arranged in the form of verse and stanza here, rather than literary expressions they are writings in which we play with ideas, images, perceptions, emotions, rhythm and rhyme.”

Here are some samples from her recent posts. Enjoy!

Down hallowed hallway
towards a great mystery
all living things march.
Heartbeats stop, blooms wilt.
Is this end the final end?
Energy transforms.

Butterflies recall.
Beyond spelling bees, they teach.
Pollinators know.
Tiny industrious ants,
heavy-lifters, well lined up.
Loyal team players.

Anagha Smrithi, A Poem a Week

Anagha Smrithi is a young poet who hails from India and started posting on Substack in 2023. At the time she was working as “an overqualified, underpaid editorial assistant” and was looking for a way to return to a steady writing practice. She publishes one poem a week and they are glorious. Here’s a recent one.

Magic Trick

Some say the trick is to live each day
as though it were the last.
But as for me,
I would rather live like I have days
and days
and nowhere to rush to.
Unhurried, I feel the grass
still cold with last night’s rain,
under my feet.
I release the morning like a dove.
I vanish into a daydream.
I pull a white chain of tomorrows
out of my sleeve, one by one,
hoping they will never end.

Troy Putney, In Search of Supreme Beings

Troy Putney is a writer, photographer, and conservationist based in California. In his words, he hopes to “help others fall in love with this planet and join in the movement to create a more sustainable and just society.” Troy writes with exquisite sensitivity to ‘things as they are,’ and I find his poems deeply nourishing and healing. You might too. Here’s one of my favorites:

In Silence

There is no truth to be found
in a world of businessmen,
only in the souls of outcasts
who’ve endured absurdity,
fires, floods, famine, and fools,
and still find ways to offer kindness
to the very merchants of their pain.

Forgiveness, our wisest elder,
why must we always wrestle
in darkness rather than light?
Why must we always sit silently
hidden amongst what remains?
Should our betrayers not see
open wounds, shattered bones,
soot stains in cheek creases,
our weary hands trembling
as we caress and care for what’s left
of our broken, bleeding hearts?

The old sage rattles in the wind,
trusting in the phases of the moon,
the order of the four seasons,
the seeds in his eternal heart,
the sun to awaken our world,
the sky to reflect wisdom back
into the hearts of the misguided,
so hope may lasso the wind again
and plant herself deeply within
the heart and souls of this broken land.

The Four Ways of Engagement

Four Ways of Engagement, a gift for paid subscribers to The Practice of Life, gives you a pathway to learn about the power of archetypes (Healer, Warrior, Creator, Teacher) and discover the one that feels most alive in you. In my experience, this is the key to taking part in activism that gives us life rather than burns us out. This is a framework I’ve been developing and refining over the past 20 years. I’m a big believer in the idea that we need diverse modes of activism, both in our communities and within ourselves, to effectively move toward a more just and peaceful world.

Every module includes reflections on each archetype, real-world examples, an audio guided meditation to help you tap into the energy of that archetype, practices, and guiding questions. Past participants have found the journey to be illuminating, and even fun!

If you’re a paid subscriber, thank you! You can start the journey here.

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Other Places to Find My Writing

I’ve got another Substack: Postcards from New Mexico.
Dharma Compass is the name of my monthly column on the Buddhist Global Door website. My most recent column: Buddhist Solidarity with Apache Stronghold
I’ve got a book! Work That Matters came out in 2017, but it still has a lot to offer to people who are seeking right livelihood from a mindfulness-based approach. Please check it out and tell others about it.