Dear Readers, By the time this issue comes out, it will be around the time of the end of year holidays. To me, those holidays are the most melancholic. This is not a criticism; it’s part of their charm. I am the most familiar with Christmas, so that is the one I am focused on. […]

Dear Friends, This is the second Editor’s Note I’ve had to write. That is the danger of working far in advance. Who knows what the world will look like by the time this issue comes out? The first Note was written during that all-too-brief, hopeful, and strange time between getting vaccinated and the Delta variant. […]

Dear Thimble Readers, I enjoy finding out what makers’ hobbies are—besides creating art and being sad, of course. Those are givens. What is surprising to me was the amount of poets who play videogames. I am not one of them; my hand-eye coordination is laughable at best. But when I thought about it more, I […]

Dear Readers, When asked where I live, I usually give the answer of “Dallas,” but—as with most one-word answers—that’s not quite true. I am about fifteen miles or so outside of that sprawling metroplex, in a small town, graced with trees and a lack of stuffiness. This also entails wildlife. When I first moved out […]

I have been thinking about rebellious acts, and there are so many to choose from. There are trivial ways of saying no, such as dying one’s hair pink, which I aim to do soon. And of course, there are more profound acts of rebellion, such as taking to the streets. Anger is a valid choice. […]

Friends, I have been determined to win quarantine bingo. I got a new pet. I used a beard trimmer to buzz my hair (and it looks pretty good, all things considered). I ate zucchini bread from zucchinis I grew in my backyard. I edited my poetry manuscript. I cleaned the fridge and did other chores […]

Lately I’ve been thinking of that quote from The Sound and the Fury: “I wasn’t crying but I couldn’t stop.” That’s how it feels of late. Our journal requires much planning, being run by a thimble-sized staff, so there are often months between selecting poems, writing letters from the editor—whatever that is for anyways—and the […]

It feels ridiculous and urgent to celebrate National Poetry Month this year. It’s easy to see why it feels frivolous. A pandemic is happening. Our lives have shifted in the month or so in ways we did not see coming. To whom should I extol the virtues of poetry when so many of us are […]

When the adults were gone, I used to eat on top of the refrigerator, as a kid. It was easy enough—climb on the counter, then take a big step to the top, skipping over the microwave because I knew, even then, that wouldn’t support my weight. What a tall throne for a child in a […]

There are many classic songs about shelter: “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones and “Shelter from the Storm” by Bob Dylan, to name two. But today I would like to speak about the lyrics of “Shelter Song” by Temples. It’s not exactly high art—assuming that means anything—but it’s a catchy tune and has some nice […]