why write?

I have to write what I hear in my head, what I dream in my sleep, what my bones ache to express.

My poems tell stories of strength, love, regret, disobedience, loss, hope, redemption, and whatever whispers.

—Cindy B. Stevens

Books Available

My first collection of poetry, Naked, is available for $12.00 at http://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/naked-cindy-stevens/


For local readers, books are also available at:

Purple Crow Books in Hillsborough, NC

The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC



29 August 2020

shallow grave


The following poem was published in The Phoenix, Pfeiffer University’s literary journal:



shallow grave

Satan and God argue
about me
I can’t hear them
but I feel the rift

I keep my distance
I know to dodge their fire
ice
earthquake

I walk while I die
I suck in the Holy Spirit’s
second-hand smoke because
I won’t let her into my house

I never go far enough
they always find my shallow grave
where my shallow words
my shallow life lie

they pull me from my dirt
hose me off
dry me with their white hot light
each says there’s always hope

God and Satan argue
about me
one says I’m too far gone
one says I show promise

© 2019 Cindy B. Stevens
Published in The Phoenix, Pfeiffer University

#grave #god #satan #fire #ice #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #InstaPoetry #Life #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #PoetsOfInstagram #PoetryCommunity #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #SpilledInk #Thoughts #Word #Write #Writer #WritersCommunity #WritersLife #WritersOfInstagram #Writing

Photo credit:  ben-turnbull-psW1ci6-_gY-unsplash

23 August 2020

ode to breakfast


I used to love breakfast, for any meal, but now I can’t eat traditional breakfast foods.  Here are seven lines from my “ode to breakfast”:

before my diagnosis I could eat pie for breakfast
graham cracker crust
butterscotch filling
meringue top

great grandma’s pumpkin recipe

day old pie
even better

© 1 January 2020
Cindy B. Stevens

#breakfast #limitations #pie #meringue #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #InstaPoetry #Life #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #PoetsOfInstagram #PoetryCommunity #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #SpilledInk #Thoughts #Word #Write #Writer #WritersCommunity #WritersLife #WritersOfInstagram #Writing

Photo credit:  julie-ronberg-3xlOqlhH_GQ-unsplash

19 August 2020

The Mugg-A Virtual Storyteller Series

 The Mugg-A Virtual Storyteller Series

 A evening show with poets, writers, singers, and comedians.

 Date:  Thursday, 20 August

 Time:  7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST

 Cost: only your time

 Register for your free ticket at:     https://hemedstories.com/the-mugg

17 August 2020

black ice


The following poem was published in the Heron Clan VI anthology:

black ice

my winter
harsh
holds me captive

black ice
camouflages
my daffodils

thirst sparks my thaw
pardon prods my frosty debris
mercy loves me more than I despise myself

© 2019 Cindy B. Stevens
Published in the Heron Clan VI anthology


#darkness #thirst #debris #mercy #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #InstaPoetry #Life #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #PoetsOfInstagram #PoetryCommunity #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #SpilledInk #Thoughts #Word #Write #Writer #WritersCommunity #WritersLife #WritersOfInstagram #Writing

Photo credit:  simon-john-mchaffie-LN2yXUjQ-pI-unsplash

11 August 2020

listen





Five lines from “listen”:

God has tried to talk to me
still tries
probably
I don’t want to hear
I cover my ears

© 12 June 2020
Cindy B. Stevens

#listen #change #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #InstaPoetry #Life #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #PoetsOfInstagram #PoetryCommunity #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #SpilledInk #Thoughts #Word #Write #Writer #WritersCommunity #WritersLife #WritersOfInstagram #Writing

Photo credit:  dominik-kempf-Lbq-7zBeVqY-unsplash

05 August 2020

no rehearsal

The first lines from each stanza of a three stanza poem, “no rehearsal”:

visitors file forward

family processes

we await comfort words

© 9 March 2020
Cindy B. Stevens


#funeral #family #rehearse #comfort #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #InstaPoetry #Life #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #PoetsOfInstagram #PoetryCommunity #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #SpilledInk #Thoughts #Word #Write #Writer #WritersCommunity #WritersLife #WritersOfInstagram #Writing

Photo credit:  victoria-kure-wu-zJLzr95zE_k-unsplash