Poetry Partners #78
‘ALL Belong’, a poem by Anna Smit of ‘Shalom Aleh’
They turned And looked At me fierce "Go home Where you Came from" They shouted. Tears Became my Playground lot I thought I belonged But came up Short. Finally I cried Now I be- Long. But no! Accents Set us apart A stranger Among My own now I thought I belonged But came up Short. But then I turned To look at You Not alone Not at all Rejected But chosen To love Each other Reach Out To the One And know We are Set apart to Open Our heart See and Believe: ALL Belong.
- Anna Smit: https://shalomaleh.com/
A sestina by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’
In the form of six shadormas and a kimo
We belong together; open your heart; reach out and you shall find the in-between short, as the days are long. We so long to simply belong, our lives short, but open to opportunity; you need but try to reach. As you reach for those that you long for most, you can belong in those moments, heart open, even be they short. Long truth short, belonging's in reach, quite open in the long run; we, each of us, belong, and that includes you. It's all you, even if life's short... you belong. All's in reach - all that you have ever longed for; just stay open. Come, open the door to joy; you know you long to, and short mortal lifespans need not reach beyond to belong. You more than likely grasp the long and short of this; put fear aside, reach out, be open... Belong.
Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
List of Poetry Partners
- Murisopsis
- Judy Dykstra-Brown
- Jennifer Patino
- Mike L. Utley
- Barbara Schaefer
- Ron Rowland
- Cheyenne MacMasters
- Rae Cod
- Eric Erb
- Chris Reilley
- Jim-
- Selma Martin
- Vidah (Chavi)
- varityteller
- Veera
- Kunjal Gupta
- Coco
- Lov Verma
- bodypositivefemme
- Steven S. Wallace
- Shay Simmons
- Constance Bourg
- C. L. Barton
- Madamchryzl
- Sangeetha
- Jo
- Audrey Duff
- Gillena Cox
- Yasmin
- Martha Anewa
- Malalai Khan
- Adam Taylor
- trE
- Cindy Georgakas
- Punam
- davidatqcm
- Orion Foote
- Susi Bocks
- Mister Bump UK
- Kate Blake
- Freddie Omm
- kittysverses
- enchantedwords
- Saint Gaona
- Alan Steinle
- Karina Lutz
- Sarah David
- Beka Tucker
- Maria L. Berg
- Colleen M. Chesebro
- Jane Aguiar
- Jan Beekman
- royalpalmtree
- Marian
- M Jay Dixit
- Ken Hume
- Naa Lamiorkor Boye
- Reena Saxena
- Bridget
- Ash Evan Lippert
- Freya Pickard
- Harshi
- LaMon Brown
- Nomad
- Vedran Markovic
- The.Richard.Braxton
- Kim Whysall-Hammond
- Jeff Flesch
- hutschi
- Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
- Anca
- douryeh
- enchantedwords
- Kerfe
- Puvanesvari Rajan
- MistyBlue
- Henry Mworia
- Anna Smit
- Larry Trasciatti
- Sarah Cope
- Filipa Moreira da Cruz
- Robert J. Jr.
- Rosemary McMahan
- Iswar Kar
- Mapule Somo
- Anne Morrigan
- George Ellington
- J. P.
- Christine Bialczak
- Shalini Kathuria Narang
- LaToya Williams
- Maitreyee Telang
- Amelia Michelle Nicol
- A. J. Wilson
- Nick Pipitone
- Myrna Migala
- Kathy Labrum McVittie
- Dawn Pisturino
- Eugenia
- Tea Solon
- Marion Horton
- Hassan Safdar
- Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
- Eileen Backman
- Suzette Benjamin
- Candace
- Tarlie Francis
- Aishwarya Kannan
- Michaël
- Mary Anne Abdo
- Benjamin Nambu
- Scotti Woolery-Price
- Ara
- Sean Matthews
- Joy A. Burki-Watson
- Mike L. Utley
- Hadizat Motherconfessor
- Murisopsis
- Cindy Georgakas
- Swathi Rao
- Filipa Moreira da Cruz
- Di
- Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
- Christine Bialczak
- Rob Kistner
- Michaël
- Sarah Cope
- Stephanie Malley
- musingsbymac
- Verne Ivars Krastins
- Brandon Ellrich
- Tallisman
- kalabalu
- Kunjal Gupta
- Malalai Khan
- Mary Anne Abdo
- M. Snyder
- Sherry Lens
- Barbara Dean Aliaga
- Devine Success
- Veera
- Maria Pavlova
- Kevin L. Perrin
- Alex Budris
- Wm. “Mark” Parry
- Rayla
- Rayla
- Artem Miachin
- Jeff Lee
- Artem Miachin
- Tanmay Philip
- Dee
- Tricia Sankey
- Cassa Bassa
- 3L
- Charles
- WickedLizzie
- L. M. Montes
- Marsha Ingrao
- WickedLizzie
- Jan Beekman
- Neha Singh
- Kaci Rigney
- Kaci Rigney
- Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
So very poignant! heartfelt longing to belong.
💗 Ruth 💗
Lovely exchange between you two poets. Words to ponder. 👏🏻
💙🙃 thanks, Janis 🙃💙
🙂you can belong in those moments, heart open, even be they short.🙂
This is quite a terrifyong space to be in, also difficult to bathe in those short heart opened moments, and then to navigate your way out of those momentarily feelings of warmth and maybe acceptnce; complicated since you don’t really belong in the full sense of the word, to return to where you come from, where you long to go and told you dont belong.
Both poets did a wonderful work, reaching out to ponder the ambivalent nature of be – longing…
😘🤗 Abi 😘🤗
Yes, appreciate the hug and the kiss. Thank you David♥♥
Both poems are profound. The first of being out of the circle, the second of hoping to be a part. Lovely.
💝 Lauren 💝
Both poems touch on the human difficulty of trust. It’s so hard to let yourself be vulnerable. (K)
💕 Kerfe 💕
Sometimes it is hard to know where you belong. Wonderful exploration of the question by both of you.
❤️🤎 Molly ❤️🤎
Thank you for this gift of sharing together, David. So love this stanza:
Long truth short,
belonging’s in reach,
quite open in the long
run; we, each of us, belong,
and that includes you.
💖 Anna 💖 ~ it was my honor!
I love the question-answer between two gifted poets on how to belong. ❤️
💓💛 Punam 💓💛
Wow! The profundity of this simple concept! ❤️👍🤔
🤍😘 Ken 🤍😘
💝
😍 Filipa 😍
Sublime! 💙💚
this is just heartwarming and wonderful from both of you gifted poets! I love it! 💖
🧡🥰 Cindy 🧡🥰
💖💖😘😘
These two speak to me – the insider who is not within the accepted circle. But finally finding your “tribe”, and finding that place called home!
💙🤗 Muri 💙🤗