Ramblings of the Lost and Found is the second full-length poetry collection by Axton Mitchell. A transgender poet exploring the raw intersections of identity, grief, love, survival, and memory. Written over the span of a season in time. This 63-poem collection captures the in-betweens of life: the moments that break you, rebuild you, and leave you asking why.
Through vivid, intimate snapshots, Axton navigates relationships, trauma, mental health, queer joy, and parental loss. Each piece feels like a note from a storm or a whispered secret from a healing place. Either way, offering readers a deeply human, unflinching perspective on life’s complexities.
Content Warning:
Themes include grief, death of a parent, trauma, mental illness, identity-based experiences, and suicidal ideations.
Why You’ll Love This Collection:
Vulnerable and unfiltered exploration of life’s emotional landscapes 63 poems capturing the messy beauty of existence. Insight into the lived experience of a transgender poet, perfect for readers seeking connection, reflection, and honesty.
Visit Poeaxtry and the Prism’s Archive Cheat Sheet. Discover all post categories, with a blurb and link to full post archive for each. Then find every post in that category in chronological order.
For me fun is a way of breathing, a way of lighting up and grounding down. It’s where the ground meets breath and I feel small.
These five things are my ways of playing, dreaming, and just being alive in this wild world that keeps pulling me back into wonder. I do them where I am, Ohio mostly, but I carry them into every place I rest my pack.
I’ll take you to see why these matter to me, why they might speak right into your own understanding of joy.
1. Hiking Ohio Parks and Beyond Nature Is My Church
Hiking isn’t a checklist it’s church. It’s the quiet place where my steps speak prayers and the wind becomes a kind of hymn. I spend most of my trails in Appalachia, the ancient ridges and hollows that hold stories beneath moss and stone. From Hocking Hills to the places tucked close to home like Piatt Gorge and little forgotten hollers you pull up on with a shaky signal. The perfect quiet, each park feels like a teacher.
I pay attention to sustainability and my carbon footprint while I go. That isn’t some Instagram line. Before I hit a path I do my research. Then I pack water, snacks, a bag for trash, dog care, a med kit, and I learn the trail conditions because respect for land means knowing what it needs from me. Hiking grounds me in my own body, gives my heart room to slow, and every leaf and cliff edge reminds me why I love this breathing world.
Most trails I wander are close to Ohio Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky, and North Carolina. As well as the spaces in between when I travel. Mostly this year though is for Ohio trails first unless the road calls me to loved ones far off.
2. Rockhounding Finding Stones with Stories
Rockhounding is play with purpose. I drive gravel roads look at creek beds and run my hands over banks until something whispers like a buried story. Raw stones, fossils, flint and quartz hidden with sun baked secrets in their fractures, they pull me in every time. When I hold a piece that once lived underground or in some ancient sea bed my worries become small, and my imagination gets loud in the best possible way.
Crystals and stones aren’t just things to me, they’re little time capsules of heat and pressure, of being shaped into something timeless and beautiful. I find peace in the chase and gratitude in every piece that makes me stop and say yes, this feels like something.
3. Witchcraft and Spiritual Creativity
Witchcraft for me isn’t theatrics its creation and alignment. I make spells, tools ritual pieces, wands, and more because that crafting is prayer in motion. I love grounding my intentions into objects made by hand, tuning materials to purpose and watching them hum with meaning. That’s fun and that’s healing and it’s something that keeps me steady when the world feels too loud or too empty.
I also love to teach my craft. I share to help others learn because I know what it’s like to want language and structure for this spiritual play. It’s honest and it’s real and it’s part of bringing more wonder and respect to every day. These tools aren’t props they’re companions, they’re ways to bring intention into living.
4. Making Things From What I Love
Making jewelry charms witchy goods and objects that feel alive under fingertips is where fun and work become the same lovely loop. I take what I find rocks, bone, feathers, metal bits, or bits of wonder and put them together until they feel like something someone else might also like.
This act of creation is rooted in love for material and moment, it’s about giving the raw world form and function, and it’s about connecting with whoever ends up loving these pieces too. When you make something you connect, and that connection is why making things is fun for me. It’s about transformation and meaning and care all rolled together like a stone in the palm that suddenly feels like belonging.
5. Xbox Unwind and Chill Recharge Sessions
Then there’s the alone but together world of Xbox and unwinding. I love a good game, something to sink into when the music in my head needs outside rhythm. Sometimes I add a bit of weed to soften the edges and let the world blur into color and sound, sometimes it’s just me and a controller and a story that feels like living another life for a little while.
I also love a good book, real pages or a screen that feels like touch. Both ground me because fun isn’t always high energy sometimes it’s recharge and release, play, and presence without pressure. It’s the quiet joy of story and challenge and that world you can slip into after a long day on real trails or at your bench turning rock into talisman.
Take a breath right now and think about your own fun. What pulls your shoulders down from your ears and makes your eyes soften? Whatever it is jot it down, revisit it soon when the world whirls loud again. Fun isn’t frivolous it’s fuel, it’s what keeps you moving and rooted all at once.
These five things: hiking, rockhounding, witchcraft and spiritual creation, making art from earth and unwind sessions, are my ways of living out loud. Here I am grounded in nature and creativity. They are the places I find meaning, play, fill my lungs, and quiet my mind. Maybe some of them echo in your own life, maybe they inspire you to try something new.
If this felt like something you recognize in yourself or in someone you know share it with them, let them read about joy that feels rooted and real not flashy or sold.
Before you go!
Tell me what you do for fun and how it feels in your body. What pulls your breath into wonder? Yes, even if it’s nothing like mine. I want to know what lights you up as much as what grounds you.
Check out Poeaxtry’s Links for all things Poeaxtry. Stores and socials, follow along for real life fun, creative habits, and hikes that feel like holy ground.
Or if you want to explore more… Visit Poeaxtry and the Prism’s Archive Cheat Sheet. Discover all post categories, with a blurb and link to full post archive for each. Then find every post in that category in chronological order.
Today’s hike didn’t go how Cyble and I had envisioned it. Yet, unlike normally when the destination changes and everything’s worse tbis ended up better than I ever expected. I woke up thinking Morgantown was the same distance from Newark as Wheeling and that was a dumbass mistake. Yet, sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Instead of heading straight to Cooper’s Rock near Morgantown, West Virginia, Cyble and I took a detour that turned into one of the most beautiful, muddy, quiet, awe-inspiring hikes I’ve done in Ohio.
We drove from Newark to Cambridge, Ohio, and ended up at Piatt Gorge in Woodsfield. From there we went on to Raven Rocks, about 19 miles away in southern Belmont County, and spent the whole day chasing waterfalls, heart rocks, caves, creek crossings, laughs, slips, and exactly zero people.
Piatt Gorge: Caves, Waterfalls, and Heart Rocks
Piatt Gorge was incredible. The trail loops through rich hardwood forest, switchbacks, and rock shelves. We took the west side trail through a massive cave-like passage that opens up into a waterfall. Waterfalls were everywhere: some roaring, some trickling, some dry even though it was raining. Every waterfall was perfect for photos, and some spots looked swimmable, though I didn’t see any signs saying you could or couldn’t.
Double falls at Piatt park
I had both Luna and Cyble with me and they got all the views, all the rocks, all the laughs. I fell twice, didn’t get hurt, and got some hilarious photos. At one point I collected two heart rocks at the same spot and gave them to Cyble for her and her boyfriend Hunter. I brought home twenty-four little heart rocks, I photographed one huge heart rock big enough for five people to sit on, another large one under a waterfall that I left because it was too poetic, two orange slabs with red and black stripes, two cool conglomerates, and some other orangey stones I liked. Six of these went straight onto my altar.
Inside a cave at Piatt park
The trail was wet and muddy with a few creek crossings. It’s kid- and dog-friendly, but some cliffy sections will pose situations where help for kids and others may be needed. Benches are scattered along the path, but it’s not ADA accessible. Shoes that can handle mud are a must.
Another fall at Piatt Park
Planning a day trip from Newark, to Cambridge, or nearby Ohio towns? Piatt Gorge is perfect for waterfalls, caves, and heart rocks. Grab a friend, your dog, a camera, and some waterproof shoes. You’ll want to take your time and explore the cave and waterfall sections.
What’s your favorite Ohio cliff or fall?
Tell us in the comments!
Raven Rocks: Cliffs, New Signs, and Quiet Trails
Cliff falls at raven rocks preserve
Next, we went to Raven Rocks nature preserve in Beallsville, Ohio, which is open to the public but privately owned. The 0.4-mile loop at the trailhead drops into ravines with sandstone cliffs and small waterfalls. There are new wooden steps replacing the old ones and trail signs now that weren’t there last time I visited. The place was quiet with no one else around, giving a sense of being completely immersed in nature.
Scenery photo at Ravens rocks
Trails were wet and muddy, with some creek crossings and cliffy areas that need attention if you’re bringing kids. Dogs are allowed and Luna’s energy made the hike even better. We picked up some garbage in the parking lot and carried it to the bins. Please remember to respect the trails.
Cooper’s Rock: The Classic Dream
Though we didn’t make it there today, Cooper’s Rock near Morgantown, WV, still calls to me. It has miles of trails, overlooks of the Cheat River Canyon, and rock formations that make for epic hiking and photography. After today, I’m even more excited to return.
Trail Notes and Tips
Trails in these locations are muddy and slick after rain, so wear shoes you don’t care about. Creek crossings are simple but need attention. Kid- and dog-friendly doesn’t mean easy, cliff areas need supervision. Pack out trash and respect private property. Every fall, every splash, every heart rock, and every waterfall is part of the experience.
So tell me what do you collect on your trail adventures?
Heart shaped rocks call to me
Today’s hike exceeded expectations. Piatt Gorge and Raven Rocks are beautiful, challenging, and unforgettable. Share this with someone you want to explore these trails with. You’ll get laughs, muddy shoes, incredible photos, and the quiet magic that only hidden Ohio trails can offer.
Explore Because I Was Prompted, Axton’s unique poetry prompt journal. Here he blends 17 poems with the creative prompts used to create them. To inspire writers, poets, and creatives. Perfect for deepening your craft and sparking new ideas.
About This Prompt Journal
This collection was curated from Axton’s personal prompts, and others he collected across Instagram, Pinterest, and other creative spaces. Writers, poets, and creatives can use these to build ideas, create new works, or add to Axton’s pieces. Making this e-journal both a tool and a space for collaboration.
Why You’ll Love This Collection
Inspiration for Writers and Poets: Each prompt pairs with a poem to spark your imagination.
Creative Reflection: Engage with your memories, emotions, and personal stories.
Flexibility: Use prompts to create extensions of Axton’s work, entirely original pieces, or part of a future series.
Skill Building: Strengthen your creative voice through guided practice.
How to Access Because I Was Prompted
You can read or purchase this collection on multiple platforms for maximum accessibility.
Yesterday and today’s two-day tarot journal entry that reflects on the Eight of Pentacles reversed and the Three of Pentacles. This is a message about rest, creative alignment, and soul-led work.
Piatt Park
Eight of Pentacles Reversed and Three of Pentacles Tarot Journal
Tarot does not shout.
It whispers… then it waits for you to notice.
Over these two days, one card slid in right as I was running out the door into the woods, and the next one arrived after rest, connection, and quiet work. Together they formed a story about what it means to be a creative, a craftsperson, and a soul doing real work in a body that still needs to breathe.
This was not about money.
It was not about hustle.
It was about energy, devotion, and the difference between sacred effort and self-punishment.
Day One, Eight of Pentacles Reversed
The Moment It Arrived
I pulled the Eight of Pentacles reversed on January 14th, 2026, right before leaving for what was supposed to be a hike at Cooper’s Rock. Plans shifted, distance mattered, and we rerouted toward Piatt Gorge near Woodsfield, Ohio. Rain followed us from Columbus through Eastern Ohio and back into central Ohio.
The card landed right as my shoes were on, keys in hand, already in motion.
That timing mattered.
I had been planning to pull it earlier, but tarot has its own sense of humor. It waited until I was physically stepping into the exact medicine the card was pointing toward.
What the Eight of Pentacles Reversed Means in Daily Life
Upright, the Eight of Pentacles is grind, mastery, repetition, building skill through relentless focus.
Reversed, it asks something very different.
This card does not mean laziness.
It means misaligned effort.
It points to moments where you are working hard but not necessarily working well. Where perfectionism creeps in, where every task becomes a test of worth, where even spiritual practice starts to feel like another thing to get right.
It is the card that asks,
Why does everything feel like a job?
In a daily pull, the Eight of Pentacles reversed is a pause button. It is a soft warning against turning your whole life into a checklist.
Perfectionism Is Not Devotion
This card kept circling one truth.
Perfectionism is the killer of good.
Not because standards are bad, but because obsessive refinement can become a form of self-distrust. You stop creating and start policing yourself. You stop listening to your body and start measuring it.
The reversed Eight of Pentacles is about stepping back from that loop.
Not quitting, not abandoning your path, but remembering that meaningful work needs breath, space, and rest or it rots into resentment.
Hiking as Ritual, Not Escape
Yesterday, I was heading into the woods.
Not to run from work, but to realign with it.
Hiking, for me, is not downtime. It is worship. It is how I remember I am part of something larger than productivity. It is how I bring my nervous system back into rhythm with the land. It is how I spend time with nature and show it love, while reminding myself I am blessed.
The Eight of Pentacles reversed was not telling me to stop creating.
It was saying,
Stop punishing yourself for how you create.
The card landed right before I stepped into the exact kind of soul time that heals this imbalance. That was not coincidence.
Day Two, Three of Pentacles
Today January 15th, 2026, after waking up, cleaning up, spending time with Skylar and the baby, while sitting in my garage, I pulled the Three of Pentacles.
This is what comes after realignment.
The Three of Pentacles is about skilled work done with intention. It is about building something that matters, not alone, not in isolation, but in relationship to others and to spirit.
Where the Eight reversed said,
Stop grinding,
the Three said,
Now build with care.
The Sacred Triangle of Work
In traditional tarot imagery, the Three of Pentacles shows three figures, often described as an artisan, an architect, and a spiritual figure.
Fire, the worker and desire.
Air, the planner and the mind.
Water, the spiritual witness.
Together they form a triangle. This is what makes work sacred. Not just effort, but intention, vision, and meaning braided together.
Rachel Pollack wrote once that practical work done consciously can become a vehicle for self-development. That is the heart of this card.
It is not about what you do.
It is about how you do it, and what you pour into it.
This Is the Card of the Artisan
The Three of Pentacles is not a gift card.
It is a proof of labor.
The person in this card is trusted because they earned it. They honed their craft. They kept showing up. Their work speaks for them.
This is the card that appears when you are no longer guessing at your path, but walking it.
It often comes when you are developing a talent, polishing a skill, or finally being recognized for what you have been quietly building.
And yes, it can also be about collaboration, mentorship, and being seen by the right people at the right time.
We do not work in a vacuum.
How These Two Cards Speak to Each Other
The Eight of Pentacles reversed cleared the static.
The Three of Pentacles tuned the signal.
One said,
Stop making everything a grind.
The other said,
Now create with purpose.
Together they describe exactly where I am standing.
2025 was about going live, trying things, learning out loud.
2026 is about using what I learned, refining it, and letting it mature.
Not frantic effort, but conscious craft.
Not burnout, but devotion.
This Is What Soul Work Looks Like.
The Three of Pentacles does not promise miracles. It promises something better.
Growth.
Creative, spiritual, and material fulfillment built on real effort.
The Eight of Pentacles reversed made space for this by pulling me out of self-punishment and back into alignment.
Together, these cards told me something simple and true.
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?
My billboard would read:
Publishing, Poetry, Paganism, and People – The Poeaxtry Prism Planet.”
Read more below to see the full story as to why…
Witchcraft and spirituality do not live in perfect aesthetics or mass-produced one size fits all spell bags. It lives where people are actually doing the work. Showing up in kitchens, backyards, workbenches, forests, streams and quiet moments where you can still feel the old world coming through.
Poeaxtry is where the people are. This brand and motto exist at the intersection of paganism, queer identity, advocacy spirituality, handmade tools, and real-world practice to name just a few. Nothing here is meant to be distant, polished, or untouchable. It’s meant to be used, held, worked with, and questioned.
This space is rooted in paganism, shaped by personal experience, and expressed through divination, ritual services, and objects made by hand with purpose.
Heathen or person from a rural person has a new meaning in recent years.
What Paganism Actually Is
Paganism is not one religion, and it has never been a single organized system. Historically and in modern practice, paganism is used to refer to a wide range of spiritual paths. These paths are usually nature-based, earth-honoring, and often inspired by pre-Christian traditions.
Modern paganism is usually experiential rather than dogmatic. People build their practice through relationship with land, seasons, ancestors, symbols, and personal intuition. There is no universal rulebook and no requirement to worship a specific deity.
That flexibility is not a flaw. It is the point.
Paganism shows up in Poeaxtry and the Prism, through intention, honoring nature, creation, ritual, divination, the way each item or service is created, and layered into digital and physical literature collections as well. My work is grounded, practical, and personal. Never performative.
Paganism and Wicca Are Not the Same Thing
This is one of the most misunderstood topics, so it matters to be clear.
Wicca is a specific religion that developed in the mid-20th century, drawing from ceremonial magic, folklore, and older pagan imagery. It has defined rituals, ethical frameworks, and religious structure.
In early Wiccan practice, this rule was often a matter of social etiquette in leu of cosmic law. If a witch did you a favor, you’d be socially tied to return it three times. Pagans argue that turning this into a karmic law or seemingly Christianity related was a later reinterpretation meant to give Wicca a structured, “acceptable” morality.
Christian Morals?
Prominent pagan people gave saidthat Gerald Gardner would invented “ancient” laws to manage coven issues and improve his PR. Non-Wiccan pagans, like myself, and some other believers in the craft feel a universal “law” where actions return exactly threefold… is an oversimplification. Some even see it as a guideline to scare “newbies” into a “non-harmful” practices. This one’s gonna make some people mad, and I’m not sorry about it. The law of three feels like an attempt to make Christians and other people who believe in Abrahamic religions less scared of them.
Paganism the Umbrella term
Just small side note on the fact that I have two identifiers that are umbrella terms, and that’s kinda cool if you think about it like I do.
Paganism is the larger umbrella. Wicca exists within, that being said paganism itself contains more layers than your favorite cake. A good amount of paths that have nothing to do with Wicca at all.
Some pagans work with deities, others don’t. Practicing Pagans magick. Seasonal, ritual or even ancestral reverence. Eclectic, and Celtic Pagans. Don’t forget Norse, Heathenry, and Hellenism. Kemeticism, an ancient Egyptian form of paganism, and Religio Romana. Yes the Roman’s had a paganism based belief system as well!
There’s Druidry, whose focused is nature, poetry, and divine inspiration (Awen), though this is typically less spell work more scholar. This isn’t the complete list.
Poeaxtry is pagan-rooted but not Wiccan. I am more of an Eclectic Pagan if I had to choose. We choose our own path, a curated list of what works for us, from (ethical, not closed) traditions. You can runes, pendulums, smudging herb sticks you dry yourself, let’s use something other than white sage please.
White Sage is native to Southern California and is sacred to the Chumash, Tongva, and Gabrieleno, indigenous tribes of that region.
Indigenous people were legally banned from practicing their own religions, this included burning sage for decades. It is very disrespectful for their very oppressors to now sell it. Then use it as a trend while the Chumash, Tongva, and Gabrieleno, tribes still struggle for land and rights.
Tell me in the comments where your practice live? The trees? A seat at your kitchen table?
Or
You could share one belief or practice you’ve reclaimed on your own terms.
Any and all engagement & community building welcome!
Tarot and Pendulum Readings
Divination is not about predicting an unchangeable future. Through time, tarot and pendulum work have been tools for reflection, clarity, and energetic awareness.
Tarot readings offered through Poeaxtry focus on helping people understand patterns, choices, and influences already present in their lives. The cards do not make decisions for anyone. They create a conversation.
Pendulum readings are simpler and more direct. They are often used for energetic checking, alignment, or focused yes-or-no questions. I have custom boards for more in-depth responses and questions. For people who want clarity without overwhelm.
These services are offered as support tools, not as definitive guides or fixes and NEVER as medical information.
Spell Jars and Spell Bags
Spell jars and spell bags are symbolic containers, holding intention, focus, and material correspondence. They do not replace personal effort or responsibility.
Each piece created at Poeaxtry by Axton is assembled intentionally, using organic herbs and natural materials whenever possible. That is handcrafted in small batches, based on vibe. They are meant to be worked with, carried, placed, or incorporated into personal ritual.
They are reminders and anchors, not promises.
Ritual Services and Spiritual Work
Rituals offered by Axton through Poeaxtry are grounded in purpose with intention. These can include personal rituals, seasonal observances, or energy-focused work designed to help people mark transitions, release stagnation, or set intention.
The goal is to create something meaningful and usable for real life.
Handmade Tools and Body Work
Hand-whittled wands are shaped by the wood itself. Grain, knots, and natural form guide the process. Each wand is made slowly and deliberately, not carved into uniform shapes. Each wand base is foraged, and whittled, and crafted by me alone.
Natural body sprays are crafted with botanical ingredients and intended for grounding, energetic refresh, or ritual use. They are not overloaded with synthetic fragrance or filler.
Organic herbal tinctures are prepared using traditional methods and plant knowledge. These are not trend products. They are rooted in respect for the plants themselves and the people who use them.
Stone Work and Found Creations
Stones are collected, cleaned, sliced, or polished using tumblers or hand tools, then transformed into something new. Some are functional. Some are symbolic. Some are simply meant to make people smile.
The Stony Homies exist for that exact reason. Spiritual work does not need to be humorless to be sincere.
Wreaths and Earth-Based Art
Crystal, bone, seasonal, vibe based wreaths and nature-based creations honor cycles, thresholds, and change. Materials are chosen with awareness of season and environment whenever possible. These pieces are not meant to last forever. Their impermanence is part of their meaning.
Why Poeaxtry Exists in Paganism
Poeaxtry exists because spirituality should be lived, not staged.
At Poeaxtry the work is handmade, imperfect, intentional, and grounded. It honors pagan roots without pretending there is only one correct way to practice. It leaves room for curiosity, humor, and personal meaning.
Poeaxtry is where the people are because that is where real magic lives.
Through tarot, ritual services, handmade tools, herbal work, stone creations, and earth-based art, Poeaxtry supports people who walk their own spiritual path without needing permission or polish.
This is living practice. Made by hand. Used by real people.
Share this with someone who’s still trying to untangle Paganism from the stereotypes.
Or
With someone who is untangling Paganism from Propaganda
Poeaxtry creations! Handmade items, digital collections, Tarot & Pendulum Readings, and more. Physical items only on Etsy! Readings only on Pay-hip/Gumroad. Digital collections on all three as well as kindle/amazon and Google!
Poeaxtry_ began as poetry, grew into ritual craft, lapidary art, and community care. All layered with me, Ax (me), at the core of every creation.
The Story Behind Poeaxtry_
Poeaxtry_ started as an idea, a name, a whisper. In 2022, my sister, my friend Dea, and I were brainstorming branding names. Just spit-balling, on snapchat what we thought would eventually be my poetry brand. I wanted a name that carried my voice, experiences, and survival. We landed on Poeaxtry_. Poetry with Ax (me) intertwined. A simple truth that has only rung more true with time.
At first, it was just supposed to be for my poetry collections. Explore themes like (but not limited to): queerness, recovery, identity, and grief. But Poeaxtry_ is stubborn, and begged for more.
From Poetry to Full Creative Practice
Now, Poeaxtry_ encompasses not only my poetry, but handmade lapidary art and rock-hounded creations. Stones I’ve tumbled, polished, sliced for lapidary, slabs that hold texture and story. Ritual tools, wands, spell jars, pendulums, tarot readings, natural sprays, tinctures. Fossil jars and specimens that whisper the histories of the earth. Wreaths, wind chimes, altar decor, and other hand-crafted decor. Journals, zines, and collaborative publishing for marginalized voices. Every piece, every poem, every creation is layered with me, my hands, my heart, my history.
Even as it grew, the Poeaxtry_ branding name still fit like it was made for this life. Poetry, craft, ritual, and community all intertwined. Each item, poem, ritual is a form of poetry itself. A record of what it means to live, survive, create, and witness.
While you’re here, think about your own connection to poetry and craft. What do you create that carries you in it?
A journal entry that tells your story? A handmade object you poured meaning into? A curated ritual, spell, or piece of art you crafted. A poem or reflection that sits in your chest.
Comment below and share what feels most like you. I always find joy when I am able to see how art lives in other bodies.
Poeaxtry_ is about more than what you see in any online shop. It’s about presence, survival, ritual, and care. Not only for myself, but for community. It’s about only leaving traces when ethical. It is a whisper. A chill. a silent look or a shared moment. Standing as proof that you exist at this moment, and that you matter.
Share this post with someone who needs a little creative or spiritual inspiration today. Someone who wants to see poetry and art that live. Stones that speak. Crystals the cry. Rituals that are reminiscent of the care used to create them. Let them know Poeaxtry_ is a space that holds beauty, complexity, and truth.
Check out Poeaxtry_ shops, portfolio, & internal links
Visit Poeaxtry and the Prism’s Archive Cheat Sheet. Discover all post categories, with a blurb and link to full post archive for each. Then find every post in that category in chronological order.
Beginnings and Endings is my first self-published poetry collection. A staggering 93 poem journey through the sparks, mess, and echoes of relationships. From first connection to final silence, these poems hold space for hope, hurt, and unapologetic vulnerability.
Whether it’s a love that healed, or one that hallowed. These poetic works explore the real, bittersweet truths that live inside us all. Written from a transgender man’s perspective, while capturing beginnings, messy middles, and the inevitable endings with honesty and grit.
Themes and What to Expect
Relationships: first spark, deep connection, heartbreak, reconciliation
Emotional journey: hope, grief, self-discovery, reflection, mental health
I guide every word I write and every project I create with a few simple questions. Who needs to read this? Who needs to feel it? Why am I crafting this? My mission is creative, communal, personal, and radically inclusive.
Whether through poetry, essays, articles, fictional storytelling, or poetic narrative. My writing exists to reach people on an emotional level. This work aims to resonate, provoke reflection, and inspire action. But it isn’t just about words. It’s about building a movement. This movement revolves around how creativity is shared, judged, and celebrated. This is a care centered creative community.
Growing and Expanding Creative Expression
I aim to expand beyond non-fiction poetry into:
Fictional poetry, narrative storytelling through poetic storylines or short stories, personal essays, reflective articles and other works of imaginative fiction.
Each fictional piece is crafted to connect in an entertaining way. It serves as a bridge to my other more emotional and non-fictional creations.
This expansion aligns with the growing importance growth as a creative individual and brand
Building a Creative Community for All
I am committed to redefining community in the arts.
Safety and care:
Crafting creative spaces where voices are protected, valued, and nurtured.
Growth and advocacy:
Through mentorship, resources, and collaboration that prioritize minority voices.
Artistic freedom:
Things like no paywalls, no educational barriers, no judgment based on perspective, identity, or credentials for minority creative people.
Doing this we:
Are actively dismantling the traditional publishing model that favors privilege and exclusivity. Every artist, poet, and writer, regardless of degree, background, or experience, can be published, shared, and spotlighted here.
Community Collaboration
Through free-to-read digital quarterlies, we spotlight minority creatives and welcoming allies. Contributors gain visibility without financial barriers. Our community thrives through care.
Free submission opportunities for literature and visual art. Virtual and local open mic nights. Spotlight features for creatives, small businesses, and advocacy projects. Publishing, formatting, and editing minority manuscripts. As well as sharing tools, resources, and knowledge without gatekeeping the opportunities for others.
These initiatives are designed to amplify voices that might otherwise go unheard. They also create a community centered on care and creativity.
Consider this:
Can you recall the last time you saw a creative space built to prioritize care over commerce?
A space where emotion, expression, and truth are valued more than reputation or money?
If you’ve experienced that before, please comment below. Tell me what inclusion and advocacy in creativity mean to you.
Personal Mission:
Live Loud, Love Fully
Be loud, Love more, live more, and make more memories. Embrace sustainable, healthy, intentional living. While taking action for change, instead of just talking about it. I want to be someone I would have looked up to when I was six. While I live a life I will be proud of when I’m sixty-six.
Every choice in my life, and every word on the page, aims to create real impact in the communities I occupy. This impact reaches both online and offline.
Anti-Capitalist Values
Living fully also means fighting for fairness and equity in the arts and society.
Being anti-capitalist isn’t just an idea, it’s a way of living. I support independent creators and small businesses, trade, and barter, or exchange art, tools, services, and skills whenever possible. I dive into hobbies that are cheap, sustainable, and meaningful. Support shop local over corporate whenever I can. While I prioritize community connection over consumption. Each choice I make, from swapping a poem for a painting to lending my time to help another creative mind grow, is a stand against a system. This system profits off gatekeeping, exclusion, and unnecessary spending. Living this way keeps me rooted in action, not just rhetoric. While I ensure my life and creative work reflect the world I want to see.
Being the Change, Not Just Talking About It
I’m done waiting for others to make the world better while everyone just talks about wanting change. My mission is to actively create the change I want to see, starting with every word I write. Closely followed by every space I build.
This looks like :
Being the change for me means living loud, refusing to conform, and turning ideals into action every single day. It’s calling and writing my representatives, showing up at protests, lobbying for policies that protect marginalized communities. Creating art that doubles as advocacy, and document or challenge injustice. Community building and spaces where care, creativity, and equality are central. Safely sharing knowledge about laws, rallies, and initiatives so others can act, too. Then I spread the word, amplify minority voices, practice mutual aid, and actively support movements instead of waiting for someone else to lead. Every thing I do, I do in a manner that acts as a step toward justice, visibility, and collective empowerment. This is about more than saying we want change; it’s creating, showing up, sharing, teaching, and living the change.
Day by day.
Word by word.
Act by act.
Change isn’t abstract. It’s tangible. Every action. This is how I transform ideals into practice, how I make “wanting change” equal actual change.
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One of the most sound pieces of advice I’ve seen in recent graffiti. Two other examples of good advice in graffiti in the post below. I found all three here today in Wheeling, West Virginia at the Overlook Castle.
This collection captures Days 13 through 19 of the 100 poems in 100 days creative challenge I am participating in. These entries were written daily. They were just shared as a batch in one post. The first 12 were shared daily as solo posts. These poems reflect a week of observation, reflection, and response. Each poem is a moment in time. You’ll find poetry that is personal, political, and more. I am documenting memory, grief, injustice, and the search for clarity and home.
While these seven poems are shared together, the writing continued daily,as it will continue until day 100. Future entries (Days 20–100) will be posted either individually or in small batches, like the first 19. This will keep readers present and on their toes as to when new daily poems are coming. The ongoing rhythm mirrors life itself: unpredictable, urgent, and evolving.
Each poem is paired with a Poet’s Note to deepen the context. It reflects on its inspiration. It draws connections between the personal and societal, and the intimate and the global.
Day 13 – 1/2/2026
“Rhyme”
Ukraine
Palestine
Venezuela
There is no point in trying to
Rhyme
Nigeria
Iran
Sudan
Their lives the cost at the end of the billionaires
Riches
Oil, minerals
Human greed
The West strikes again to save the Middle East
American propaganda machine
Poet’s Note
In the shadow of global conflict and the Christmas night bombing in Nigeria. This poem names the human cost behind headlines. Revealing the repeated cycles of violence. Then highlighting the ways ordinary people bear the burden of power, greed, and war. This is poetry that challenges the systems that profit from oppression. Naming places directly like Venezuela, Iran, and Sudan. I want to mention this poem is about all the places affected by these systems, and the people impacted. It is a call to witness what is often ignored.
The Top level View and the Rolling hills in the distance at Mount Wood Overlook in Wheeling, WV.
Day 14 – 1/3/2026
“Warm Places, Cold World”
I am blessed to have
many warm places in a world so cold.
My home
My car
The woods
places I feel safe
Yet when the lonely days are too rough
My partner’s arms
My mother-in-law’s couch
Or friends with shared spaces
Are places I am blessed to know
On this winding road, finding pieces of home
West Virginia roads once led me there
now the memories of
the place are
scattered
everywhere
Curating a place for me
after searching eternally
Poet’s Note
Written 1/3/2026, this poem reflects on the fragments of home we find throughout life. Safety, warmth, and belonging can appear in unexpected places, from people to landscapes to fleeting moments. Home is not just geography; it is collected through memory, connection, and care.
View from the top landing of the spiral steps at Mount Wood Castle.
Day 15 – 1/4/2026
“The Same”
Swipe.
F
l
i
c
k. M o .
v e
The days on the calendar float on by,
though they always stay the same.
R l o l.
T u r n. Change….
The numbers on the clock, never showing a repeating moment….
Though, they always stay the same.
Fast-forward or reverse, wherever you choose to press play.
World history or familial ties through bloodlines, cursed or blessed, they never look the same.
Though, they always stay the same.
Who is to blame for never making the change?
Those in history? Or Those of us living through its repeats?
Poets note
This poem traces the rhythm of repetition, the illusion of movement in days, clocks, and history. Swipe, flick, turn… As we do on our phones. Then we press play, like a movie, thinking we are deciding, thinking we are moving. Yet so much is actually left unchanged. The poem artistically depicts the movements we make on our phones. As well as showing how we rewound, fast forwarded, and pressed play on VHS tapes, DVDs, and more. Using both depictions to show time and how things change yet stay the same.
The lines stretch, scatter, and move on the page like our attempts to grasp time and meaning. Showing how moments pass, events unfold, generations bear patterns… Yet in their echo, the sameness persists. Asking quietly and plainly: when cycles repeat, who holds the responsibility? Those who lived before? Or those of us who carry the weight now?
This piece is both a mirror and a map. Acting as a reflection on history’s repetitions and the intimate, daily rhythms we navigate. It acknowledges the frustration of watching patterns endure while searching for change. Poetically playing on tension between inevitability and agency.
Axton a Transgender man posing next to graffiti reminding people to chose love over hate.
Pause here with me for a moment.
Did any line, feeling, or piece here stick out or to you more? I’d love to hear the details regarding which and the ways it resonated. Think about it and tell me in the comments?
or
At the end of this post you could comment a line, quote, or your full poem. Poems from the past, that align with these daily themes are welcome, as well as those written this week.
Any and all interactions or additional conversation pieces and starters highly appreciated. We enjoy reading your creative pieces, input, takes, reviews,reflections, and all the interactions in between.
Day 16 – 1/5/2026
A micro-poem on Grief
“Goodbye, Breathe”
I wish you had
thought to
breathe your quiet
warmth inside of me
one last time
before you said
goodbye
Poet’s Note
Today’s micro-poem captures grief and the longing for a final shared moment. Its brevity emphasizes the weight of absence, memory, and the lingering warmth of those we lose. Even in few lines, poetry can cradle the unspeakable and hold the echo of those gone. This was written in the shadow of grief after the loss of my mother. “Goodbye, Breathe” works at showing how some poetry is adaptable to any type of loss. Here I leave the meaning up to interpretation by the reader yet fully convey my feelings.
A Cute Graffiti Art Cat to Brighten the Post.
Day 17 – 1/6/2026
“Circus and Cake”
Downplayed self‑care in society
Overworked, under‑lived lives….
Romanticized
You work a hundred hours a week…
Just to spend all your time off feeling weak.
You barely scrape by.
Yet you have the mind to brag
and boast.
Making the hours you waste working
a competition to make yourself feel better…
No matter how much you try to… disguise it
it’s true
They made the working-class slaves
Then we thanked them for it.
They took away the circus and the cake. And instead of throwing a fit…
we blamed each other for it
Poet’s Note
“Circus and Cake” a poem reflecting on distraction through comfort. Small pleasures and fleeting indulgences that can pacify people while systemic exploitation continues. The stolen “circus” and “cake” are symbols of joy and entertainment. Throughout history, government agencies have used bread and circuses to distract their citizens. Panem et circuses was the Latin term used to represent this. The poem highlights governmental distractions and questions readers in different ways.
What has changed in our society? We had our stability (bread, cake, food, etc) and entertainment (circus, distractions that are fun, etc) all but fully removed. Yet we remain distracted. Why?
View of West Virginia, Ohio, and the Ohio River from the Overlook In Wheeling, WV.
Day 18 – 1/7/2026
Prelude: Axton curated the piece below while sitting at Mount Wood Overlook in Wheeling, West Virginia. Also called the Castle Overlook or just the Overlook. At present time tourists and locals alike use this overlook for an array of things. Most visitors come for sightseeing, unique photography, and outdoor hangouts. Others are drawn to public murals created by the local Wheeling Art Commission. Urban-exploration also tops the list of reasons you’d find an individual visiting the overlook.
But, for creative and emotionally driven humans, this paces exists to reminisce. Grief, childhood memories, or even a longing for home. Add to that the need to unpack big things in equally big spaces, that call us places like this. Last and maybe most important a giant serving of nostalgia. And now you can truly see why the overlook fits for these needs, as well as some mischievous happenings too.
“Cremated”
And every time I come home,
it’s a little
lonelier
than the last.
And every time I come home,
I wonder if
somehow
home
has picked up
and left.
Or did I?
Was the place I knew turned to crumbled remains with you? Cremate my home right along with you?
Ashes to Ashes,
Dust to Dust,
I still
just
collect
the
pieces
along the way.
My torture evergreen.
Poet’s Note
Written at Mount Wood Overlook in Wheeling, WV. A poem that explores home, memory, and loss. Sharing Feelings of grief and loss I feel when returning to the place I grew up since the death of my mother. The loss of feeling at home since she was cremated, “Cremated” poetically describes the cremation of home. The overlook, was built in the 1920’s. It was originally supposed to house a doctor before life drama got in the way of completing it. The structure now watches over absent families and scattered histories. The overlook castle (as locals call it) also showcases wicked graffiti, which doesn’t stay the same long. Here home is collected in fragments, in memories, and in what remains. For some reason, even when it feels lonelier each time I return.
Day 19 – 1/8/2026
“Vigilante Justice”
Let’s start a fire inside the United States,
figuratively, of course.
We can start by using oppression,
hatred, and bigotry
as gasoline to fuel this movement.
Melting down ice into nonexistence.
Covering the country’s soil in fluids
other than
spilled blood
from darker complexions,
the first time in a whole fucking year….
The presidency ….
has three entire years to go, still ….
Scariest thing, if you ask me,
the collective inability to remember how things were before…
When they were just a minute fraction of the pie closer to equality
We do not want… Venezuelan oil.
We do not want to overthrow……
Greenland.
Mexico.
Canada.
We want education, affordable healthcare, workers’ rights,
equality for all
Now
OR vengeance for each and every infraction.
Come tomorrow and on.
A vigilante is what we need….
And a vigilante I may soon be.
Poet’s Note
A piece that uses fire as metaphor, representing accountability and resistance rather than destruction. It critiques complacency, systemic injustice, and the erasure of memory. Then it names the need for moral vigilance and collective action. This is poetry that refuses to stay passive in the face of oppression.
These seven days trace a path through personal and global reflection, grief, memory, and resistance. They examine cycles of oppression, moments of warmth and home. The tension between complacency and action lives in these poems. From international injustice to intimate loss. Stolen joy and moral awakening find their homes here. Poems as witness, critique, and call-to-action. Each a fragment of a daily personal creative contest. Join me in observing the world and responding with honesty, urgency, and reflection.
I feel like everyone in the world could use this advice right now.
Please feel free to share this post with anyone you think would benefit from reading these poems in any form. Have an artistic or poetic friend? Share this with them and challenge them to create one poem or piece of art every day for 100 days.
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More surprisingly sound advice from graffiti in Wheeling, West Virginia.
