Poeaxtry's Poetry Prism

Spell. Stone. & Sparks that Ignite Change

Tag: trans poet

Things are Changing for Poeaxtry Community Collaborations
Shifting the Prism’s Collaborations Into a Quarterly Publication

The why behind Collaborations

I launched community collabs with one goal to create publications for marginalized voices to be heard. (I wanted to help their art be seen too, of course, and their business be found.) To be read by others would then be able to find voices similar to their own. Themed calls gave structure, that I thought would help. However, I like art when the creator feels compelled to create it, not when it’s created per a submission theme.

Why I’m Changing the Model

It became clear that themes sometimes act as invisible boundaries. They shaped not only what people created, but who felt comfortable submitting. Themes feel a bit too much like gatekeepers, for my comfort. Hear me out, you had to fit the art, poem, or essay in like a key based on theme.

That contradicts who I am or whom I want to be. I want this space to belong to the creators themselves. I want to invite people to bring what’s real. What’s needed, even if it doesn’t fit.

So I decided: no more themes. Instead, I’m opening Poeaxtry up to open‑theme quarterly magazines. I was already planning a Quarterly & this fits the bill.

Any suggestions on names? Guesses welcome!

This change isn’t a retreat. It’s expansion. By removing themes, the door stays open wider for more voices, more art, more perspectives. By increasing frequency, I can amplify more people across time.

What’s Changing: The New Quarterly Model

Open‑theme submission calls:
poetry, prose, art,or essays

rights stay with creators:
you keep your work. Poeaxtry curates and publishes but does not claim ownership or restrict distribution.
Contributor bios, links, and photos welcome!

Free ads space to minority‑owned shops, indie authors, small businesses to support community visibility.

Digital magazine format means no forced downloads
Eliminates 4 bulky PDFs a year.
Always Viewable online
Readers & Contributors now can share by link

2026 Quarterly Schedule

(Submission + Publication Dates may change slightly!)

Q1 2026 (First Edition)

Taking submissions: now– Feb 12, 2026

Launch: Mar 8–15, 2026

Q2 2026 (Second Edition)

Taking submissions: March 9-May 5th

Launch: Jun 5–12, 2026

Q3 2026 (Third Edition)

Taking submissions:Jun 5 – Aug 5, 2026

Sep 5–12, 2026

Q4 2026 (Fourth Edition)

Taking submissions: Sep 5 – Oct 31, 2026

Launch: Dec 5–12, 2026

Note: The first edition will include existing submissions from the original themed collabs. It will also include any new open-theme submissions received during the submission window. Future editions will be fully open‑theme. The last quarter is stretched out because of holidays, birthdays, and death days.

What This Means for Contributors & Community

You’re free to send your work when you feel ready. This includes poetry, art, essays, and prose, just like before, just no need to match a theme. The spotlights from the website will be shared in the quarterly as well. The magazine lives online, shareable by link. More frequent releases = more opportunities for visibility, community building, connection.

What Happens to the Original Themed submissions?

Their submitted work will be included in the first quarterly edition as long as they consent.

No more waiting.
Just art, voices, visions.

Your Voice Matters, Always

Poeaxtry was born from a belief that the best art comes from the darkest places. That minority voices of every difference have stories and voices that matter. Lastly, to build a community for all of us to share our creations with each other and the world.

This shift isn’t a change of heart, it’s evolution. As the world shifts, as art shifts, as voices shift, we must too…

Shift.

If you’re a minority artist, an ally writer, a survivor turned storyteller. Send in your voices or visions to Poeaxtryspoetryprism@gmail.com or submit this form.

Small business owners, entrepreneurs, indie-creatives, communities, etc. send your ads to the above email or form as well!

To have a Spotlight post on the website fill out this form or email Poeaxtry@gmail.com
To review ebooks and other digital items in exchange for honest reviews, use this form

Thank you for being here. Let’s start building community.

Axton N. O. Mitchell
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
December 8, 2025
The Spill Volume 10-
WIP to Fire!

I’ve been sitting with two new works that each bite a little deeper than usual. I’m knee-deep in human monster imagery, hallucinations on pages, and the smut and horror that cut both ways. You know me, I wanted to open the door a little wider. So I’m writing a body type horror that lives in our daily habits. It relates to simple acts like unwrapping a straw. It includes the tear of opening a ketchup packet and even the crack of a water bottle seal. I’ve been calling this new project “I Wonder.” I noticed how often the mundane is one blink away from becoming brutal.

If you know me, you know I love splatter-punk and horror gore. It felt right to try my hand at a different kind of poetic violence. Some grow out of the everyday rituals we never think twice about. Others are manifested by our own misery and deprivation.

It’s time to bring readers into the process.

Beta Readers, ARC Readers, and Street Team Sign Ups

I’m building three small but mighty teams. Each has a clear role, clear expectations, and a few thank-you bonuses from me.

If you want in:

Email me at poeaxtry@gmail.com, or fill out the form(s) linked in this post. You can pick more than one or just one, whatever fits your schedule.

Beta Readers

You get the raw draft, the crooked edges, the parts still dripping. You tell me what stumbles, what hits, what confuses, what claws at you in the right way.

You get:

• Early access to the rough manuscript

• A digital finished copy upon release

• Your name in the digital acknowledgments

• A private PDF of cut pieces, alternate lines, or deleted stanzas, exclusive to beta members

ARC Readers

You get the polished version right before launch. Your main task is simple, read and leave an honest review on at least one platform.

You get:

• Final digital copy

• Your name listed as an early reviewer

• Access to promo graphics you can share if you want

• Optional Q and A email with me after launch

Street Team

You help amplify. Sharing posts, boosting drops, nudging other readers. Low pressure, high impact. You’ll make posts prior to book launch & also post launch.

You get:

• Sneak peek excerpts

• Street team only wallpapers or digital art

• Name in the digital acknowledgments

• The chance to win a physical gift for outstanding team players.

If you want to be part of these groups, email me or complete the sign-up form. I’m keeping it simple.

More about the WIP

This piece is the heart of what I’m writing now. It blends hallucination, romance, rot, body-electricity, and all the strange cycles we call connection. Think sensory overload, think whispered illusions, think those little narrative pages where reality slips sideways. The full chapbook is coming along, poem by poem, story by story, and monster by monster.

Open Collabs

Voices for the Voiceless:

The Joy They can’t Erase :

Both community collaborations are getting extended timelines so the full emotional feel can land. No rush. Just creation.

Free Minority Manuscript Publishing Spot

I’m keeping one slot open at all times for a minority creator who needs their manuscript brought to life. First come, first served. No cost, no gate keeping, just support. We currently don’t charge for publishing at all and do not offer it outside this spot.

Feel free to email me @ poeaxtry@gmail.com and I’ll reply with the details.

Facebook Giveaway

When the page hits 1k followers, I’m giving away:

• All 9 digital collections to the grand prize winner

• Three runner ups get one mystery digital collection each

Four winners total.

Details on Facebook, but I’ll announce it here when we’re close. Instagram & other socials get the same giveaway when they reach 1k. More for higher amounts as well!

links portfolio

poem

Don’t forget to subscribe here for Sub only FOREVER discounts!
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
December 1, 2025
Intentional Visibility for BPD Community Free Poetry Zine by PoeAxtry
I am a trans writer creating poetry zines, e-books, and collaborative projects for people living with trauma, emotional dysregulation, mental illness, and for marginalized and minority communities seeking authentic representation and possibly healing.

My latest zine is free for those living with Borderline Personality Disorder. It’s for people like us and others who are struggling with similar symptoms or facing the same stigmas. I’d like to offer it to you all for free to read if interested. I know sometimes it’s easy to feel like there’s no one else like us. I wouldn’t forgive myself, if I left a zebra to feel like a strange horse.

However, we don’t even have to be besties. Honestly you do not have to like me. This work is still available to you if it speaks to you.Not all will understand it. That is okay, it is not meant for everyone.

You can find it here: gumroad & payhip (I am attempting to put it on Etsy with no luck but I’m looking for an alternative to Etsy.)

Honesty is the only requirement, and karma takes care of the rest. Well karma and my own form of protections. Hey don’t mess with a witchy. It’s like practically asking for it.

So, if you (or your homie) live with BPD, email me (poeaxtry@gmail.com) and I will send you a discount code you can use at checkout. No questions and no judgment, just say “BPD” in the subject or message.

I do and will always offer free digital items for reviews. (Honest ones, seriously no hard feelings unless you lie to me.) So, if you don’t have BPD, nor the money to blow on a zine we can do a trade just (email me or dm) and we can form a plan.

Portfolio links zipper titty
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
July 12, 2025
“You Make Me Sick” Spoken Word on Trauma, Transition, and Grief
“You make me sick”

An original poem by : Axton N.O. Mitchell

@poeaxtry_

I mean I am thirty three,

One would assume it’s about time I get over my chronic case of

Teenage angst.

I am not even sure if I could

Call it that, anymore.

Pick your face up off the floor

Your oldest so became a man

And

You never had to hold my hand

I wasn’t potty training until 9

You never had to lie about my

Age to hide the statutory

Rape

But

I would say that I hate you

and I do

Repeat that pretty frequently

It’s easier than explaining the

Nothingness I feel when it

Comes to you

I won’t let anymore of the

Daughter you never got to knows

Tears fall out of your oldest

sons eyes

They aren’t mine to cry.

In high school I struggled

When the numb feeling would

Overcome me

And everything.

For once I feel nothing, and I don’t

Want to feel anything.

It’s comforting.

Back then

I did not yet discover

My brain had the ick

And it was you that

Made me

S

I

C

K

Links Poem Hiking
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
July 2, 2025
How I Practice Self-Care: Waterfalls, Hikes, and Witchy Magic
How do you practice self-care?

Self-care isn’t a checklist

For me it’s a patchwork of moments stitched together with intention and grit.

Sometimes it’s chasing waterfalls, hiking until my lungs burn and my mind quiets. Other times it’s sitting still with dirt under my fingers. I dig out rocks. I feel the pulse of the earth in my hands. The grounding is real.

I reward myself with little treats. These treats are not just food but include coffee. Sometimes, I get a new stone for my collection. I might even buy something that helps my work move forward. It’s the small acts that remind me I’m worth the care.

Marijuana helps soften the sharp edges when life presses too hard. It’s part of the ritual, a moment to breathe deeper and slow down.

Face masks sneak in when I want to slow the world for a bit. They give my skin and spirit a break, sometimes I even get a manicure or pedicure. Thanks Stink!

Kayaking isn’t just exercise. It’s a ways I reclaim my body. I feel strong and say, “I am here, I am whole.” Losing weight is part of that journey because I want it to be.

My kitty boys? Those cuddles are medicine. So is time with my dog, the quiet companionship and sunlit walks keep me tethered.

Reading fills my mind with stories. These feed my soul. Spells, rituals, crystals, and oils wrap around me like armor. They also serve as a healing balm.

This isn’t neat or perfect. It’s my survival, my love letter to myself messy, real, and sacred.
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
June 24, 2025
I Brought My Full Moon Ritual to Work
There’s something deeply bittersweet about missing the moon.

Every time the full moon rises, I feel a tug at my chest. It is something ancient and soft. It calls me to pause. But most of the time I’m not lighting candles or laying out cloth under its glow. I’m under fluorescent lights instead clocked in doing the work that keeps me afloat.

So this time I brought the ritual with me.

Right now, I am sitting under the moon. I am charging my stones. I am not waiting until tomorrow. I am doing it now. This moment is already sacred because I am present. I will renew my intentions and affirmations again tomorrow night. I will continue to recharge these stones monthly under every full moon.

Lunch Break Spell Work

On my break, I held stones in my hands. I spoke like someone who already knows their magic is working. I whispered truths I’m ready to live in, not just hope for. I didn’t ask the moon for anything. I affirmed what is already happening. It is already becoming, already mine.

I set intentions for stability and creative expansion for momentum that doesn’t burn me out. I set intentions for clarity, protection, grounded joy, and long-lasting purpose. I set them not from a place of lacking but from a place of embodiment. I chose each phrase carefully. I viewed them not like a wish list but like an oath.

Because when we set intentions we’re not begging the universe we’re building it

We’re saying this is what I am becoming this is what already lives inside me this is what is inevitable because I choose to keep showing up

Two Stones

Two stones carried the heart of this moment for me Libyan Desert Glass and Moldavite.

Libyan Desert Glass, born of heat and impact, is the kind of stone that doesn’t whisper. It tells you that you are building something real. It’s not a stone of fast thrills. It’s about legacy. It’s about a long-term vision and foundations you can return to. That’s why I carry it. It reminds me that the slow, steady burn of my current work is establishing a foundation. This foundation is something my future self can stand on.

Moldavite that one needs its own moment.

Moldavite has been sensationalized by TikTok. It’s portrayed as a chaos crystal, a drama bomb, and a remedy for all bad things. There’s a belief that it also makes your exes vanish. But that’s not what it is, not really.

Moldavite doesn’t repel it calls. It protects. It is beautiful and powerful. It commands respect.

Amplifies

It amplifies what you set. If you pair it with panic, it will magnify panic. If matched with unresolved grief or bitter wishes, it magnifies those as well. Just take it all away, and you’ll see what it magnifies. That storm. That purge. That mess. It’s not because it’s evil, but because you told it to.

Moldavite is a stone of momentum. It says I’ll bring it faster, louder, and now. If you unintentionally focus on chaos, fear, or destruction, it will return that energy. It will echo back in ways that you’re not ready for.

So I use it carefully.

With Moldavite, I speak only what I want. I accelerate aligned growth and creative expansion. I gain spiritual clarity and purpose that doesn’t break me.

Seriously be careful with Her like Cardi B

And it answers. Always.

If you’ve ever missed a full moon because life got in the way know this it still sees you.

And you can still make the moment sacred

Even if it’s in your work uniform Even if it’s between tasks Even if it’s just a whisper

It counts

You count

And the moon is still so so proud.

If you can’t perform your full moon ritual outdoors or at work, you can charge your stones differently. Set them on a windowsill during the full moon’s glow. The moonlight will reach them there. It will carry the energy you intend. Just focus on your intentions before you leave.

And if you miss the full moon altogether, a Selenite charging jar can gently cleanse and recharge your stones anytime. If you want to learn how to make one or buy a beautiful handcrafted jar, just ask . I can connect you with a friend who makes them.

Links Sabbats Discord
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
June 10, 2025
If Humans Had Taglines, This Would Be Mine
If humans had taglines, what would yours be?

Mine would have to be one of these:

You can take the nature out the boy, but you can’t take the man out of nature

Even when I’m knee-deep in ink and altar smoke, my roots are still hiking trails, crinoid fossils, and the hum of wind through stone.

Poetry is resistance when you write like Poeaxtry

Every line is protest, prayer, and proof that I’m still here trans, loud, witchy, and unerasable.

My gender is wilderness: untamed, honest, and thriving in the dark

I wasn’t made to be trimmed down into a label. I’m a forest fire and a bloom, both.

Spell bags in one hand, survival in the other

I’m a living altar: grief and grit, ritual and rage, healing and hustle.

Former silence, current storm

I used to swallow it all. Now I speak, write, scream, and conjure without shame.

Born from shadow work, built to shine

The ghosts that haunt me taught me how to live.

Soft things with teeth

Gentleness doesn’t mean weakness. I know how to bite back if I have to.

Can write you a love poem, hex your ex, and hike a mountain before lunch

I’m not a contradiction, I’m a constellation.

But honestly, I can’t be wrapped up in just one line. I’m too many things. Too full of lives survived, of magic made, of poems burned and rewritten.

So if I had to choose?

Unapologetic trans man. Poet witch. Rock hunter. Truth-teller. Born to be wild… not just free. And always me!

In possession of a solo project that’s ready to see the light of day?
Poeaxtry offers first-come, first-serve free manuscript editing, publishing, and formatting support for indie writers. No fees, no hoops, just guidance to get your work prepared, shared, and available digitally or print. I will help guide you through the listing of your collection when I can. Then I’ll showcase your Prism Published book in our catalog, with a blurb, links to purchase, and your social links. Ideal for those who want professional polish without barriers. Submit a request by Form or email Poeaxtryspoetryprism@gmail.com
Accepted by availability and aligned views.
On a minorities first basis.

links
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
June 9, 2025
Free Printable Spell Template – Black & Gold Page for Beginner Witches
🖤✨ Downloadable or Printable: Blank Spell Template

I made a clean, black-and-gold spell page for anyone who wants to write their own magick.

You get the space. you bring the power.

Use this in your grimoire, BOS, altar journal, or spell book.

Free for all who need it.

Posted at 3:33, for the curious and the creative.

Axton N. O. Mitchell
@poeaxtry_

Free use spell template

Check out my Etsy for specialty poetry and witchcraft needs.

PayHip Free Download/Print GumRode Free Download/Print

Find all my work across platforms — zines, ebooks, spellwork, and more:

Links

– Etsy: Physical items, zines, and ebooks

– Gumroad & Payhip: Zines, ebooks, and free witchy downloads

– Kindle & eBook platforms: Ebooks only
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
June 7, 2025
The Spill: Letters from Poeaxtry, Volume 5.5; 4:46 AM Punches, Giggles & a Etsy Sale
The Spill vol. 5.5

Hey friends,

So, last night at 4:46 AM, Kelso rolled over in their sleep and accidentally punched me. Their sleepy apology was this drawn-out, soft “sorrrrry,” followed by a mischievous giggle… and then, just like that, they were back to snoring as if nothing happened. It’s those perfectly imperfect little moments that remind me how lucky I am.

To celebrate my 3 published poems, I’m offering 30% off everything in my Etsy shop with promo code MAG30, good until June 11th. Whether you’re looking for hand-polished rocks, geodes, or poetry collections, now’s the perfect time to treat yourself or someone special.

Thanks for being part of this wild, magical journey with me. More poems and volumes are on their way soon.

Last but not least, I’m hoping to connect with other creators, poets, authors, & artists for promo exchanges. I’d like to start small. By trading digital content one by one, to build trust on both sides and a genuine community. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, feel free to reach out at poeaxtry@gmail.com.

Much Love,

Axton N. O. Mitchell

@poeaxtry_
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
June 6, 2025
Becoming Axton: A Journey from Arielle to Authentic Self
I used to flinch at the sound of that name.

Arielle.
Not just because it wasn’t mine anymore. The name carried a lot. That name was a suit of skin I never chose, sewn with expectations I never fit into. People loved her, or thought they did. She was sweet, she was obedient, she was the smile in photos that made everyone else comfortable. But she was also quiet because she had to be. She hid everything—grief, anger, queerness, gender—deep enough that even she forgot how much was buried.

That name.

Arielle was the name in my dad’s voice when he needed someone to blame. The name on cards from my mom when she didn’t know how to see me. It was the name teachers praised. Pastors prayed over it. Strangers misgendered it. Sisters protected the name even when I didn’t know how to protect myself. It was all sharp edges and a mask I wore so long it felt like skin.

I’m not her. I never was.

Still, I won’t pretend she didn’t exist. Arielle got me here. She survived what I shouldn’t have had to. She wrote poems in secret, carved hope into notebook margins, and stayed alive when everything said not to. She was the ghost I outgrew, the beginning of me.

There were days Arielle felt like a shadow dragging behind me. I was always a step out of reach, but never gone. I wrestled with her silence. Struggled with the parts of myself I was afraid to look at. Then hid the truth behind a name that wasn’t mine. But with every poem I wrote, every truth I told, I felt her loosen her grip. Not because I abandoned her, but because I learned to carry her differently.

Axton writes to walk her home.

Now, when I write, I don’t write to erase her. I write to hold her hand and walk her home.

This is why I write. Not for closure, but connection.

Not to silence Arielle, but to let her rest.

And in her place, I stand. Alive. Whole. Still writing.

Every word is a step forward. Every poem, reclaiming. Every breath, a nod to the person I was always underneath it all.

links Beta/ Arc Readers & St Teams A Poem
Rate this:
Your friends would love this!
Telegram
Bluesky
Reddit
Facebook
Tumblr
Threads
Pinterest
Nextdoor
More
Print
Email
Like Loading…
May 30, 2025