Be welcome, my dear digital friends. And for those of you who celebrate – Happy Easter! 🐰 And for those of you who do not – Happy April! ☔
After reading this week’s poem, if you’re so inclined, feel free to scroll down and check out some of the things happening in my world as I continue these adventures in writing. Now, on to some new poetry….
This week’s poem screamed to be released on Easter weekend this year.
But before I get started, to keep this as non-denom as possible, I need to wish Buddha a happy birthday this week (April 8 for some Buddhists), too.
A Metta blessing to all, “May all beings be happy; may all beings be free from suffering.”
And it’s this notion of release from suffering that may create a sort of cohesion between Easter, Buddha’s birthday, and this week’s poem. Weird? Maybe… stay with me.
Raised in Catholic orthodoxy, Easter was both solemn and celebratory for my family. The belief is that Jesus carried so much suffering before he died, and that his Resurrection made meaning out of that suffering. It opened a path toward forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life.
In terms of Buddhism, life is suffering. Toad the Wet Sprocket even added a wee “tee hee, ha ha” to finish that phrase in their song Little Buddha. So to wish someone freedom from suffering is a true blessing – almost an ideal. That sort of peace does not come cheap.
This week’s poem? Let’s examine it for a sec, shall we?
In the poem, suffering begins as saturation. The speaker is steeped in it, almost enclosed by it. Grief, for me, is inherently claustrophobic. The movement of the poem is toward a form of loosening in the end, “do i let the dream begin.”
A moment where, perhaps, we stop holding grief as our last remaining intimacy.
So maybe that is something for all of us to reflect upon this upcoming week: are we holding grief to prolong our own suffering? Or is this an opportunity to release it and seek more joy in our lives?
Food for thought.
As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to this week’s poem in the “Leave a Reply” comment section at the very bottom of this page.
-PS Conway 🐣 🐣 🐣
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a bruised bouquet
white space shivers
like memory sifted and scattered by wind
disquiet steeps in saffron lament
infusing my stillness with sunrise scent
the air is close
thick with thoughts that will not settle
i strain to hold what stifles me
but it accedes
like heartbeats ceasing in my chest
colors crash
through a sky once drained
where silence thinned
and unspoken feelings laid seed
lilac and sage
past their bloom, so bruised
a bouquet offered to absence
held too long in hesitant hands
grief unseen
a salt that stings
my blood, my being
all that is me
and only then
with trembling breath
do i let the dream begin
🐣 🐣 🐣 🐣 🐣
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This Week’s Links to my published work…
- Purchase Echoes Lost in Stars
- on Amazon USA: https://a.co/d/eZPzwxX
- on Amazon Canada: https://a.co/d/ebjqinU
- on Amazon UK: https://amzn.eu/d/avWTF19
- on Amazon DE: https://amzn.eu/d/8IDYSIv
- Purchase Life Sucks
- on Amazon USA: https://a.co/d/arnze2N
- on Amazon Canada: https://a.co/d/8sBYofv
- on Amazon UK: https://amzn.eu/d/brzfJ4l
- on Amazon DE: https://amzn.eu/d/95Y4WAA
- My author website: https://psconway.com/
- My Interview with AllAuthor : https://allauthor.com/interview/psconway/
Media News…
*COMING SOON* Just finished my interview with Steve Cuden for his brilliant podcast StoryBeat – what a great conversation! It should air April 21 at Noon. More to come – but do check out Steve’s interviews with other writers and artists – https://www.storybeat.net/
*NEW* My interview with Editor-in-Chief, Gabriela Marie Milton of Literary Revelations Publishing House: https://literaryrevelations.com/2026/01/25/the-portrait-of-a-poet-ps-conway/ 🌹☘️
*NEW* My interview with author Tricia Copeland on her podcast Finding the Magic Book is now available to watch: https://youtu.be/NhieYECI-H4 🤯🥂
Latest Publication News
It has been a productive last few months for me. 7 POEMS published. If you are interested in a reading any of these, I have embedded the Amazon links below.
- My poem mercy will be published in The Ekphrastic Review on May 12. They are a literary “online journal devoted entirely to writing inspired by visual art. Their objective is to promote ekphrastic writing, promote art appreciation, and experience how the two strengthen each other and bring enrichment to every facet of life.”
* - My 3 poems – the wet centre is bottomless, laugh tracks, and three flights away – will be published in Mouthful of Salt in Issue #3 on April 27. They are “a Black-led literary journal dedicated to bold, boundary-pushing storytelling. Our editorial vision is shaped by a wide range of lived experiences, and we are committed to creating a space where writers from across the globe can be seen, heard, and celebrated.”
* - My poem the color of staying was published in the Spring’26 edition of PHIL LIT Journal on March 15. This literary journal “promotes writing that engages with philosophical, metaphysical, ethical, & existential themes; without sacrificing beauty, craft, surprise, or risk.” Please be sure to check it out.
* - I have 2 poems – paint and i have seen love do the same – published in The Belfast Review, Winter/Spring 2026. Based in the north of Ireland, this gorgeous emerging literary magazine, in addition to poetry, “aims to create a dialogue between the arts, featuring genres not usually included in literary journals such as song lyrics, plays, screenplays, and hybrid forms, to better reflect the lived experience of art, the self, and the city.”
Latest News – Life Sucks…
So far, Life Sucks has received so many ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Editorial Reviews. More to come soon.
I’m anticipating a whole bunch of solid Reader Reviews to begin populating Amazon in the next few weeks, too. The goal is to get to 50 Reader Reviews asap to kick Amazon’s promotion engine into a higher gear.
Speaking of Editorial Reviews, we secured a BIG ONE – BookLife. This is the indie press division of Publishers Weekly and represents a major credibility lift to my published work. Here is a link, in case you’re interested in reading the entire review:
And here are a few other snippets of other editorial reactions so far!
– “Snort-laughs and gasp-worthy wit – PS Conway goes there, and it’s hilarious.”
– “A must-read for anyone stressed, cynical, or just in need of a damn good laugh.”
– “Darkly funny, brutally honest, and weirdly comforting – like therapy, but with colonoscopies.”
🐣 COME BACK EACH WEEK FOR NEW POETRY 🐣
This is a beautiful, haunting piece. It captures that heavy, suffocating weight of holding onto something—even when it hurts—until the moment you finally let go to breathe again. A powerful tribute to the “salt” of grief. Great work! Applause to you once again, my friend!
Love this comment, PS. Thank so much, my friend – and Happy Easter! 🐣🐰 🙏🏻🥂
Happy Easter to you too!
A thought provoking poem PS, as is often the case with your poetry.
Grief, is a heavy load to carry. Like all heavy loads it needs to be released in order to dissipate suffering.
I’ve studied Buddhism and it has given me much food for thought.
Easter greetings to you and thank you.
🙏🙏🙏🍀
Cheers, Sandie! Always appreciate hearing your thoughts on my poetry. Means a lot, my friend. Thank you. 🥂🙏🏻🐰🐣☘️