fallen star

canceled by culture you

made it all

the money the fame

a star B4 you

opened your mouth

alphabet cereal

senseless

sideways

now watch

your star

fall

#katyamills

cold night heart

the mercury she dropped 

so low my heart 

almost stopped you 

came my way

turned night into 

day we

took the world on

together

#katyamills

dc still life

on the banks a slow 

and colorful death a

river of legislation

passage of paper

finality of leaves 

opposite sides of

the aisle came to 

knees 

above roots 

beneath trees

#katyamills

thatz fire

down by the delta the sky

opens up with the land

on a couple hours sleep we hit 

walmart. unimpressed in a world

of slippers pumpkin 

pie and receipts

night fell over the lot

the wind shook us down i

looked in your eyes they

were laughing like fire

i saw an angel on a tire swing

just kids in the yard

on the wing

#katyamills

inspired by my friend Karen W.

books

If your reading list includes favorites such as...

Girl, Interrupted

Naked Lunch
Flesh and Blood
Junky
Basketball Diaries

Angela's Ashes

you might like
 

Sarah Berry-O'Cain rated a book 

really liked it

Trouble '99
by Katya Mills (Goodreads Author)

nobody get hurt

"Dani had a way of defusing Fleck, like taking the wick out of a bomb, and he became more like a bowling ball rolling along. He might still knock you over but nobody got hurt." #katyamills #wip

YES#WIP

the story is taking shape finally after the last five months of writing and editing and struggling to understand which direction to go. trying to unravel and get some ground underneath this...i met a guy who is sitting on manuscripts he wrote years ago. i told him he might want to consider self-publishing. it can be a joyful experience.  #katyamills

chances

heart beating she tore a 

corner off a page

wrote down her number

for the one with the glitter on 

her cheek who blushed

tucked it into her 

back pocket lined

by red fabric

#katyamills

foster kitty

free to roam another

home. dear foster kitty

look so sweet on 

all four paws no worry 

soon we leave the earth 

for mars 

#katyamills

dreamer

inside the dream the

dreamer searched for coffee

for creamer

#katyamills

storytelling

 let the story tell you

sun.shine

i was only 11 in 1984 we 

found freedom from our families

in graveyards at night trying tricks on 

our boards without wheels then

down the hill the days in town on wheels

the SMITHS blaring the radiant

sun out of the sky

#katyamills

the day social media died

cat out mousing 

to sharpen his claws i

 stuck inside dredging 

the twitter feed like some 

weary curator 

in a third rate watered

down shop of intrigue 

and horror

#katyamills

give thanks

 you had a day off you

worked so much these days 

free time was an anomaly

pressure came from somewhere

inside you. say a prayer

walk outside

let the day come 

to you

#katyamills

mas.fina

sunshine bleached the world

in half. i gave you the prism and we 

made colors of black 

of white mas fina the

light

#katyamills

up nor in

push me in mud wash

me in sand peck my nail beds

until they fissure steal 

my thoughts  pull my hair 

for the nest button up

my feelings

still 

will i never 

give up nor 

in

#katyamills

pm.am

the week washed away

with the rain. gone 

after sleep we lumbered round the house 

catching up with ourselves you 

and i. rolled before dawn

for a bird. blasted the heat.

tired of covid and politics tired

from work. such was life

#katyamills

wax cy

am. friday 

cold walk to the corner

heat of coffee in 

my hands

radiate 

out to u

with love

polar.ize

your skin turns to paper as you push your point

across before my polar eyes. over 

six feet socially distanced you yet miles

away in this 2020 

vision

#katyamills

murder hornet spelling bee

my friend was labeled can

no longer fly the sky free they

put a target on his back the

sweetest bird i know! my friend the 

only uproar he ever caused back 

in elementary when he took on 

the bumbles and won the

spelling bee 

#katyamills

worlds

a great pond formed at the point 

there where they gathered for tales

had been told. all had gone quiet 

the fireflies formulating a slow beat of light

the pond dried up all its ink seeped into 

the paper earth. another word another 

world would never be  

#katyamills

atmos.phere

winter morning. the stillness the quiet

we achieve inside these walls 

maybe a miracle. the earth circles 

the sun! we are all flying 

through space!

#katyamills

holding on

prints in the snow

breath frozen on a pane

of glass was as close as we

got all winter

i loved you even more i

clung like an icicle

to the photograph. your

words like a child drawn

on the back

#katyamills

rain.1

california. 4am
coffee rims the paper


six months searching
the sky headlights found rain


i turned down the radio
march of death by tally i
raised the windows 2 inhale
the breath of life

#katyamills

claim 2 fame

he was a sad boy she

was a bad girl only one

on earth 

could draw a 

smile upon his 

face  

#katyamills 

some days harder than others

express yourself

may the pain be 

dispelled

a chance

waking up 

useful and alive and awake

with a chance. come what may

every american

oughta be given this

experience 

#katyamills

who u

 all you gotta do is keep doing

what you do 

becomes who 

you are    

#katyamills

thoughts post publication

i got some distance and six months later went back to reread the latest book i wrote. TROUBLE’99. i read the first half on friday and the second half on sunday. i don’t think i would have changed much. i was really happy about the first half. the character development and the plot and the struggle and the setting were all crystal clear. dialogue was good. no typos or obvious grammatical issues. in the second half you saw an intensification of the problems my characters faced, both internal and external pressures mounting: socioeconomic hardships leading to sacrifice of values, addiction, conflict, suffering. a reader hoping for them to see a way out of their dilemma will be disappointed. they struggled to make enough money busking and selling weed to get off the streets. for them this was a great success. Kay freed herself from an unhealthy relationship with Aden. the hardships they all faced together clearly strengthened their friendships. 

yes i allowed for a little light to enter the story, but mostly they marinate in their problems. i admit as a stand alone TROUBLE’99 fails. this book is intended to be the first in a series, so there will be a sequel.

my point in writing these somewhat dark tales of hard reality these past several years is to highlight very real social injustices. to give names and faces and make these people real. it’s so easy to walk down any city street in America and ignore a large segment of our population. to recoil and turn away from those faced with addiction and homelessness and great depths of mental illness and trauma. i know many readers read books to escape reality and go somewhere that fills the heart with joy. my books may not always offer that kind of escape. they may take you somewhere you never wanted to go. but if you are looking for an adventure of a different kind, if you are hoping to have your heart stirred with understanding if not compassion for the downtrodden and alienated among us, my work may interest you after all. #katyamills

democracy

he looked up from the sunday times

blew a burst of nicotine and cadmium

into the light and said

see? democracy

works

#katyamills