Poetry

Each and Every One

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This was taken on one of the most beautiful nights during a trip with my family around Ireland this summer. Before heading south, we spent a few days in Northern Ireland and walked along the lovely Ballycastle Beach, a slight curve of land made of many, many rocks and a strip of sand. On one end, the Glenshesk River meets the Atlantic, and at the other end, a boardwalk stretches over rocks that reach into the water. The waves were extremely calm that evening, and it being nearly the Summer Solstice, sunset came just after 10:00p.m. Rathlin Island can be seen in the distance (and although not shown in these photos, Scotland can also be viewed from the beach).

Ballycastle Beach, Northern Ireland

With so many rocks,
it could’ve been easy enough to ignore
their beauty,
to look over, look past,
step across
monotony,
but truly, so many rocks
made walking across in loose sandals
a slow task, and thankfully,
encouraged a moment’s pause,
because with a closer look
remarkable difference
became clear
each and every rock
piled on that beach
just another rock among many
became amazingly new
ancient
full of Story

Ballycastle Beach, Northern Ireland

Softened
by the waves of change
beautiful, unique,
each and every one
among many

Ballycastle Beach, Northern Ireland

Reaching out,
picking up one after another
allowed me the chance
to get closer to their stories
to know them
a little better

Ballycastle Beach, Northern Ireland

Holding each one in my hand
felt like holding a friend

Ballycastle Beach, Northern Ireland

a time to marvel

Ballycastle Beach, Northern Ireland

love

Ballycastle Beach, Northern Ireland

We are like these rocks—
we are one of many
each
and every one
softened by the waves of change
beautiful, unique
full of Story

What’s your Story?

Ballycastle Beach, Northern Ireland

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Where Growth Takes Root

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Poulnabrone, County Clare, Ireland

wind and rain
freeze and thaw
those things in life
that chip away tiny particles of ourselves

leave holes

where growth takes root

-Kate McKinney
Poulnabrone, County Clare, Ireland

What have you lost?

What are you missing?

How might this be an opening for growth?

When to Hold On is a coming-of-age verse novel set in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, a journey that rides the unpredictable hills and valleys of grief toward the healing truths of reconnecting with oneself, those we love, and the natural world.

“One of the best books I have ever read; one that has affected me deeply, giving me greater understanding.” -Amazon review

“We love who we love…Beautifully written, this is a story of finding yourself when everything and everyone around you feels lost.” -Amazon review

When We’re Feeling Small

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Maybe we said something we didn’t mean.

Or shared too much.

Maybe someone said something hurtful

or unloaded their baggage

onto us.

Maybe something happened

that shakes us to the core.

But whatever the cause, sometimes

we’re tipped upside down, turned inside out.

Sometimes we feel so small,

so vulnerable,

every thread of ourselves feels ready

to snap.

That is a good time to get close

to the fine details of life.

So close

that we see

that the small

is big and wonder-filled.

So close

that we feel ourselves looking inside

tiny worlds within worlds

So close that we come to realize

we are both small and big

like everything else on this planet.

This universe.

We are not alone in this.

But maybe most of all,

we need to remember

whole worlds of small

hold on.

Long Shadows, Winter Light

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I’ve been watching
long shadows stretch across snowdrifts.
Letting my eyes rest
on sunlit peaks and contours,
feeling the warmth just by looking,
then skating my eyes
up those lines.

There is a feeling of
seeking, reaching, wondering…
…what next?

And yet,
it is in this moment,
this treasure of a moment
that I feel so grateful
to be in.
To truly see
and be a part of.

I do love winter.
At least,
in the beginning.
Ask me again in February,
or especially March,
and I might give you a different answer.

It is through the changes
in the seasons that I find joy.
And there are always, always
changes.

If I keep my focus
on this single moment,
this single day…
appreciate what this one day has to offer…
whether it be the strange, sudden
darkness that washes over me like a wave
in November,
or the shocking sunlight
on rare December mornings
that breaks through tree branches,
or the red bark of dogwood shrubs
growing even brighter late in winter.

Each moment is both long and short.

I like this time of year
when I get to focus in
on both
the darkness and the light.

Also, what better time to cozy up with a book?

If you’re in a cold climate like I am (where it’s only just reached a whopping 1°F) and you perhaps need a reminder of summer, here’s a taste of heat from the first page of my YA book, WHEN TO HOLD ON.

GIRL MEETS GIRL

The only sound
in the public library’s vestibule
comes from the pages I turn
as I sort through discarded magazines
until

a girl crashes into the quiet
like a cold splash in the August heat.
I try to step aside

meet turquoise
burnt sienna
the smell of cinnamon
green eyes that sink deep,
like soft rain soaking parched soil.

My heart skips. It’s a moment
or eons
before that girl moves around me,

swings the second door open,
walks through.

~ Kate McKinney, WHEN TO HOLD ON

IndieBound

Bookshop

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

So wrap up warm
and sink deep
as you follow
the curves
of whatever story
you choose.

Leaves Are My Joy

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These leaves in sunlight
clustered together,
colors lit,
bring to mind
the sound
of children laughing.
Those big belly laughs
and giggles that ripple out
from play
and keep on going
so that even the adults nearby
can’t help laughing, too.

— Kate McKinney

This trail beckons
with each curve and bend,
each long shadow,
each glowing leaf,
the blue haze in the distance—
trees waiting
to be seen.

—Kate McKinney

What shock! What glory!

To look up.
To see a golden-leafed maple.

To start a day
with the knowledge
that there is beauty
despite chaos and pain.

To realize
this tree is a tree
and without
doing more
or less

light is made splendid
through it
as it grows
toward the blue.

—Kate McKinney

Getting Up Close

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When exactly did these
feathery green leaves
of summer
transform into rainbows?

I could get lost
in their colors
crouching low
breathing in
the mix of autumn’s
changes.

What else do we miss
when we simply walk past?

~ Kate McKinney

Birch leaves collect,
curled edges folding into
one another,
light and shadows turning
scattered shapes
into glorious sculptures.

~ Kate McKinney
Autumn Flame Maple



What would it be like
to climb right into
those branches
with all that red and green
so close?
Would it feel like sitting
in the middle of
an orchestra?
Those complementary
colors
sending out
visual vibrations?

~ Kate McKinney
Asters

A painter’s delight—
purple asters in afternoon
sunlight

Asters

When clouds float past,
they add hues
of dusty gray
and deep blue shadows
below.

Clouds over Blue Mounds

A tiny, tattered
oak seedling can withstand
wind
and takes its time
turning red.
Change can take its toll,
but each year,
this little one
grows.

~ Kate McKinney

My Book

WHEN TO HOLD ON is a girl-meets-girl YA verse novel and draws from its setting in the Driftless Area the way roots draw water from the ground.

YA novel-in-verse

Indie Bound // Barnes&Noble // Amazon

Brynn Bailey, a quiet teen, always preferred the sound of the creek over talking, and that becomes even more true as she struggles to accept the recent death of her mother. Then she meets Zoe who seems to have all the words in the world, and Brynn wishes she knew what to say. As long as it’s not about her grief. But unspoken words have a way of stacking up, like bills on a counter. Soon, she is at risk of losing both love and the only place she calls home. To save them, she’ll need to learn when to listen and when to speak up, when to let go and when to hold on.

A Sneak Peek into the Novel

THE PAINTER

“I like to paint,”
she offers

which is just enough
to transform my silence into a question:

“What do you like to paint?”

Thankfully, it gets her talking instead.

She tucks a frizzy curl behind one ear.
“For me…it’s more about the way
I see whatever I’m painting. I try to
get up close
or pick an unusual angle. Try to see
what others might miss.
I use lots of color because
even grass isn’t just green. It’s also
yellow and brown, blue and purple,
even pink.”

~ Kate McKinney, WHEN TO HOLD ON

I’ll leave you with one last image—a river birch with blue sky peeking between yellow leaves.

Happy Autumn!

River Birch