Michele Somerville she/her
@michelesomerville.bsky.social
NYC mama, poet, writer, teacher, religion scholar.
I’m Indie Theology. Books (poems): Glamourous Life, Black Irish, WISEGAL. Bylines: Harvard Divinity, Religion Dispatches, NYT.
https://indietheology.substack.com/https://linktr.ee/mmsnypoet
I’m Indie Theology. Books (poems): Glamourous Life, Black Irish, WISEGAL. Bylines: Harvard Divinity, Religion Dispatches, NYT.
https://indietheology.substack.com/https://linktr.ee/mmsnypoet
Go to the link to read the poem. (Look away from the (Bluesky) blurb that disregards the typography.)
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46661/...
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46661/...
Thanking My Mother for Piano Lessons
I was a quiet child, afraid of walking into a store alone, afraid of the water, the sun, the dirty weeds in back yards, afraid of my mother’s bad breath, and afraid of my father’s occasional visits ho...
www.poetryfoundation.org
November 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Go to the link to read the poem. (Look away from the (Bluesky) blurb that disregards the typography.)
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46661/...
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46661/...
Love this poem. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/154338...
November 27, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Love this poem. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/154338...
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
It’s outrageous to watch Defense Secretary Whiskey Pete, a former Fox News weekend host with a long trail of questioned drinking and assault allegations, try to swiftboat Sen. Mark Kelly for reminding troops they must not obey illegal orders, because instead of dealing with that he chose to…
November 25, 2025 at 4:38 PM
It’s outrageous to watch Defense Secretary Whiskey Pete, a former Fox News weekend host with a long trail of questioned drinking and assault allegations, try to swiftboat Sen. Mark Kelly for reminding troops they must not obey illegal orders, because instead of dealing with that he chose to…
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
When this bubble bursts, the collapse won’t hit Google’s coders — it’ll hit the electricians, nurses, teachers, retirees, renters, and low-income families who never got a penny from the boom…
hartmannreport.com/p/what-happe...
hartmannreport.com/p/what-happe...
What Happens When the AI Bubble Blows Up on Main Street?
When this bubble bursts, the collapse won’t hit Google’s coders — it’ll hit the electricians, nurses, teachers, retirees, renters, and low-income families who never got a penny from the boom…
hartmannreport.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:50 PM
When this bubble bursts, the collapse won’t hit Google’s coders — it’ll hit the electricians, nurses, teachers, retirees, renters, and low-income families who never got a penny from the boom…
hartmannreport.com/p/what-happe...
hartmannreport.com/p/what-happe...
1/“ProPublica examined the harm caused by the delay in rolling out and endorsing the vaccine for pregnant [sic] mothers…a surprising turn …reversed that guidance.
In May,RFKJr “announced…that >
www.propublica.org/article/covi...
In May,RFKJr “announced…that >
www.propublica.org/article/covi...
Amid Confusing CDC Guidance About Vaccines, Study Highlights New Risk of COVID-19 During Pregnancy
A Harvard study found that the children of women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant may be at an increased risk for autism and other diagnoses, raising new concerns about the CDC’s decision to sto...
www.propublica.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:46 PM
1/“ProPublica examined the harm caused by the delay in rolling out and endorsing the vaccine for pregnant [sic] mothers…a surprising turn …reversed that guidance.
In May,RFKJr “announced…that >
www.propublica.org/article/covi...
In May,RFKJr “announced…that >
www.propublica.org/article/covi...
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
A Fort Worth church is offering a $100 online academy that aims to train conservative Christians to run for office.
At the core of the program is the idea that there is no separation between what happens within the church and in the government.
With @fortworthreport.bsky.social @texastribune.org
At the core of the program is the idea that there is no separation between what happens within the church and in the government.
With @fortworthreport.bsky.social @texastribune.org
“No Separation Between Church and State”: Inside a Texas Church’s Training Academy for Christians Running for Office
A Fort Worth church’s candidate training program is the “next stage” of a religion-driven political movement, which has more latitude now that the IRS has allowed religious leaders to endorse candidat...
www.propublica.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM
A Fort Worth church is offering a $100 online academy that aims to train conservative Christians to run for office.
At the core of the program is the idea that there is no separation between what happens within the church and in the government.
With @fortworthreport.bsky.social @texastribune.org
At the core of the program is the idea that there is no separation between what happens within the church and in the government.
With @fortworthreport.bsky.social @texastribune.org
“The models project that in Red Hook, a 100-year storm at current sea level would produce surging waves that would reach an elevation of at least 11 feet — a foot higher than the current plan would protect against.” 1/
www.propublica.org/article/new-...
www.propublica.org/article/new-...
New York Moves Forward With a Brooklyn Flood Protection Plan That Falls Short of Other City Projects
The city is on track to install barriers and elevate roads and sidewalks in the port neighborhood of Red Hook. Experts say it will provide insufficient protection from storms.
www.propublica.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:01 PM
“The models project that in Red Hook, a 100-year storm at current sea level would produce surging waves that would reach an elevation of at least 11 feet — a foot higher than the current plan would protect against.” 1/
www.propublica.org/article/new-...
www.propublica.org/article/new-...
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
Target, Amazon, Home Depot. You’re not just selling products — you’re laundering fascism through your supply chains, your lobbying, your silence.
We’re spending elsewhere — where justice isn’t a coupon code. #WeAintBuyingIt
We’re spending elsewhere — where justice isn’t a coupon code. #WeAintBuyingIt
November 24, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Target, Amazon, Home Depot. You’re not just selling products — you’re laundering fascism through your supply chains, your lobbying, your silence.
We’re spending elsewhere — where justice isn’t a coupon code. #WeAintBuyingIt
We’re spending elsewhere — where justice isn’t a coupon code. #WeAintBuyingIt
“LITTLE heart?!”
Don’t expect the 5 deferments & a bunion war-wimp to know how / what the word “courage” came to mean what it means.
t Rump just wants to help Putin, who finessed the installation of the former, to annex #Ukraine. Thats the “peace plan.”
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Don’t expect the 5 deferments & a bunion war-wimp to know how / what the word “courage” came to mean what it means.
t Rump just wants to help Putin, who finessed the installation of the former, to annex #Ukraine. Thats the “peace plan.”
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Trump says Zelensky can agree to peace plan or ‘fight his little heart out’
President Trump on Saturday heaped pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky, as he pushed Ukraine’s leaders to agree to a 28-point plan to help bring an end to the war.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM
“LITTLE heart?!”
Don’t expect the 5 deferments & a bunion war-wimp to know how / what the word “courage” came to mean what it means.
t Rump just wants to help Putin, who finessed the installation of the former, to annex #Ukraine. Thats the “peace plan.”
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Don’t expect the 5 deferments & a bunion war-wimp to know how / what the word “courage” came to mean what it means.
t Rump just wants to help Putin, who finessed the installation of the former, to annex #Ukraine. Thats the “peace plan.”
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
“The poem might also be a safe-deposit box, keeping the names of species intact for an environmentally unstable future, when the trees that the poem names may only exist in language.
But the language for the nature is endangered too…”
But the language for the nature is endangered too…”
Cecily Parks examines the ceremony and intimacy of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Counting-Out Rhyme.”
A Close Reading of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Counting-Out Rhyme”
Descriptions of tree bark and heartwood, arranged into lines that rhyme: that’s Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Counting-Out Rhyme.” There’s no first-person “I” inside the poem to act as a reader’s avat…
buff.ly
November 25, 2025 at 12:50 PM
“The poem might also be a safe-deposit box, keeping the names of species intact for an environmentally unstable future, when the trees that the poem names may only exist in language.
But the language for the nature is endangered too…”
But the language for the nature is endangered too…”
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
“In 2023, the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and the private equity titan Marc Rowan tested a new way of wielding power over their alma maters, with nationally …ultimately successful—campaigns to oust the leaders of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
Wealthy People Have Always Shaped Universities. This Time Is Different.
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:48 PM
“In 2023, the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and the private equity titan Marc Rowan tested a new way of wielding power over their alma maters, with nationally …ultimately successful—campaigns to oust the leaders of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
“Despite telling the officers he was an American citizen, one of them broke the driver’s side window and detained him. In a video shared to the outlet by Cesar Jimenez, Christian can reportedly be heard asserting his citizenship while an officer responds “get out of the car” and “I don’t care.”
ICE detained teenaged US citizen during school lunch break, family says
ICE detained teenaged US citizen during school lunch break, family says
Christian Jimenez, Oregon high school senior, faces possible obstruction charges after traffic stop by immigration agents
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:13 PM
“Despite telling the officers he was an American citizen, one of them broke the driver’s side window and detained him. In a video shared to the outlet by Cesar Jimenez, Christian can reportedly be heard asserting his citizenship while an officer responds “get out of the car” and “I don’t care.”
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
“Communities have the right to know the extent to which their local officials are collaborating with ICE and when that is unclear, they have the right to request transparency,” stated the groups.”
November 20, 2025 at 5:27 PM
“Communities have the right to know the extent to which their local officials are collaborating with ICE and when that is unclear, they have the right to request transparency,” stated the groups.”
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
SOLMAZ SHARIF
This poem appears in her exceptional debut LOOK (2016) from @graywolfpress.bsky.social
#smallpoemsunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social
This poem appears in her exceptional debut LOOK (2016) from @graywolfpress.bsky.social
#smallpoemsunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social
November 23, 2025 at 7:50 PM
SOLMAZ SHARIF
This poem appears in her exceptional debut LOOK (2016) from @graywolfpress.bsky.social
#smallpoemsunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social
This poem appears in her exceptional debut LOOK (2016) from @graywolfpress.bsky.social
#smallpoemsunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social
⬇️
November 23, 2025 at 1:26 PM
⬇️
I loved this, don’t fully understand it, & found the report to which it responds, interesting.
Intuitively, & a little bit selfishly perhaps, I think poets are the mightiest — when it comes to defending against AI !
Intuitively, & a little bit selfishly perhaps, I think poets are the mightiest — when it comes to defending against AI !
Our greatest tool for fighting AI might actually be poetry.
Can “adversarial poetry” save us from AI?
Turns out, the Terminator movies would have been more realistic if Sarah Conner had a poetry MFA. In a new paper titled “Adversarial Poetry as a Universal Single-Turn Jailbreak Mechanism in Large L…
buff.ly
November 23, 2025 at 1:25 PM
I loved this, don’t fully understand it, & found the report to which it responds, interesting.
Intuitively, & a little bit selfishly perhaps, I think poets are the mightiest — when it comes to defending against AI !
Intuitively, & a little bit selfishly perhaps, I think poets are the mightiest — when it comes to defending against AI !
November 22, 2025 at 5:56 PM
November 22, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
SPECIAL BIBLE STUDY ALERT–This Wednesday, 6pm ET, join Dr. David Carr at Freedom Church of the Poor for a powerful study of Christian Nationalism and the Hebrew Scriptures.
Comment "Bible Study!" and we'll DM you the link to join.
Comment "Bible Study!" and we'll DM you the link to join.
November 12, 2025 at 12:04 AM
SPECIAL BIBLE STUDY ALERT–This Wednesday, 6pm ET, join Dr. David Carr at Freedom Church of the Poor for a powerful study of Christian Nationalism and the Hebrew Scriptures.
Comment "Bible Study!" and we'll DM you the link to join.
Comment "Bible Study!" and we'll DM you the link to join.
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
The NY Episcopal Diocese just passed a new plan to save its finances. But the biggest church in the diocese says the plan won't work.
religionnews.com/2025/11/20/a...
religionnews.com/2025/11/20/a...
A new funding plan puts NYC Bishop and Trinity Church at odds
(RNS) — A new funding plan would cut costs for most New York churches but calls on Trinity Church to double its donations to the diocese. Trinity leaders say they want to help but the bishop’s plan wo...
religionnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:13 PM
The NY Episcopal Diocese just passed a new plan to save its finances. But the biggest church in the diocese says the plan won't work.
religionnews.com/2025/11/20/a...
religionnews.com/2025/11/20/a...
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
Update on DHS threats reported from #Worcester: I spoke with @bmietana.bsky.social at @rns.org about what we were hearing on the ground. Bottom line? DHS claims no ICE raids on churches during holidays but won’t rule it out. This is why we at council of churches sue religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...
Viral warnings of planned ICE raids on churches have pastors worried
(RNS) — Rumors and viral reports about potential ICE raids have immigrant church leaders worried about their congregations. DHS says it doesn’t have plans to raid churches — but won’t rule it out.
religionnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Update on DHS threats reported from #Worcester: I spoke with @bmietana.bsky.social at @rns.org about what we were hearing on the ground. Bottom line? DHS claims no ICE raids on churches during holidays but won’t rule it out. This is why we at council of churches sue religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...
Reposted by Michele Somerville she/her
Warnings that ICE will raid churches over the holidays are going viral. We looked into one story that's got pastors worried -- and it wasn't what we thought it might be
religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...
religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...
Viral warnings of planned ICE raids on churches have pastors worried
(RNS) — Rumors and viral reports about potential ICE raids have immigrant church leaders worried about their congregations. DHS says it doesn’t have plans to raid churches — but won’t rule it out.
religionnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Warnings that ICE will raid churches over the holidays are going viral. We looked into one story that's got pastors worried -- and it wasn't what we thought it might be
religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...
religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...