SIDEWAYS EIGHT PROJECTS

Psalm 56:8 

You have kept count of my tossings;

    put my tears in your bottle.

    Are they not in your record?

1:34am awake to pray after staying up late to write

Given the title to put a bow on this rhyme

fasting for gain, casting out pain in this plight

Father you have in hand our treasure, talent and time

As we toss and turn in our beds

awakened at all hours of the night

turmoil dancing in our weary heads

a moment from giving up the fight

Others pray and suggest the oughts 

while the pain persists of unknown cause

the test results side with the have nots

avoiding bright lights and loud applause

Differences in meals, meds and procedures

trying everything under the sun and over the moon

The world offers its help but we believe yours

we need complete healing extremely soon

Like now, like right now, give us this testimony 

give us a reason never to doubt  but always endure

I don’t want my beloved daughter tested for me

I want her done with this tour, abundantly sure

I will be as persistent as the widow

Remind you she doesn’t deserve the thorn in Paul’s side to persist

She has the childlike faith of a kid though

wisdom beyond her years and I’m pissed

She’s learned that you’re in charge

she’s accepted the surrender as humbled

She has her arms opened wide and large

you’ve helped her rise whenever she’s stumbled

It is a tired and longing soul pleading you

from the frazzled end of my series of days

Everyone filling this room is needing you

so I’ll raise a hallelujah and hear me some praise

Fix this Lord as only you are able and can

give us a diamond in the rough and a win

continued suffering shouldn’t be the plan

you’ve overcome death and conquered sin

Bring transference of this pain to the stones in the Truckee

let them be baptized by the waters of the river themselves 

As we give gratitude counted among the favored and lucky

to be written in the book of life on your shelf

For even those stones can be made anew

if you say it then I know it will be

You once took my heart given to you

softened it and then set it free

I’ll pray and attempt to bless you in all ways

sing and dance as best as I can

break these chains, lighten and brighten her days

bring solid rest in the night as your plan

Are we not all in your record? In your thoughts? 

Do you not want your children to be blessed?

Let wickedness fade while evil rots

we will soar by your wings above this mess

Surely the one who placed the many flowers

in the meadows of the mountains across earth

has the uniquely special and needed powers

to demonstrate his own daughters worth

Be with us in this Lord and fully remove

the suffering and the angst and the pain

I’m asking the one with nothing to prove

to show up, show out, and of course remain

She needs you, I need you, we need you

let any and all hesitation disappear 

for I’ll cry, fight, run, climb and bleed to

fully rest in having both her and you near

And now that you’re among us and within us

we the church gathered in your picturesque frame

continue to begin us again and win us

to you in Jesus most holy and precious name

♾️♾️♾️♾️

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Finished Wednesday 9/24/25 by JJZ

Sapphire Jazz Ensemble Piece

The Negro Speaks of Rivers- Jesse

Mother To Son- Kashae 

Sapphire Jazz Ensemble Piece

The Weary Blues – Jesse

My People – Kashae 

Laughter – Kashae

Sapphire Jazz Ensemble Piece

I Dream A World- Kashae

Poem (To F.S) – Jesse

Sapphire Jazz Ensemble Piece

Life Is Fine – Kashae

Sapphire Jazz Ensemble Piece

Same In Blues – Jesse

Harlem – Jesse

Sapphire Jazz Ensemble Piece

I Too – Together

Sapphire Jazz Ensemble Piece

Poets In The Round Bios

Dani Putney

Dani Putney is a queer, non-binary, mixed-race Filipinx, & neurodivergent writer originally from Sacramento, California. They’re the author of Mix-Mix (Baobab Press, 2025)

& Salamat sa Intersectionality (Okay Donkey Press, 2021), finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Poetry. They’re also the author of the poetry chapbook Dela Torre (Sundress Publications, 2022) & the creative nonfiction chapbook Swallow Whole (Bullshit Press, 2024), & they’ve received support for their work from the Nevada Arts Council, Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference, & Association of Writers & Writing Programs.

Their poetry appears in outlets such as Bennington Review, Cream City Review, Foglifter, Grist, Hayden’s Ferry Review, & Puerto del Sol, among others, while their creative nonfiction can be found in journals such as Crab Creek Review, Glassworks Magazine, Quarterly West, & So to Speak, among others. In May of this year they were a spotlight feature artist, sharing an extended set from their most recent book release with Monday Night Poetry as well as the featured poet of study for May of 2025 in the Collective Breath Poetry Book Club. They received their PhD in English from Oklahoma State University & MFA in Creative Writing from Mississippi University for Women. They live in Reno, Nevada.

Courtney Kelly

Courtney Kelly is a queer educator and writer based in Northern Nevada. She is a regular poet at Monday Night Poetry. Her poetry has featured at the Utah Arts Festival, She’s On Fire Art and Music Festival, Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl, Dinner for the Revolution, and Radical Cat Grand Reopening. She is the founder of Reno’s Generative Poetry Workshop and co-founder of the Queerest Little Bookclub and has volunteered as a judge for the Washoe County Poetry Out Loud semi-finals since 2024. She was hired as the editor for “The Illusion of Choice” the debut choose your own adventure poetry book by M. Colton Brodeur  published in 2024.

Iain Watson

Iain is the Founder of Spoken Views Collective (2006) Which is the longest standing, continuously running spoken word and written word poetry organization outside of Las Vegas in the entire state of Nevada. He is a governing member of the Reno Arts and Culture Commission as well as the Nevada Poetry Society in addition to being a public educator in the Washoe County School system of many years. He is the special event touring acts booking agent and promotional organizer for, as well as co-founder of, Monday Night Poetry. He was the opener and host of the world premiere for Insomnia, a spoken word play written by season 15 winner of AGT Brandon Leake. He is a local DJ and Photographer in addition to being a proud cat Dad and Husband to Jamie. Godfather to the spoken word scene in the Biggest Little City. 

Griffin Peralta

Griffin is a Spoken Word Poet, Public Educator, and radio host. He grew up in Reno, Nevada (Reno did most of the growing). He hopes to support his community in any way he can.

Griffin is a 4 time poetry slam champion, taking the title in both Reno and Tahoe.

He teaches English Language Arts  in Washoe County, receiving the Outstanding Educator Award and a commendation from Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in 2018.

Griffin is a long time member of the Spoken Views Poetry Collective, working with the group to create, promote, and perform poetry in Northern Nevada.

Nikki Leialohalani Herschend

Nikki Herschend is a spoken word poet, writer, and performer whose work explores trauma, resilience, political defiance, and ancestral legacy. Drawing from a rich blend of personal experience and cultural heritage, Nikki crafts emotionally charged, rhythmically driven poetry that speaks truth to power and reclaims voice in the face of silence. Their performances are known for their intensity, vulnerability, and unflinching honesty—whether confronting domestic violence, imperialism, or the complexities of identity.

Nikki’s poetry has been featured in competitions, community events, and activist circles including the annual She’s On Fire Festival here in Reno. Their current body of work includes a three-part series on survival and reclamation, as well as pieces that challenge colonial narratives and honor ancestral strength. Nikki’s debut chapbook, She Didn’t Know She’d Live Again, is forthcoming. Nikki is passionate about using language as a tool for liberation and connection.

Michelle Meyers

MICHELLE is an award-winning poet, community activist, and educator. As a founding member of the Asian American female spoken word poetry group Yellow Rage, she was one of the first Asian American women to appear on HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry; in the first live Def Poetry Jam show presented at the 2001 HBO U.S.

Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado; and in the Def Poetry Jam College Tour. For over 20 years, Michelle has featured at hundreds of college campuses as well as at many distinguished venues around the country, including the Kennedy Center, BAMcafé, Bowery Poetry Club, Asian American Writers Workshop, Sierra Arts Foundation, Japanese American National Museum, and the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.

Employing multiple poetic forms and delivery styles-including narrative, folk arts/storytelling, hip-hop-influenced rhyme, and song-Michelle attempts to employ the raw and intimate power of spoken word poetry in the hopes of taking audiences on an unforgettable journey that educates, challenges, and inspires.

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“I wish for a heart you can see straight through, for a voice

that glows in the dark, and a few really good friends to say, That’s the way to go?”

– Andrea Gibson

“I have never met a heavy heart that wasn’t a phone booth with a red cape inside. Some people will wever understand the kind of superpower it takes for some people to just walk outside. Some days I know my smile looks like the gutter of a falling house, But my hands are always holding tight to the ripchord of believing.”

– Andrea Gibson

Made for… Connection

Jesse Ziegler

I want to introduce you to Jesse Ziegler… he is Reno’s Poet Laureate, one of our prayer partners, and you have, no doubt, seen him around the Rock. He and his lovely wife Amanda have chosen to make the Rock their church home. I’ve asked Jesse to come and share his interpretation of how we are “Made for Connection”. 

So Jesse, welcome!  I wonder if you might share with us some of your thoughts around this idea: 

Some of us find it really difficult to connect with others because of past experiences that didn’t meet our expectations or because we are just on the shy side. Tell us why you think connection can be so difficult.

Sometimes putting ourselves out there is too much of a stretch for our comfort zone because of being shy or feeling awkward. Sometimes putting ourselves out there brings up previous woundedness and/or disappointment. Sometimes there is simply an assumption of failure to some degree. Sometimes there is a lack of perceived self worth which leads to a fear of falling short of other people’s expectations and/or a feeling of not being good enough to maintain initial connections. Sometimes the difficulties in making connections are rooted in logistical elements such as a busy work schedule, lack of reliable transportation, responsibility for care of others such as children or aging parents or a lack of auxiliary income to be able to meet up at a venue where it’s expected to make purchases of some sort. I’m sure there are other aspects of life which might inhibit connections somehow, but these were the ones I could immediately think of.

How do you find “your people”and how do you make yourself take the risk required for connection?

I find my people through my faith based involvement and my arts based involvement. I have made myself take the risk required for connection by becoming a community leader as the creative director of Monday Night Poetry, a companionship volunteer with Gentiva Hospice, a group facilitator of the True Colors Poetry sessions at Our Center, a prayer warrior as a regular church member of The Rock and an active poet in western Nevada as well as Northern California and Las Vegas.

*So what you’re really saying is connection is something you’ve had to invest in, take risks for and work at! There something really beautiful and important about allowing yourself to be seen.

Absolutely! It is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson but I’m not certain as to the source “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done” I grew up feeling unintended and unwanted due to my own woundedness. This is not to lay blame at the doorstep of my blood family which was always very small. I think it speaks to a deep longing in me at an early age that was never widely satisfied. C.S. Lewis wrote “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” I understood from a young age, after literally nearly dying by drowning on two separate occasions, that if my depression and unsatisfied longings lead to self harm that my mother would never be able to recuperate. As such I realized as a young adult  it wasn’t a viable option for me to merely endure this world and gut it out for the entire duration of my life in the hopes of a better life in the next  world which may or may not even exist. The alternative to causing myself grave harm was helping to do everything I personally could to help create a world in which I’d want to live. This would obviously include a sense of family and friends which would fill up my cup and reciprocally allow for me to pour out to others who would actually appreciate it rather than mock it. Later, in coming to faith, this would be referred to as “Kingdom Living”. As Rumi said “The cracks are where the light gets in” Ultimately I’ve realized my goal all along has been to become an adult who would’ve helped save me as a child. Only God has the power to  truly save or condemn. However, by connecting with others; truly, deeply and authentically beyond surface level, we get to be advocates, ambassadors and agents of change who help set the stage for others to find their light with assistance from the Holy Spirit. That is the greatest sense of purpose, meaning, calling, belonging and chosen family that I’ve personally found in this life in this world. 

I know some of us are asking, is connection really worth it?

Absolutely. The single greatest opportunity and feeling this life has to offer us is being a part of something larger than just ourselves. The utmost example of this is a deeply abiding connection with the source of all life. Everything else flows from that connection. We may often feel lonely but it is important to remember that we are never alone. We were made to be hardwired for community of some kind. People may have hurt us in the past or let us down but (Spoiler Alert) everyone will hurt us and disappoint us eventually if we know them long enough and well enough. It also might mean that they weren’t for us in the long run but rather a specific reason or a season. Comfort zone is the enemy of growth. Happiness is most real when shared. 

Talk for just a minute about how you have been able to connect with God. How did that develop and what does that look like?

I have most consistently and thoroughly connected with God across my entire life by reading, writing and sharing poetry. I did not fall in love with Jesus until I was 28 years old. I realize looking back that God was pursuing me through the art form long before that in addition to my love of nature/creation. I’m still most frequently able to connect with God through reading and sharing scripture, time in nature, prayer, Bible study, community conversations, morning devotionals, all things poetry, group chats with other believers, meditation/listening prayer, podcasts, inspirational music, men’s breakfast meetings, photography group meetings, mentoring and being mentored by chosen family and reading supplemental material.

Does connection with God affect your connection with others?

For sure. Knowing that I’m connected to God, knowing that relationship is rooted in love and being sustained by it allows for me to have a home base in everything I do. My home is wherever I roam. As such it’s like the difference between a circus performer with a safety net below versus one who works without one. If I know I’m loved and I know I don’t have to fear dying then I am free to love others with abandon and brave vulnerability. I’m free to serve and encourage others without being too concerned with rejection or disappointment. I’m free to risk everything because I know my life is in God’s hands. It makes it easier to stretch well beyond my personal comfort zone mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually when I know that I’m being lead by the spirit. Also, as I step fully into my authentic self, finding my deepest identity in Jesus, answering my calling to be a poet and a counselor, I give others permission around me to step boldly into the fullness of their truest selves. This, in turn, makes it easier to find my people. My tribe. My chosen family. 

Inscription (edited)

Your story is not finished.

The author of life is helping you

write it each and every day.

This journal is for your questions.

Of God and of people.

This is for your prayers.

For the answers you find,

the answers you’re given,

and all that you wish to remember. 

This journal is for the things you notice,

big and small, which give you inspiration 

and bring you joy.

For your ideas and aspirations,

for your hopes and dreams,

your innermost thoughts,

and your wildest adventures.

This journal is for your sketches, lyrics

your quotes and your notes, 

your short stories, poems, 

verses and daydreams.

This is for you.

As you are.

As you are becoming.

As you will be.

This journal is a gift,

just as you are to this world.

FULL BIO FROM WEBSITE:

Brynn Saito (she/her), MA, MFA, is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Under a Future Sky (Red Hen Press, 2023). A 2023 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellow, Brynn is the winner of the Benjamin Saltman Award and a finalist for the Northern California Book Award. She coedited with Brandon Shimoda The Gate of Memory: Poems by Descendants of Nikkei Wartime Incarceration (Haymarket Books, April 2025). Brynn also co-authored with Traci Brimhall the poetry chapbook, Bright Power, Dark Peace (Diode Editions, 2016) and co-produced with Koji Lau-Ozawa the short documentary Cactus Blossoms Revisited. She teaches in the Creative Writing program at California State University, Fresno, located on the traditional lands of the Yokuts and Mono peoples.

Brynn is a Kundiman Asian American poetry fellow and a two-time recipient of the California State Library’s Civil Liberties Public Education grant for her work with Yonsei Memory Project (YMP). Founded in 2017 with farmer, artist, and writer, Nikiko Masumoto, YMP awakens the archives of Japanese American history through arts-based, intergenerational, and intercultural public programming.

Brynn was featured in Vogue magazine’s “Memory Keepers: Japanese American Internment Survivors and Descendants Speak Out.” She is a recipient of a Densho Artists Initiative grant, a Hedgebrook Residency, and was an artist-in-residence at the Santa Fe Arts Institute’s “Truth and Reconciliation” program. Brynn provided the voice-over narration for the Emmy-winning Valley PBS documentary, Silent Sacrifice: Stories of Japanese American Incarceration. Along with Koji Lau-Ozawa and Brandon Shimoda, she was awarded a grant from The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation for programming related to Cactus Blossoms Revisited and The Gate of Memory.

Brynn is a fourth generation Japanese American and Korean American from Fresno, California. She was a finalist for the Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award and the Paterson Poetry Prize. Her poetry has been anthologized by Helen Vendler and Ishmael Reed; it has also appeared in American Poetry Review, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Virginia Quarterly Review. Along with Traci Brimhall, Brynn also co-authored the chapbook Wild Recovery, published in Four Quartets: Poetry in the Pandemic (Tupelo Press, 2020).

Brynn has taught in Kearny Street Workshop’s Interdisciplinary Writers Lab for emerging writers of color and has facilitated workshops for Kripalu and the Spiritual Life Foundation. She has been a visiting writer in the MFA programs at University of San Francisco, UNR Lake Tahoe, Saint Mary’s College of California, and California Institute of Integral Studies. Brynn holds degrees from Sarah Lawrence College (MFA, creative writing), New York University (MA, religious studies), and UC Berkeley (BA, philosophy).