An Invitation
If Blood, Milk, and Thunder: Poems for Midwives and Mothers met you in a tender place—
whether in birth, loss, rage, joy, or survival—
know this: your story matters, too.
I am gathering voices for my next poetry collection, Bone, Breath, and Fire.
This book will hold the fierce resilience of mothers, midwives, partners, and survivors.
Your story can become part of that lineage, transformed into poetry that witnesses you and honors what you’ve carried.
How It Works
You can share as much or as little as you like—whether it’s a full story, a single moment, or just a feeling.
Submissions may be shaped into poems, which means I may adapt, condense, or reframe your words into a new form.
Not every story will appear in the book, but every story will be read with reverence.
Creative License & Permissions
By submitting your story, you give me permission to:
use your words as inspiration for poetry,
edit, adapt, and reframe your story into poetic form,
include the resulting poem in Bone, Breath, and Fire and related creative projects.
Your name and identifying details will remain private unless you explicitly request to be credited.
You are welcome to share your story anonymously.
Your Voice Matters
Birth and loss. Rage and joy. Survival and fire.
Your story is part of this great cycle—and together, our voices become a chorus.
Closing Note
Every submission is a gift.
Thank you for trusting me with your words, your scars, your fire.
May we rise together.
— Carrissa Smith