KELLY GRACE THOMAS
KELLY GRACE THOMAS, poet, writer, and coach, is the author of Future Tense (forthcoming from Alice James Books, 2026) and Boat Burned (YesYes Books, 2020). She is the winner of the Jane Underwood Poetry Prize and the Neil Postman Award for Metaphor. Kelly’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in: The Sun, The Adroit Journal, 32 Poems, Los Angeles Review, Sixth Finch, and elsewhere. Kelly helps poets create intentional habits, rapidly improve craft, and finally write the poems only they can write through her Substack, The Poetry Coach. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Randolph College. www.kellygracethomas.com
Maybe the trick is believing enough
to keep opening—doors, prayers,
avocados, arms, and elevators. To
keep pushing the loud button of
want, until the future becomes a
dance floor beneath your feet.
I’m writing to myself, but I’m also writing to whoever needs my words most. It is always my hope to offer poetry as even the smallest comfort, as honest company—the way it’s always been for me.
September 7, 2025
