Kevin A. Risner

@mrdecember

It's Easy To Lose Your Breath (Match Factory Editions, 2026) & There's No Future Where We Don't Have Fire (Unsolicited Press, 2027) www.kevinarisner.com

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Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· 13d

Thank you, First Energy. I also have a hunch that it’s not just due to my increased AC usage. I dunno… could it be those pesky data centers?!

A pic of an email my power company sent to me, telling me my household spent $116 more this month. It was due mostly to AC use because of the heat. But probably not just that….

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· 26d

We're now almost past an AQI of 600. This is great.

The Air Quality Index in our area is now at 596, at the uppermost of hazardous.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· 26d

What a great day for an open-air poetry reading. Sigh.

Current AQI index reading for Brecksville OH -- in the purple stage (261). Very unhealthy air quality, with the main pollutant PM2.5.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· Jul 7

Clint Smith and Michael Metivier both state Welp at the same time. This is in response to the US giving up a goal in under a minute of equalizing.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· Jul 4

just fyi 😂

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· Jul 1

Oh hey - guess what? My book launch is now viewable on YouTube! What better time than this little heat wave to stay inside, kick back with a cold drink, and enjoy a few poems. :-) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icyr...

Here's me showing my book to the room. I'm wearing a pink and blue checkered short-sleeve button-down shirt. I have a Guardians cap, all brown with a white block C. My book "It's Easy to Lose Your Breath" is being held in front of my face, the typical gray, dark blue, and pink color scheme prevalent.

A screenshot of the zoom room. I'm smiling. The other attendees are present, some visible, others not. It was a great time!

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· Jun 14

Three virtual readings over the next few weeks: -- Night Light, Thursday at 9pm -- A book release party w/ Match Factory Editions 6/23 at 7:30pm -- A Hundred Pitchers of Honey 7/9 at 7:30pm If you need assistance with registering, let me know. Hope to see you at one (or more!) of these events. 💙🩷🩶

The main playbill: Blue background and pink text for all. Pic of me in Cape May with a sign in the sun. "Summer 2026 Virtual Readings for Kevin A. Risner's "It's Easy to Lose Your Breath" Night Light, Thursday, 6/18 (9pm ET), Launch Party w/Match Factory Editions, Thursday 6/23 (7:30 pm ET), A Hundred Pitchers of Honey, Thursday 7/9 (7:30pm ET)

"Reading 1: Night Light, Thursday 6/18/26 (9pm ET) To register go here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IltAk5mlST2BJk90JBGy_Q "

Also a pic of the aurora, green swirls of light with a pink and purple sky. A leafy green tree in the lower right hand corner

"Reading 3: A Hundred Pitchers of Honey, Thursday 7/9/26 (7:30pm ET) Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/g9MwjJ2bQw21DPrGa0Xt3w "

There's a photo in the middle of a honeybee on white aster flowers with green leaves surrounding them and green lawn in the background.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· Jun 12

Having an open-air UFC match in front of the White House in the middle of June. You'd think they would have thought about the possible climatological risks involved hosting it then... right?! 😵‍💫

The forecast for Washington D.C. on Sunday, thanks to weather.com. High temp, 90*F and a low of 67*. The weather is: Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours. Thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High near 90F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. (oops.) At night: Rain showers early with clearing later at night. Low 67F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· Jun 6

I can’t put pics and videos in the same post (booooo!!), so here’s the video of me unboxing if you really wanna see that 🫠

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· Jun 6

After a few days away, I’m back home to unbox my books! Thank you to my wife, Mary, for doing an impromptu photo shoot & videoing me opening my briefcase of books! Yes. I’m wearing a The National shirt. Are you surprised? 😂 Thanks again to @matchfactoryeds.bsky.social! The book looks amazing!

Me sitting on a loveseat with an unopened cardboard box. I'm hearing a gray "The National" T-shirt with a mountain and a moon in the background. Also wearing maroon athletic shorts. I'm smiling, wearing glasses, and have a Guardians cap on! The loveseat a soothing olive green. Two photos are on the wall in the background.

Me, wearing the same things, on the same loveseat, with the same background. I'm holding my book -- It's Easy To Lose Your Breath! Color scheme: Blue trim, gray background with fan pattern, text and accents are in pink.

Same me, same room. I'm just reading the book. :'-)

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· Jun 2

Happy pub day to my book! It’s Easy to Lose Your Breath is now out in the world. You can still nab it anytime, whenever you can! I hope you enjoy traveling thru parts of my 2020 & 2021 again. (😂 😭) Of course, I’m out of town this week when it arrives, but I’ll be opening that package this weekend.

A haiku titled “Hope”

a red oak sapling
now in a watering can
soon in our front yard

a photo of the sapling this year not long after it was inadvertantly munched on by some critter. Thankfully, new buds have popped on it and more leaves will be on it for the summer. I’m hopeful again!

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 30

Had Google up on my computer. (It's typically DuckDuckGo.) And I was curious, so I typed "-ai" in my search. Check out the response:

Google results to a question "what elements are humans made of -ai" with the results showing an AI overview I didn't ask for. Oxygen ~65%, Carbon ~18.5%, Hydrogen ~9.5%, Nitrogen ~3.3%,, Calcium ~1.5% and others probably. I don't trust this output. I need to look on my own, you punks.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 29

If you're struggling with the format, here's the poem with the line breaks:

Title: A Walk on the Towpath Trail at Beaver Marsh

Poem below:

As the spring dependably ambles past
The trees sprout and show off their layers of green
The day after Memorial Day beckons us to Beaver Marsh

Instead of beavers today, we’re treated to a menagerie
Of wildlife, of wildflowers, of all the peace
We can never seem to find elsewhere

Painted turtles all in a row on the logs in the canal
Snappers cleaving through the water as
A snake hides in the shade, hides from us all

The frogs are croaking back and forth
A conversation we’ve snuck into but don’t contribute to
The geese and ducks are swimming along

Bringing their brood elsewhere as we leap
To the shaded parts that keep us away
From our necks getting burned

But the kicker, the biggest surprise is the blackbird
Those orange feathers sneaking out as it perches
And poses for our cameras, squawking for attention

Just for a little bit as we pause on the boardwalk
What does it want? Food? Or just a few minutes of our time
To talk about what they’ve seen as we inch closer, as it inches closer

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 29

I have a poem included in the Mental Map that's being put together by the Cleveland Health and Wellness Center and Literary Cleveland @literarycleveland.bsky.social! Check out all of the work so far -- and have look at the image to see where my poem is. :-) www.chawc.org/mental-map

A screenshot of the mental map with my poem highlighted. You can zoom in to check out the poem more closely.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 28

Planted a lilac bush today despite my hurt back because I am stubborn.

A section of my backyard, full of green grass and random trees. A square of top soil surrounds the small lilac bush that's been planted. The flowers have already gone to seed, so I will snip them soon to hopefully see them blossom again before the end of the year.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 26

We did it, Joe!

Multiple pics of Kenny Atkinson with the text “Analytically headed to the NBA Finals” and the Cleveland skyline in the background

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 24

Poetry on the nightstand, courtesy of: @bardsbesidebars.bsky.social @dseuss.bsky.social @djvorreyer.bsky.social

Three books on my worn gray wood nightstand:
Doppelgangbanger by Cortney Lamar Charleston, frank: sonnets by Diane Seuss, and Unrivered by Donna Vorreyer

Another hardbound book is elevating them.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 20

Getting this out of the closet. Helpful that it’s in the 50s today. #UTV baby!!

Me with glasses on and hair tousled. Wearing a claret and sky blue jacket with a patch with a red Lion and ASTON VILLS FC in gold. Underneath in gold is Champions of Europe (for when they won the Champions league 44 years ago.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 20

Aston Villa have won the Europa League! 😭 🏆

Screenshot of Aston Villa's IG post. Full-time score is Aston Villa 3 Freiburg 0. Three of Villa's players, donned in all white are celebrating on the pitch.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 19

In lieu of posting about the basketball game tonight, here's a patch of wildflowers I didn't mow because I wanted them to linger around for a bit longer. 🌼

A freshly mown yard with wildflowers with white petals and a yellow center. There are picnic tables and a weathered shed in the background. Further back -- more trees, a neighbors house, a metal fence.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 19

All right, Cavs, this (and only this) is what I want to see in the ECF, please. (Photo taken by Jimmy Longo.)

Jarrett Allen (with headband, of course) flying through the air about to make a right-handed dunk. The Pistons' Reed in the background. Courtside Pistons fans watching in the background, too.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 17

Off I go again, blissfully detaching myself from social media regardless of today’s basketball game outcome. Maybe in the future I’ll share some of why I usually do this. But not now. Here’s a shot of the creek from the patio where we enjoyed brunch this morning.

Lush green all around, trees, blue morning sky, a creek with lightly moving water

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 16

Here's a 2nd poem from It's Easy to Lose Your Breath! This one's titled "The Reclamation of Myth" and it was kindly published by @feralpoetryandart.bsky.social. A hearty thank you to @bethgordonpoet.bsky.social, @judemarr.bsky.social, & Narmadhaa for including this one in the Mirror Issue. :-)

Here's a screen shot of the poem:

The Reclamation of Myth

I’ve lost track of godliness
patiently look for any sort of truth in pixels

I don’t realize how warm it’s been
only when asphalt bakes and the air smothers
when I’m outside for longer than ten minutes

I love it, honestly, to be willing to lose water
and heel skin for the chance to drink from the river –

it’s Lethe

I’ve lost track of you
haven’t I?

forgive all the mirrors hanging around the room
who would have thought walking
into a solitary space brings relief

when sometimes it brings unease
when sometimes it brings loneliness
when sometimes solitude is a salve

when sometimes it’s a cliff
pulling you farther over the edge
even when you think
you have everything under control?

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 15

Sharing this photo from last year of a toad in our yard instead of posting about/during the basketball game later tonight. 🐸

A toad camouflaged by brown mulch. A few springs of green grass and leaves from a plant are also in this shot.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 14

I'll share another Nature shot tomorrow, but here's a photo from my volunteering. Our group wound up planting 70 trees at a spot that will eventually be open to the public. What an uplifting afternoon!

A shot of an open field with trees in the background. Lush green grass and in the center, a maple sapling we planted. There's a bamboo pole tagged with a peach-toned ribbon.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 13

Sharing this photo of a squirrel in a tree next to my house instead of posting about/during the basketball game later tonight. 🐿️

Two trunks of the same tree, rough brown bark, a few green oak leaves. And a gray squirrel peeking out from behind the right hand trunk.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 12

Its true. :-)

Jarret Allen in a gym smiling and wearing a blue T-shirt with one of the Guardians hot dogs (ketchup unfortunately). Text says “Hot Dog Season”

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 11

Posting this cardinal in flight after feeding his fledgling yesterday rather than posting about the basketball game tonight!

The lush green foliage looking out our kitchen window. Cardinal mid-flight leaving the branch where his grayish fledgling is still perched.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 9

COVER REVEAL It's Easy to Lose Your Breath has a cover! Check out the color scheme. I wanted to lean into the pulmonary theme a bit so we chose a gray background & dark blue border with pink corners & lettering. Really love how it all turned out in the end. Thank you, @matchfactoryeds.bsky.social!

My book cover for "It's Easy To Lose Your Breath"! It's a similar design to other Match Factory Editions titles. The title text, my name, and corner accents are pink. The fan pattern in the background is dark gray. And the border is a dark blue.

Kevin A. Risner@mrdecember· May 6

I know it's early May, but this is just silliness