<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Lauren Meir]]></title><description><![CDATA[Poetry, essays, and flash nonfiction by Lauren Meir. ]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:02:54 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[The Weight of a Light Name]]></title><description><![CDATA[My mother named me Lauren Brooke. She named my older brother Scott Justin. They are WASP-y names that evoke blonde American children playing in tennis whites, drinking lemonade under a suburban sun. She said she liked the way the names sounded, clean and lovely, names that would grow with us from childhood to adulthood. Our names, like many “American” names, came from somewhere else but were now tied to nothing. Both were vaguely Anglo; Lauren literally means “a crown of Laurel leaves” in...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/the-weight-of-a-light-name</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69c6c946dd6da1f8275e5816</guid><category><![CDATA[Personal Narratives]]></category><category><![CDATA[Prompts]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:17:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3bcd2f197334405bb3c44884ee8f23bc.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Perspective]]></title><description><![CDATA[And even after the bones and the pots, the tall earth and its fields languishing, I'll hear the wind lashing, unleashing a plaintive ululating. You'll tell me it's angry, something with a hunger that cannot be filled, something that fills up the stones with grief and bruises, all the broken promises and bad marriages. What is a storm but the final, angry nightmare, you'll say. I can see it now - the way the room narrows at your view, eyes like slate in a closed office, the stale coffee stains...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/perspective</link><guid isPermaLink="false">696aa9743e23fce293739c47</guid><category><![CDATA[Personal Narratives]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 21:12:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_d7476aed523e41cdbdb510d8d21261cd~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Quiet Song]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your lips say nothing for their purpose, the same with your gentle eyes, closed windows I can't open what is already sealed shut. I know this is life for you. Moving between moments carefully, your steps like your joy measured laughing only when the colors are bold enough. Are you happy , I wonder is it always this quiet where you live? You sing sometimes when cooking, your voice like the water rolling to a gentle boil, both familiar and strange, a primal song I remember but can't place. I...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/quiet-song</link><guid isPermaLink="false">696aa2f199b644f378e9b57a</guid><category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2026 20:48:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_cd40ef6a654641558c2fffb28af5a409~mv2_d_4896_1908_s_2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[American Nature]]></title><description><![CDATA[American Nature For Robb Elementary, Sandy Hook, and countless others. Another school shooting. 21 this time. Unfathomable,  as the...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/american-nature</link><guid isPermaLink="false">62e7d6827a41e93fa0310654</guid><category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_df20aa8d5de24d89b87a79744db76aed~mv2_d_7360_4912_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reflecting on Jewish American Heritage Month]]></title><description><![CDATA[This post originally appeared  on LinkedIn at the end of May, 2025. Me and my fellow panelists talking about Jewish experience, culture,...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/reflecting-on-jewish-american-heritage-month</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6886adca594e3699b614bd3c</guid><category><![CDATA[Social Commentary]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2025 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1c4ae2_b7e6b6806c5e4be0b5304491229517d0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_448,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Glass Slipper/Fairy Godmother]]></title><description><![CDATA[We all have chance interactions with strangers. Some of them - even fleeting encounters - stay with us forever. ]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/glass-slipper</link><guid isPermaLink="false">634db7a3a006b6c723c19caa</guid><category><![CDATA[Personal Narratives]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 03 Feb 2025 21:16:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9af685fbb0414333a4beaf8012c2ce14.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Same Refrain]]></title><description><![CDATA[I wrote this poem in 2022, but it feels very relevant as I type this in 2024. Too relevant. So relevant it hurts. I've never published it...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/the-same-refrain</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6669f822ab5a3a025348de52</guid><category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category><category><![CDATA[Social Commentary]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 12 Jun 2024 19:37:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_281465449aa141ad9fefdd3fb8b6e52e~mv2_d_2298_1529_s_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Where Were Your Eyes Before?]]></title><description><![CDATA[This post originally appeared on LinkedIn in late May 2024* *This post was written in response to the "All eyes on Rafa" campaign which...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/where-were-your-eyes-before</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6669f1750493fea76651df12</guid><category><![CDATA[Social Commentary]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2024 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1c4ae2_67423d59a53a4ca39b84cd16b0aa1ac6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Diary of a Young Girl]]></title><description><![CDATA[This piece originally appeared in Folkways Press "Right to Life" Anthology, published in April 2024. Learn more or purchase a copy here....]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/diary-of-a-young-girl</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6836104c81150f32c9f46332</guid><category><![CDATA[Published]]></category><category><![CDATA[Personal Narratives]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2024 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_0b7cb354c581443a924bff2e37358d7d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Where We Came From]]></title><description><![CDATA[This was originally posted on LinkedIn in early May, 2024. Ignorance knows no bounds. This photo was shared (with permission) by Sara...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/where-we-came-from</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6669f59ed1c2d58ed4c1752e</guid><category><![CDATA[Social Commentary]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1c4ae2_55d024297ef04ffaa162a921272af1ca~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_800,h_946,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The New Antisemitism]]></title><description><![CDATA[The hypocrisy of this "new" form of antisemitism.]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/the-new-antisemitism</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6669ef0f2a0738a1d21b435d</guid><category><![CDATA[Social Commentary]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1c4ae2_e37240b3eb72438ebb717a01b583172d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_577,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Things That Can't Save Us]]></title><description><![CDATA[Nothing will ever be the same. It's a Tuesday night after 10pm. Over 100 days since the terrible, the horrific thing. My children are...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/the-things-that-can-t-save-us</link><guid isPermaLink="false">65a744e49c8e7bd8f3dc58a9</guid><category><![CDATA[Personal Narratives]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 23 Jan 2024 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_f7626fcbd1cc41c693cb1e4b95bd753f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Animal Grief]]></title><description><![CDATA[Louie was small and springy. His fur was more like hair, soft tawny and rust colored with hints of gold, dark brown beneath the long...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/animal-grief</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6578c3938216a4d531b1d865</guid><category><![CDATA[Personal Narratives]]></category><category><![CDATA[Prompts]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 12 Dec 2023 20:37:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1c4ae2_4fb6958283144382ac3f9faffcb6a68d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Would You Go Back?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Are Jews safe here? The answer is complicated for me. ]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/would-you-go-back</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6669ed8693aafc4c2d9cbd0b</guid><category><![CDATA[Social Commentary]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 05 Dec 2023 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1c4ae2_c38244098f754b809add5900471f3d07~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_831,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Photographs In Six Stanzas]]></title><description><![CDATA[ONE I want to touch the edge of your voice, the place you carry the most hurt but also laugh hardest. That thin red boundary between eye...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/photographs-in-six-stanzas</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64ed5848a05124c7023c3f38</guid><category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 05 Sep 2023 14:55:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_0cf26e375eb34fa0b47e0291b7109fba~mv2_d_2000_2000_s_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What the Fish Know]]></title><description><![CDATA[This essay was originally published in Bubble Lit Magazine, Issue 2. When I am three years old, my older brother gets a goldfish he names...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/what-the-fish-know</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64a2287e935f95937f7ce89c</guid><category><![CDATA[Published]]></category><category><![CDATA[Motherhood]]></category><category><![CDATA[Personal Narratives]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 26 May 2023 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_93cef699ad2e469fa1eb5ab148269f8c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The After]]></title><description><![CDATA[This small but mighty poem originally appeared in Musing Publication's Bloom &#38; Blossom Spring 2023 issue, in both digital and print. The...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/the-after</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64a22b41171918b832dfa88b</guid><category><![CDATA[Published]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 22 Apr 2023 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1c4ae2_d24546486f784b948cef64eed2ac8d0e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[God's iPad]]></title><description><![CDATA[This poem was originally published in The Amethyst Review in the spring of 2023. It is dark in the room when my son, newly six, asks me...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/god-s-ipad</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64a22d6168b8983b864f786c</guid><category><![CDATA[Published]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category><category><![CDATA[Motherhood]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 20 Apr 2023 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_347848677a5f5a6c6c5173~mv2_d_3000_2000_s_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[On Writers Block and Resistance]]></title><description><![CDATA[After a period of prolific creation where I was writing continuously, I've suddenly come to a standstill. But not in the normal way. It's...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/on-writers-block-and-resistance</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6434b33e5d384b6e3990dfdc</guid><category><![CDATA[Personal Narratives]]></category><category><![CDATA[On Writing]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 11 Apr 2023 23:08:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9e0153d9a2f4a57a047bbf9ae97f6e1.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Suitcase]]></title><description><![CDATA[This excerpt was part of a writing prompt from The Narrative Method. PROMPT: [Photo of a battered old suitcase] Why did he have to leave?...]]></description><link>https://laurenmeir.wixsite.com/rambleroom/post/the-suitcase</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6434afc97d9f5b9b1a4767b3</guid><category><![CDATA[Prompts]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 16 Feb 2023 02:07:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1c4ae2_dcbada95424049cd9eda62735468e118~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_880,h_654,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Lauren Meir</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>