Welcome

Welcome to Moon Penny Musings.

I’m Laura Smith, a writer, teacher, and runner
based in Western Massachusetts.


Through the lens of a Gen X educator and lifelong student of literature, I weave together the endurance of marathon training with the delicate craft of storytelling, documenting my evolution as a writer on a freshly paved path to publication and self-discovery.

For more frequent reflections, poetry, and a behind-the-scenes look at my path to publication, join me over at Moon Penny Musings on Substack. Subscribe to get my latest essays delivered directly to your inbox

You can find more about me here.

Below you can find my latest entries.
You can also view my posts by category: Poetry, Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Please reach out with comments, questions, or opportunities to collaborate.


Poem of the Day Project: Day 180

I began the “Poem of the Day Project” on September 26, 2025, and today’s poem marks day 180 of this daily ritual of crafting a poem during my morning journaling routine. Some of the poems make absolutely no sense to me, others have merit, yet it is the ritual of the constant attention to metaphor,…

Nostalgia in a Box

I am a proud, card-carrying member of Generation X (1965 – 1980), that independent, pragmatic, adaptable, honest, skeptical and loyal generation with the best music (and you know it). For those of us born female, those of us now possibly experiencing a variety of software updates, including spontaneous human combustion (and approximately 65 other symptoms…who’s…

Road to the TCS NYC Marathon: Part +1

On meditation and service The following is part of a series, which will be continued! Marathon training and preparation does not merely center around preparing the body. Sure, one needs a really good pair (or twelve) of shoes, a training plan, dialed in nutrition, weight training and ample rest and recovery as that body begins…

About Me

I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends.