Gumroad Disappointment: Free Poetry Giveaway and No Customer Downloads

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 And the immediate action I am taking today. Image by  Gerd Altmann  from  Pixabay - Edited by Marilyn Glover with Canva Self-publishing is no simple task. I find the marketing aspect a little overwhelming, and to be completely honest, highly disappointing.  At least so far. While I've been an online writer for six years, to date, self-promotion has involved LinkedIn, X, cross-publishing between Vocal Media and Medium, and utilizing Pinterest. Easy peasy, and I've enjoyed it. However, now I am set to release my debut poetry collection, a Jungian-themed chapbook, and I am learning the nitty-gritty details beyond the art of words. Writing and formatting my book is only the artist's vision, but releasing that vision into the world and finding actual readers requires skillful marketing. For someone who thoroughly enjoys the artistic side of matters, this has proven quite an eye-opener. It's a completely different beast. Which leads me to Gumroad. Three weeks ago, I ...
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From Editor's Pick to Debut Collection: The story of a Poem

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 This may sound odd, but things left unsaid do not simply vanish. Unspoken words live in longing within the subconscious, searching for a landline. 


Inspired by Carl Jung's theories about synchronicity and the collective unconscious, I share today a poem that bridges the gap between the ego and the unspoken. This poem is a dial tone to the past, articulating words left unsaid, ones muffled by time. It was honored as an editor's pick on Vocal Media in 2025, and it serves as the motivation for my upcoming late-Spring Chapbook and end-of-year Poetry Collection Debut.


 This being said, my poem, Longing Landline, will be a cornerstone of my work.


A surrealist digital artwork representing the 'Longing Landline' poem, featuring an old rotary phone merging into a dreamscape.
Original artwork for 'Longing Landline,' featured as a Top Story on Vocal Media.


I needn't tell him my thoughts; he already knows
despite unsent letters
despite unheard conversations
despite published poetry, pulsed prolific prose
he feels the love I have inside
genuine, unselfish, pure
energy radiating in cosmic waves
surpassing science, surpassing basic intellect
twin flame finessed, a ripple effect
regardless of time and space, heartbeats connect
a longing landline
messages received through synchronicity

I needn't speak; he receives my notes
"I miss you," "I think about you"
pop up in song lyrics
words on a billboard
sudden waves of emotion
memories of us unpacked in quotes
dreams too real to be only dreams
soul aligned beyond boundary lines
resonance minus reason; out-of-season
theatrics tailored to true-to-life themes
a longing landline
words unspoken, akin to his spirit woken

I needn't talk about it, he hears my words
my name, blowing in the wind
my laughter, splashing in rainfall
chatter: "I love you for life"
mind space talk whistled in songs of birds
a pep talk on a certain Sunday
or a wake-up call on an uncertain Monday
psyche aligned, of spirit kind
when time and distance equal irrelevance
a longing landline
words left unsaid aren't knots but threads
unraveling traveling to him without a sound


I'll be sharing more of my debut poetry manuscript here and behind-the-scenes developments.

If you ever felt a synchronicity you couldn't explain, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.





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