Poetry for the still hopeful.
Abbey Lynne Rays
is a California Bay Area writer and teacher. Her work maps the quiet grit of privatized sorrow, turning isolated trauma into a defiant act of survival.
Her debut poetry manuscript, Mothers Not Yet, is currently out to publishers.
Nothing wispy,
but a thing with teeth.
Somewhere between Orion's heel
and the underbelly of regret
is a promise you cannot shame down:
Even for you, here,
goodness can burrow.
Hi, I’m Abbey Lynne Rays.
POET, EDUCATOR, FRIEND
My work lives in the quiet, aching moments between the futures we planned and the realities we actually live through—exploring the heavy grit of infertility, recurring loss, and the everyday courage required to survive them.
Currently, my energy is entirely poured into my upcoming poetry collection, Mothers Not Yet—a manuscript written for the "almosts," the "if onlys," and the stubborn, fierce persistence it takes to keep living with an open heart.
Two Poems, recently debuted in Anti-Heroin Chic (July 2026)
Three Poems, recently debuted in Eunoia Review (July 2026)
Two Poems, Forthcoming in Split Rock Review (Dec. 2026)
*This marks the second year in a row Abbey
has been named
a finalist.
Recent News
Tracking the journey of my manuscript:
Mothers Not Yet
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