diff --git a/feed.tmpl.xml b/feed.tmpl.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5ce94c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/feed.tmpl.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
+  <channel>
+    <title>the web log of vilmibm</title>
+    <link>https://tilde.town/~vilmibm/blog</link>
+    <description>the personal blog of tilde.town admin, poet, programmer vilmibm</description>
+    <language>en-us</language>
+    <webMaster>vilmibm@pm.me (vilmibm)</webMaster>
+    <managingEditor>vilmibm@pm.me (vilmibm)</managingEditor>
+    <generator>https://git.tilde.town/vilmibm/blog</generator>
+    <atom:link href="https://tilde.town/~vilmibm/blog/feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
+
diff --git a/index.tmpl.html b/index.tmpl.html
index 7f8d80a..dd72ff2 100644
--- a/index.tmpl.html
+++ b/index.tmpl.html
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
   <head>
     <title>the web log of vilmibm</title>
     <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="feed.xml" title="the web log of vilmibm">
     <style>
       body {
         background-color: #070e0f;
diff --git a/make.sh b/make.sh
index 10432fa..4c7e6a5 100755
--- a/make.sh
+++ b/make.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -e
 
-
 mkdir -p "${HOME}/public_gopher/blog" > /dev/null
 mkdir -p "${HOME}/public_gemini/blog" > /dev/null
 mkdir -p "${HOME}/public_html/blog" > /dev/null
@@ -10,7 +9,6 @@ srcDir=$HOME/blog
 postDir=$srcDir/posts
 
 htmlIndexTmpl=$srcDir/index.tmpl.html
-htmlDir=$HOME/public_html/blog
 htmlIndex=$HOME/public_html/blog/index.html
 
 gopherPath=$HOME/public_gopher/blog
@@ -19,6 +17,9 @@ gopherIndex="${gopherPath}/gophermap"
 geminiPath=$HOME/public_gemini/blog
 geminiIndex="${geminiPath}/index.gmi"
 
+rssIndexTmpl=$srcDir/feed.tmpl.xml
+rssIndex=$HOME/public_html/blog/feed.xml
+
 # attempt compilation
 if [ ! -e "linkpost" ]
 then
@@ -33,7 +34,14 @@ then
   cp $htmlIndex "${htmlIndex}.bak"
 fi
 
+# backup RSS feed
+if [ -e "${rssIndex}" ]
+then
+  cp $rssIndex "${rssIndex}.bak"
+fi
+
 cp $htmlIndexTmpl $htmlIndex
+cp $rssIndexTmpl $rssIndex
 
 # Remove old gopher and gemini posts
 rm -f ${gopherPath}/*
@@ -47,43 +55,66 @@ echo >> $gopherIndex
 echo "the gemblog of vilmibm as it were" > $geminiIndex
 echo >> $geminiIndex
 
+# Initialize rss
+rfc822pubDate="$(date +'%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S %Z')"
+printf "    <pubDate>%s</pubDate>\n" "${rfc822pubDate}"             >> $rssIndex
+printf "    <lastBuildDate>%s</lastBuildDate>\n" "${rfc822pubDate}" >> $rssIndex
+
 cd $postDir > /dev/null
 
+metadataKeys="pubdate:|title:|slug:|summary:"
+
 for p in $(ls *.md | sort -r)
 do
   pubdate=$(grep "pubdate:" $p | sed 's/pubdate: //')
   title=$(grep "title:" $p | sed 's/title: //')
   slug=$(grep "slug:" $p | sed 's/slug: //' | tr -d \[:blank:\])
-  if [ -z "$pubdate" ] || [ -z "$title" ] || [ -z "$slug" ]
+  summary=$(grep "summary:" $p | sed 's/summary: //' | tr -d \[:blank:\])
+  httpLink="https://tilde.town/~vilmibm/blog#${slug}"
+  if [ -z "$pubdate" ] || [ -z "$title" ] || [ -z "$slug" ] || [ -z "$summary" ]
   then
-    echo "warning: missing at least one of: pubdate, slug, title in ${p}"
+    echo "warning: missing at least one of: pubdate, slug, title, summary in ${p}"
   else
     # HTML
-    echo "<div class=\"title\">" >> $htmlIndex
-    echo "<h2>${title}<a name=\"${slug}\"></a></h2>" >> $htmlIndex
-    echo "<a class=\"pubdate\" href=\"https://tilde.town/~vilmibm/blog#${slug}\">${pubdate}</a>" >> $htmlIndex
-    echo "</div>" >> $htmlIndex
-    echo "<div class=\"post\">" >> $htmlIndex
-    grep -v "pubdate:" $p | grep -v "title:" | grep -v "slug:" | $lp --mode "html" | pandoc -fmarkdown -thtml >> $htmlIndex
-    echo "</div>" >> $htmlIndex
+    echo "<div class=\"title\">"                                               >> $htmlIndex
+    echo "  <h2>${title}<a name=\"${slug}\"></a></h2>"                           >> $htmlIndex
+    echo "  <a class=\"pubdate\" href=\"${httpLink}\">${pubdate}</a>"            >> $htmlIndex
+    echo "</div>"                                                              >> $htmlIndex
+    echo "<div class=\"post\">"                                                >> $htmlIndex
+    grep -Ev "$metadataKeys" $p | $lp --mode "html" | pandoc -fmarkdown -thtml >> $htmlIndex
+    echo "</div>"                                                              >> $htmlIndex
 
 
     # Gopher
     echo "0${title}	${slug}.txt" >> $gopherIndex
     gopherPostPath="${gopherPath}/${slug}.txt"
-    echo "# ${title}" > $gopherPostPath
-    echo >> $gopherPostPath
-    echo "_published ${pubdate}_" >> $gopherPostPath
-    grep -v "pubdate:" $p | grep -v "title:" | grep -v "slug:" | $lp --mode "gopher" >> $gopherPostPath
+    echo "# ${title}"                                 > $gopherPostPath
+    echo                                              >> $gopherPostPath
+    echo "_published ${pubdate}_"                     >> $gopherPostPath
+    grep -Ev "$metadataKeys" $p | $lp --mode "gopher" >> $gopherPostPath
 
     # Gemini
     echo "=> gemini://tilde.town/~vilmibm/blog/${slug}.gmi ${title}" >> $geminiIndex
     geminiPostPath="${geminiPath}/${slug}.gmi"
-    echo "# ${title}" > $geminiPostPath
-    echo >> $geminiPostPath
-    echo "_published ${pubdate}_" >> $geminiPostPath
-    grep -v "pubdate:" $p | grep -v "title:" | grep -v "slug:" | $lp --mode "gemini" >> $geminiPostPath
+    echo "# ${title}"                                 > $geminiPostPath
+    echo                                              >> $geminiPostPath
+    echo "_published ${pubdate}_"                     >> $geminiPostPath
+    grep -Ev "$metadataKeys" $p | $lp --mode "gemini" >> $geminiPostPath
+
+    # RSS
+    echo "    <item>"                                  >> $rssIndex
+    echo "      <title>${title}</title>"               >> $rssIndex
+    echo "      <link>${httpLink}</link>"              >> $rssIndex
+    echo "      <guid>${httpLink}</guid>"              >> $rssIndex
+    echo "      <pubDate>${rfc822pubDate}</pubDate>"   >> $rssIndex
+    echo "      <description>${summary}</description>" >> $rssIndex
+    echo "    </item>"                                 >> $rssIndex
   fi
 done
 
+# Finalize HTML
 echo "</body></html>" >> $htmlIndex
+
+# Finalize RSS
+echo "  </channel>" >> $rssIndex
+echo "</rss>" >> $rssIndex
diff --git a/posts/0001_newblog.md b/posts/0001_newblog.md
index 1dd9f4f..ead3991 100644
--- a/posts/0001_newblog.md
+++ b/posts/0001_newblog.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 pubdate: Sat May 21 13:25:37 UTC 2022
 title: new blog
 slug: newblog
+summary: being a post about this new blog; motivations, plans, et cetera
 
 I made a blog. I haven't had one in years. When I did it was mostly for dream logging and poetry. I was always pretty self conscious about what I put there. I published my town `feels` posts as a "blog" for a while, but that never felt right. My `feels` content was overly personal, diaristic, and vulnerable. I used to think you could either be authentic (vulnerable to a fault) or inauthentic (crafting a personal brand), but now think often of a phrase I heard an actor use in an interview about learning to be "private in public." I interpreted that as being forthcoming with yourself in the public eye -- which we're all in, now, thanks to the internet -- but being defensive about what you share.
 
diff --git a/posts/0002_maze.md b/posts/0002_maze.md
index d8cd7ac..29ab406 100644
--- a/posts/0002_maze.md
+++ b/posts/0002_maze.md
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 pubdate: Fri Jun 10 21:04:50 UTC 2022
 title: dark steps
 slug: darksteps
+summary: being a nonsense jumble
 
 taking dark steps and eating half the breadcrumbs is how i live. i no longer try to find the exit, just remember the rooms. meal time with the minotaur. the maze has it all: a trade in lunacy, nickelodeons, international coinage, soliloquies, eulogies, biscuits. when the imagery gets vivid i don't depart in death--it's just imperative to keep moving. it's imperative to keep moving and not get stuck in the windowless room that sometimes forgets its own door. there is an infinity of better rooms than that. there's the screaming room where ears can't be covered eyes can't be closed and in every direction the worst thing you ever beheld. there is the room of soft walls always yielding but never suffocating full of dry warmth and lavender. the library smelling of book mold and dark woods. the study with green glass lamps and green felt desk beds and pens and pens. the dark room where there is nothing. most critically, the foyer with the umbrella bucket and the coat pegs and the wash stand with the white marble. there's a chair in the foyer and i'll sit here when i don't know which door to open. the chair is made of wood and has a creak to it.
diff --git a/posts/0003_coffee.md b/posts/0003_coffee.md
index 41832b7..3d79bfe 100644
--- a/posts/0003_coffee.md
+++ b/posts/0003_coffee.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 pubdate: Thu Sep  8 18:06:00 UTC 2022
 title: berkeoffe
 slug: berkeoffe
+summary: being ruminations on coffee establishments after relocating to the bay area
 
 i have moved to berkeley. of chief importance is finding the coffee. the following is the result of initial recon bike rides.
 
diff --git a/posts/0004_walldrug.md b/posts/0004_walldrug.md
index 83b0684..8fdd57c 100644
--- a/posts/0004_walldrug.md
+++ b/posts/0004_walldrug.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 pubdate: Thu Sep  8 18:23:31 UTC 2022
 title: the wall drug cinematic universe
 slug: wall-drug-cinematic-universe
+summary: being reflections on a hypothetical cinematic universe for wall drug
 
 driving from chicago to berkeley we chose to go through south dakota because to my friend and me it was a mysterious, unvisited place. the wall drug signs begin soon after crossing the border on 80. i was unfamiliar, but my friend filled me in: a place that exists self-referentially. it doesn't offer services beyond that of any typical rest stop, and the draw to go there is the chance to experience what amounts to a meme (in the classical sense). in other words, a tourist trap.
 
diff --git a/posts/0005_hermeticum.md b/posts/0005_hermeticum.md
index 9504244..d54387e 100644
--- a/posts/0005_hermeticum.md
+++ b/posts/0005_hermeticum.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 pubdate: Sat Jan  7 02:34:49 UTC 2023
 title: announcing Hermeticum (formerly tildemush)
 slug: announcing-hermeticum
+summary: being an announcment of a MUSH project
 
 ## tl;dr
 
diff --git a/posts/0006_bookmarks.md b/posts/0006_bookmarks.md
index 1a21282..736f08a 100644
--- a/posts/0006_bookmarks.md
+++ b/posts/0006_bookmarks.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 pubdate: Thu Mar 31 04:37:31 UTC 2023
 title: book marks
 slug: bookmarks
+summary: being a motley round-up of some bookmarks i found; some thoughts on computers i have owned.
 
 I got a new computer. It's a thinkpad (x1 carbon gen10) and came with Ubuntu preinstalled. I often say this about new computers, but I really like it. I tend to get to a point when I'm mad at the new computer and then all feels lost until the next one. This one feels different; it feels like home. This is a blog post about bookmarks but first: a tour through computing disappointments from the thinkpad I had in 2010 to today:
 
diff --git a/posts/0007_smudge.md b/posts/0007_smudge.md
index c4476d3..4ca990d 100644
--- a/posts/0007_smudge.md
+++ b/posts/0007_smudge.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 pubdate: Thu Apr 13 05:06:39 UTC 2023
 title: smudge
 slug: smudge
+summary: being an announcement of a new piece of artware.
 
 I made a new piece of (LINK https://github.com/vilmibm/smudge software) . It's a command line piece of art. 
 
diff --git a/posts/0008_blackout.md b/posts/0008_blackout.md
index 3b40d9b..13f7e11 100644
--- a/posts/0008_blackout.md
+++ b/posts/0008_blackout.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 pubdate: Fri Jul 14 04:52:12 UTC 2023
 title: blackout.tilde.town
 slug: blackout
+summary: being an announcement of a new site for blackout poetry.
 
 
 I made a new thing: a website for making blackout poetry with over nine million chunks of text extracted from Project Gutenberg. It's here at (LINK https://blackout.tilde.town blackout.tilde.town) .
diff --git a/posts/0009_palace.md b/posts/0009_palace.md
index a72c0a6..6e4ded7 100644
--- a/posts/0009_palace.md
+++ b/posts/0009_palace.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 pubdate: Thu Aug 31 19:38:25 UTC 2023
 title: The MUD That's In My Mind
 slug: mud-mind
-
+summary: being an essay about mind palaces and mental health.
 
 (content warning: suicide)
 
