Welcome to Poetry Friday! Leave your links in the comments and I will round them up. I have comment moderation enabled so don't panic if your comment doesn't show up immediately. I'm on East African Time, which is currently 8 hours ahead of the east coast of the US.
I've been rereading J. Drew Lanham's book Sparrow Envy: Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts. I really recommend it; it's about birds, yes, but also about being Black in the United States. You in the northern hemisphere are past the solstice now, and moving into longer days, but this still seems appropriate for January. I live on the equator, but still as I'm writing this, it's a dark and overcast day at the end of winter break. The poem works for me today.
Soulful Warming
by J. Drew Lanham
cold creeps in
a gray chill settles
darkness fills
where sunlight falls
cardinal chants
in tangled bramble
towhee kick-scatters leaves
and care
take heart
grasp hope
feathers lighten
solstice's darkening burden
brightening briefest day
Tracey is in with her OLW for 2026, plus a Jorie Graham poem.
Good morning! I'm waking up to an inbox full of comments! Just published them all and now I'll round up for a while.
Jane hopes (rather than resolves) to share poetry all year. Looking forward to it, Jane!
Matt has posted about his 2023 book, The Thing to Remember about Stargazing, which has just won an award. He shares with us how this book came to be. Sometimes it's a circuitous journey!
Jone is sharing her OLW for the new year! (Yes, Jone, I can read your comment, but sadly I once again can't access the post itself from my network. Wish we knew why!)
Robyn has written a sad, beautiful poem about Renee Nicole Good.
Michelle is thinking about Renee Nicole Good as well, and has written a haiku and a zeno.
Marcie has a photo and a haiku, and also shares her OLW for this new year.
Jan is also sharing a poem about Renee Nicole Good; this tragic death on Wednesday of a young mom and fellow poet has touched many of us!
Tabatha is thinking of this same topic, and shares two poems, one about Eric Garner, and one about how we can respond in these times.
Karen is also grieving this loss, and has a Mary Oliver poem for us.
Carmela's post isn't live yet, it appears, so I'll come back later and link it. (That link is to the main blog, Teaching Authors.) She's written about a poetry workshop and a Chris Harris poem.
Linda has made the switch to Substack! Congratulations, Linda! As always, she's picked a creative OLW and she shares a poem with us on her new theme.
Rose is thinking about stargazing, teaching, and waiting. Beautiful, Rose!
Linda's in with watching stars and grieving Renée Nicole Macklin Good. (Two of today's emerging themes together!)
16 comments:
Just yesterday, I was thinking about how daylight stretched out teensy bit longer and I felt a sense of hope for the coming year. Sparrow Envy sounds fascinating, Ruth! Thank you for sharing, and thank you for hosting. Here’s my link: https://traceykj.com/joomla/index.php/reframe
I was talking about this with my son just this morning - every day gets a little bit longer and a little bit brighter. A much-needed reminder in these dark times. https://www.raincitylibrarian.ca/?p=24918
Love this poem, Ruth - with its short, staccato lines and internal rhyme it reminds me of a bird call! Thank you for hosting, too. I'm celebrating a little extra recognition for my "Stargazing" book: https://wp.me/p2DEY3-4gL
Hi Ruth, I hope you can read my comment. Will return to comment on your post. Here is my link: https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/blog/spiritual-journey-thursday-and-poetry-friday-week-2-2026-one-little-word
Thanks for hosting, Ruth. I was gifted this wonderful book years ago by one of the poet's closest friends. J. Drew Lanham is a treasure and his words worth reading.
I wrote a poem in response to the horrific killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agents:
https://www.robynhoodblack.com/blog/posts/47279
Hi Ruth, thanks for sharing Lanham's "SPARROW ENVY" book and a poem from it, and for hosting! I'm holding on to the "brightening" in Lanham's poem as we have had a bevy of overcast days. Hope you and your family are well. I'm sharing two poems, one reflects on the Renee Nicole Good tragic shooting, and another from my OLW–pause with hopes to move us together: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/2026/01/08/poetry-friday-poem-notebook-surfing-hellebores/
Hello Ruth down there at the amazing Equator of The World. I imagine some of the birds & feathers that are invigorating you, inspiring you & leading you to questions/answers are quite exotic to the eastern seaboard USA states. I've heard about this book & look forward to finding/reading. Appreciations for hosting. With an appreciation of a young mother poet we lost this week, I'm at Bookseedstudio: https://bookseedstudio.wordpress.com
Oooh! This works great with my word of the year (LIGHT)! Thank you for hosting and sharing. I'm in with a super-short post: https://www.marcieatkins.com/2026/01/08/poetry-friday-january-9-2026/
Hello Ruth, Happy New Year! I imagine there at the Equator of Our World, your bird sightings are very varied from those viewed up here. It's smart to stick with a OLW that lifts You, as feather obviously does. The poetry collection SPARROW ENVY is one I've heard of & look forward to finding/reading. Appreciations for hosting this far-flying flock.
I'm in with a memoriam to a youngish, poet-mother, mother-poet, tragically lost here this week.
https://bookseedstudio.wordpress.com
Hi Ruth! Thank you for hosting us so delightfully. I think this is my link? Fingers crossed. https://wp.me/sgqAeC-here
Ruth, the poem you shared is beautiful. Thanks for introducing me to J. Drew Lanham. I love “take heart/grasp hope.” So needed right now. Thank you for hosting this week. I’m sharing my dismay at conditions in the U.S. and a Mary Oliver poem. It’s <a href="https://karenedmisten.blogspot.com/2026/01/poetry-friday-what-can-i-say-by-mary.html”>here.</>
Wow, you're in Uganda now, Ruth. What a shift.
Thanks for introducing me to Sparrow Envy and sharing this poem. I love the title and am especially struck by the line:
solstice's darkening burden
Thanks also for hosting Poetry Friday. My TeachingAuthors post won't go live for a few more hours (12:30 am CST). In it, I share about a poetry workshop I'm attending next week and an excerpt from a Chris Harris poem: https://www.teachingauthors.com/2026/01/putting-new-in-new-year.html
I felt the daylight today! I walked kids out of school after 5 pm and it wasn't too dark. Hooray! Thank you for hosting the round up this weekend. I do love a spicy cardinal in the dark of winter. I'm introducing my OLW for 2026 in a two-for-one SJT & PF post. I've had a few questions about why substack? So far, I like it. It's simple and free. If you have any issues seeing it or commenting, please let me know. I'm learning!
https://open.substack.com/pub/mitchellhubeimom/p/sjt-and-poetry-friday?r=1pzjjl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you for hosting, Ruth. Sparrow Envy sounds like a book I would want to own. Thanks for sharing it. Here's my link: https://imaginethepossibilities.blog/2026/01/08/poetry-friday-stargazing/
Thanks for what must be a lovely book, Ruth, and for the poem. We have had our first very cold day today in Colorado, with a needed bit of snow. It's been warm, setting records, for days & days. I love "a gray chill settles"! I'm in with a response to the killing of Renee Good, sad and also chilling. Thanks for hosting!
Sorry, forgot my link! https://www.teacherdance.org/2026/01/poetry-friday-what-i-learned.html
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