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 Renée Nicole Good.
Michelle is thinking about Renée 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 Renée 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!)
My ninth graders just left after the last class of the day, and I can see that people in the US are waking up because I started getting more comments! Good morning to you!
Irene has a poem for the girl in the mirror, plus she's started posting videos again with writing tips. Looking forward to watching!
Margaret is introducing her OLW - or will she have a different word every month? She's got a poem about simplicity.
Mary Lee is sharing Renée Good's award-winning poem, "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs."
Patricia is sharing an original poem, "The Year as a Letter."
Carol is looking forward to spring, and sharing some A. A. Milne. (One of my favorite poets from childhood - I can still recite some of the poems from the books Carol mentions!)
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
ReplyDeleteI 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
ReplyDeleteLove 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
ReplyDeleteHi 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
ReplyDeleteThanks 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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/
ReplyDeleteHello 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
ReplyDeleteOooh! 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/
ReplyDeleteHello 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.
ReplyDeleteI'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
ReplyDeleteRuth, 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.</>
ReplyDeleteWow, you're in Uganda now, Ruth. What a shift.
ReplyDeleteThanks 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!
ReplyDeletehttps://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/
ReplyDeleteThanks 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!
ReplyDeleteSorry, forgot my link! https://www.teacherdance.org/2026/01/poetry-friday-what-i-learned.html
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cathystenquist.com/post/i-already-miss-you-nat-king-cole
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth, for hosting and for the lovely poem. I like the short words on each line that punch at the meaning, and how it takes us from the darkness to the hope of light.
Hello dear Ruth! Thank you for hosting. Putting Sparrow Envy on the TBR list. Thank you! I've got a poem for the little girl in the mirror...and Tuesday 2-Minute Writing Tips are back! https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2026/01/to-little-girl-who-lives-in-mirror-poem.html. xo
ReplyDeleteYour one little word “feather” appears in that poem. Thanks for hosting even miles and miles away. My Spiritual Journey post will stand as PF too. https://reflectionsontheteche.com/2026/01/07/spiritual-journey-and-poetry-friday-simplicity/
ReplyDeleteI linked Renee Good's award-winning poem from her time at Old Dominion. Clearly, she is much on our minds and in our hearts. https://ayearofreading.org/2026/01/09/poetry-friday-murder/
ReplyDeleteThank you for rounding us up with birds and hopes and the coming of more light. May that light find our hearts as well as our skies.
https://patriciajfranz.com/blog-the-year-as-a-letter/
ReplyDeleteI think of you so often Ruth- with each bird I see. I’ll circle back for more comments later this weekend. Thank you for hosting!
Love this poem because it reminds me the light is coming, always. Thanks for the book recommendation! I am going to request this from my library today. Thank you for rounding us up!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting Ruth! As I've aged, and become more aware of environmental issues, I've become more interested in birds. I love the birds mentioned in your poem today, especially the Cardinal. Just this morning I saw what I think was a small nuthatch foraging our our pine trees. I have to look that species up - because I'm not very knowlegable (yet) on birda. Here is my link: https://theapplesinmyorchard.com/2026/01/09/poetry-friday-updating/ I'm looking forward to spring...
ReplyDelete