Welcome to Poetry Friday! I have been back home in Uganda less than a week after a short time in the United States. We're getting ready to go back to school next Tuesday, so there's lots to do, but I'll take frequent breaks to round up your posts the old fashioned way. Leave your link in the comments so we can all enjoy what you've chosen to share.
I read a lot of sad pieces as I tried to pick my poem for today. I'm thinking a lot about what it is to be an immigrant, and what it is to be unwelcome and sent away, as I watch the news about the cancellation of Haitian TPS. In my mind it was all mixing with the Odyssey movie that we saw the day before we left the US, and the law of hospitality which is a central theme. But I finally settled on something a little more cheerful instead.
For the Bird Singing Before Dawn
Kim Stafford
Some people presume to be hopeful
when there is no evidence for hope,
to be happy when there is no cause.
Let me say now, I’m with them.
In deep darkness on a cold twig
in a dangerous world, one first
little fluff lets out a peep, a warble,
a song—and in a little while, behold:
the first glimmer comes, then a glow
filters through the misty trees,
then the bold sun rises, then
everyone starts bustling about.
And that first crazy optimist, can we
forgive her for thinking, dawn by dawn,
“Hey, I made that happen!
And oh, life is so fine.”
You can read some of Stafford's thoughts on this poem here.
Linda M. has written a lovely poem called "How to Make a Map."
Michelle is thinking about native plants, and particularly one that is a dear friend.
Karen shares a Philip Larkin poem and some thoughts about writing and living.
Patricia's link isn't live yet, so I'll come back later to update this entry.
Tabatha has a Wendell Berry poem about lilies and surprises.
These were all the links awaiting me when I woke up to a chilly Kampala morning (it's 66 degrees, so chilly is maybe not what everyone would call it). I'm headed to work in a bit, and I'll keep checking for your submissions! Happy Friday!
I'm back! I've been attending sessions this morning and now I have some classroom work time (much needed). While I was learning, a new link came in.
Denise is doing some poetry challenges right now, both writing and reading. She shares two of the poems she's read recently and both are great. Be sure to click through to read the end of "If there were a job interview to have children." Relatable!
Friends, I apologize for stepping away from my hosting duties for a while. Our school owns some property on Lake Victoria where there are plans to build a new campus. Our Head of School wanted to take those who had never visited, and he asked me to go along and help people identify birds. It was a lovely Friday afternoon excursion and I saw 27 species. And now I'm back to round up the links that came in while I was busy.
Marcie, like Denise, is doing a poetry-reading challenge, and she has some wonderful-looking poetry books to tell us about. She's also got a haiku and a photo of beautiful summery coneflowers.
Irene wrote about a Berthe Morisot poem for today. You'll fall in love with her trashy pup!
Molly's exploring maps with the Inklings, and she reminds us, "our journey carves its own way."
Margaret is also working with the topic of maps, and she's made a collage poem. I love the mental image I get of the Inklings all writing together in one place!
Cathy has a variety of treasures this week, including some memories of people who have died, some art, and a new way to share poetry.
We're back to maps with Catherine, who's written a poem and illustrated it with a photo of stained glass. Beautiful!
Mary Lee has a map poem illustrated with embroidery!
Linda B. is remembering a wonderful family trip with an acrostic and some gorgeous photos.
Anyone else? I'm home now for the evening, so I'm fully available to round up whatever you send!
Heidi is sharing map poems, too, and wishing that we may all find a hospitable place in the world. Amen to that!
Jone's link came in after I was asleep, and here it is! It's about what's in your heart.
18 comments:
Thanks for gathering us and hosting the Roundup Ruth! Yes there's much sadness around us, and more reason to focus on our feathered friends, raise consciousness for them and hopefully help them keep on singing, for unfortunately we are losing too many of them too quickly. And thanks for Kim Stafford's upbeat poem! All the best with the forthcoming school year, I'm presently prepping for my Art Appreciation class, yes, lots to do!
Some days I'm an optimist...usually after some rest and time away from the news. But boy, oh, boy...when I listen or see what real people are going through in our world right now, it's tougher to remain cheerful. That's when I try to do things to impact change in my small, focused ways. Thanks for hosting, Ruth. Miss you! Happy New Year to your school year. Here's my link to my post: https://mitchellhubeimom.substack.com/p/how-to-make-a-map?r=1pzjjl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Hi Ruth, thanks for hosting the Roundup and the upbeat poem by Kim Stafford! I left a comment before, however I think I left off my link. I have a short post and haiku poem on Native Plants: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/2026/08/06/poetry-friday-joy-of-native-plants/
Ruth, this Stafford poem is a favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing it and for its note of hope. The pull of the sad pieces is relatable, too. Know that you're not alone in pondering so many wrongs, so much injustice.
Thanks for taking the time to host this week. My link is here.
I am reminded that we often must hold two things at once -- hope and heartbreak :(
Thank you for hosting us, Ruth. My link goes live at midnight (PST): https://patriciajfranz.com/blog-the-land-itself-remains-constant/
What a gorgeous poem by Kim Stafford! Thank you. And thank you for hosting! My link is here: https://theoppositeofindifferencecom.wordpress.com/2026/08/06/surprises/
Ruth, thank you for the great poem by Kim Stafford. I'm with him and those people with unreasonable hope. Here's my post with a couple of poetry books I'm reading this week. https://mrsdkrebs.wordpress.com/2026/08/06/poetry-friday-mini-sealey-challenge/
What a beautiful poem, Ruth! Best of luck as you start the new school year. I'm back at work today too. I'm posting Sealey Challenge progress today: https://www.marcieatkins.com/2026/08/07/sealey-challenge-week-1/
Ruth, thank you for the bird love! I've got smelly pup love at Live Your Poem: https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2026/08/once-upon-smelly-pup-poem.html xo
Ruth--I love the poem you shared today and how you chose to skew your choice toward hope. I was just thinking recently how optimistic dawn is, and that perhaps that's what draws me to it. Along with bird song, of course! Thanks so much for hosting this week! Here's my link: https://nixthecomfortzone.com/2026/08/07/poetry-friday-maps-and-journeys/
I love reading Kim Stafford’s daily poems on Instagram. He is a gifted poet and optimist. I love the one you shared. The daily songs of birds keep me hopeful, for sure! Thanks for hosting. I’m in with a map collage poem as well as Torn Map by Naomi Shihab Nye for the Inklings challenge this month. http://reflectionsontheteche.com/2026/08/07/poetry-friday-map-collage-poem/
****I may have duplicated this comment- feel free to delete the first one. I have included my link here.
Thank you, Ruth, for hosting and for this lovely and inspiring poem. I loved this so much... May we all let out a little peep today and together create an enormous hope-filled glow :)
In deep darkness on a cold twig
in a dangerous world, one first
little fluff lets out a peep, a warble,
a song—and in a little while, behold:
the first glimmer comes, then a glow...
https://www.cathystenquist.com/post/poetry-art-stopped-by-this-week
Thank you for hosting us today, Ruth. I agree, it would be so easy to fall into despair these days, so I appreciate the optimism of Stafford's poem. Thank you for sharing it with us! I have a post about possibilities today: https://readingtothecore.com/2026/08/07/poetry-friday-the-magic-of-maps/
Thanks for rounding us up! You picked the perfect poem on the theme of "hope in the midst of darkness" and, of course, featuring a bird! I'm in with a poem for the Inklings' challenge to write about maps/journeys/etc. https://ayearofreading.org/2026/08/06/poetry-friday-journeys/
Kim Stafford almost always makes us feel good, Ruth. Thanks for the poem, & best wishes for your new school year! I'm back with a small poem about my recent and special trip with family! Thanks for hosting! https://www.teacherdance.org/2026/08/poetry-friday-another-time-together.html
Ruth, it has been way too long since we connected! I think I wish that we all--our kids especially--felt as empowered as that Bird Before Dawn. Thanks for hosting and wishing you all the best with your new school year...my post is another one about maps and the quest to know our place in the world (and may it be a hospitable one). https://heidimordhorstwhispershout.substack.com/p/map-quest?r=1cyxhu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Ruth, thank you for hosting. I love this poem by Kim. He's an inspriation.
https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/blog/poetry-friday-week-32-what-is-in-your-heart
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