Happy Poetry Friday. Today is a happy day for me because it is my last day at my university job for the year AND after I have taken my annual leave, I have been gifted six months of time...
Happy Poetry Friday. Today is a happy day for me because it is my last day at my university job for the year AND after I have taken my annual leave, I have been gifted six months of time to write courtesy of academic study leave. In some places this is called a sabbatical, but whatever you call it, I feel very very blessed that for the first six months of 2024 I will be focussed on researching and writing a historical novel, as well as new poetry and a chapter for an academic book. Apparently this is work, but to me it feels like a precious gift of time to do the thing that I am best at – and I intend to treasure the experience.
Another happy thing this week was a gift in the mail, courtesy of the annual Poetry Friday holiday swap, where Poetry Fridayers from around the world swap poems and other small gifts. My gift came from Tabatha Yeatts, who moved me to tears with her thoughtful poems – yes, that’s right, not just one poem, but four. Each poem was a six word poem, (or hya(na)ku) which was a lovely thing as I have shared this form a few times here on my blog . Even lovelier though was the thoughtfulness of the topics, from dogs to beaches and more.
Of course George loved this one best:
humdrum
triumphs, disasters
pup celebrates everything
(Tabatha Yeatts, 2023)
with the beach poem a close second:
sea
water knows
most fathomless self
(Tabatha Yeatts, 2023)
This one made me feel that Tabatha was connecting with my propensity to write about tough topics, and I love the idea of adversity providing rich compost for future growth:
adversity
buried in
imagination’s compost heap
(Tabatha Yeatts, 2023)
But, although it’s hard to have a favourite, this one took my breath away:
big
bang – story
explodes from core
(Tabatha Yeatts, 2023)
Why this one? Because Tabatha didn’t know it, but I am currently working on a story where an explosion is a central plot point. I had to browse my blog to double check whether or not I had shared this fact – but it would seem one of those lovely moments of serendipity.
So thank you Tabatha for the gift of poetry, and for also connecting Poetry Fridayers through this annual exchange. And for the unplanned inspiration to keep working on that story!
And speaking of inspiration, I am off to browse the other Poetry Friday posts. Today’s Roundup is hosted by Janice.
