Happy Poetry Friday!
I may have mentioned in a previous post that I’m reading the poetry collection The Wonder of Small Things: Poems of Peace and Renewal edited by James Crews.
This week I fell in love with “November Praise” by Joshua Michael Stewart. Somehow Stewart covers all of the senses in choosing the smallest details about the month and what it offers:
“The smell of ferns and understory
after rain. The tick, tick of stove,
flame under kettle…”
Since this is the last Poetry Friday in January, and since the prompt for my poetry group, the Nevermores, was to write about January, I chose to borrow the structure and style of “November Praise.”
January Praise
(after “November Praise” by Joshua Michael Stewart)
The slow unfolding of the sun behind the pines.
Toes tucked against fur in slippers
not meant for shopping (but going anyway).
The crisp air that chills cheeks,
remembers the joy of a snow day,
the promise of a warm hearth.
Red punctuating gray as cardinals call
at the feeder.
The sweet surprise of one last candy cane
lingering for hours.
Frost flowers like lost ferns of summer
fading into moonglow.
Draft, RoseCappelli2024
Susan has the roundup today at Chicken Spaghetti. Be sure to stop by for a tribute to piñatas and lots more poetry goodness.
Imagine the Possibilities 
Oh, Rose! You got January just right! I love the enjambment between the first and second stanzas — such a fun surprise! The cardinals in the grey are just perfect, and the alliteration in the last stanza…you hit all the targets! And you’re making me rethink my irritation with the never-ending dullness of our cloudycloudycloudy grey January. Maybe I just need to look a little closer and appreciate the small details tucked within the grey…
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Thanks so much, Mary Lee. I don’t love January much either, but there are joys if you look for them.
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Rose, you did a lovely job of praising an often maligned month! And it’s all true. It makes me want to write a praise poem for every month.
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Rose, I am in love with that last stanza. Beauty! xo
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Mic drop! That’s January. Beautiful, Rose! “Toes tucked against fur in slippers not meant for shopping, but going anyway” made me smile.
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Rose, I love Stewart’s poem and am delighted to read your January praise poem. There is a good deal to honor when we look for small moments. The last sentenceis a great slowdown for the ending.˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚
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I’m still in love with the last line. Today I went looking for some frost flowers – since we had overnight frost! Alas, no flowers (frost doesn’t look quite so beautiful on cholla).
🙂
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Safe travels on your migration, Patricia.
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Oh, Rose, I’m just sitting here enjoying the lyrical beauty of this January praise poem. So lovely. I’m lingering over that last candy cane just now in my imagination, but I am enjoying the warmth of the hearth where a fire is glowing. Thank you for this beauty.
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It is so beautiful, Rose, hard to choose a favorite part for each line describes something I see each day (except the cardinal, sad to say, none in CO). I love “The sweet surprise of one last candy cane/lingering for hours.” It happens! : )
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Love that “red punctuating gray” and I’m so glad you’re loving this book. There are so, so many gems in that Crews book.
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Yes! Thanks for recommending it, Marcie.
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What a beautiful ode to January. I have “The Wonder of Small Things” and treat myself to a poem occasionally. I want to take the time to do all the prompts. Your poem is one of those magical miracles. So many wonderful lines. I love “Red punctuating gray as cardinals call
at the feeder.” I have cardinals at my feeder and learned through a student’s project on these birds that they do not migrate. So we are all connected by the cardinals at our feeders in January.
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Rose, this is beautiful! So many great details. I esp connected with candy canes because I’m literally sipping hot cocoa garnished with a last candy cane right this second! That slow unfolding of sun drew me right in…
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Gorgeous poem, Rose! I especially love red punctuating gray. It reminded me of the cardinal I saw in our yard last week when it snowed.
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Rose, this poem is gorgeous. You got the sensory details of January just right. I love the red punctuating the gray…so true!
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Thank you for sharing Joshua Michael Stewart’s poem and your own. I’m basking in the sensory details. I can feel those furry slippers. And I very much relate to “not meant for shopping (but going anyway)”–you really captured a winter experience there!
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Rose – this is beautiful! Your descriptions drew me in to the sensory experiences you described.
I didn’t know that there was a new anthology edited by James Crews – thanks for putting it on my radar! I have two others he edited which are among my favorites.
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Oh, this is beautiful, Rose. I mean – that cover is stunning, to start it all off. Glorious! And your January poem puts the reader in the scene – even on a sweltering summer day in Australia! Some images that struck me; red punctuating grey. So striking! The lingering sweet candy cane surprise. Joy and promise. Thank-you for sharing.
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I love every detail here, and how the natural world mixes with the human world in one crisp but warm sensory rush…
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This is beautiful, Rose. Makes me want to experience your winter.
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