Welcome to Colorado! I'm excited to introduce you to Jeannette Encinias, a new-to-me poet, whose glorious, richly detailed sensory images, remind me more than a little of one of my all-time favorite poets, Mary Oliver. Jeannette lives in the Pacific Northwest and has a book, Queen Owl Wings, coming out in November. I discovered Jeannette when a friend posted "Beneath the Sweater and the Skin" on Facebook earlier this week. This morning, when I was thinking about what I might post, I immediately thought of Jeannette's poem. I emailed to ask if it would be ok to share her work and link to her website, and she very graciously responded, within an hour. So here, without further ado, is my absolute favorite new-to-me poet!
"Beneath the Sweater and the Skin"
How many years of beauty do I have left?
she asks me.
How many more do you want?
Here. Here is 34. Here is 50.
When you are 80 years old
and your beauty rises in ways
your cells cannot even imagine now
and your wild bones grow luminous and
ripe, having carried the weight
of a passionate life.
Read the rest of the poem here.
Jeannette Encinias
I went hunting on her website and discovered nine more poems. It was hard to choose only one, but I finally did. You will probably want to go to her site and read the rest though, because they really are lovely.
"Nourished"
about only a handful of things.
Eyes to the ground
furrowed brow
beating heart
sleep.
Then I remember
that I am here right now.
Here-
with good work and a big, bright love.
With a dog who just had a bath
after running in the mud
(Read the rest of this gorgeous poem here).
Linda Mitchell was first today with some found haiku from what seems like a gorgeous new picture book from Brain Pickings author, Maria Popova.
Tabatha Yeatts reminds us that yesterday, June 10th, was Empathy Day. She shares a Nikki Grimes quote and also a Kim Stafford poem, “Curse of the Charmed Life.”
Michelle Kogan, whose lovely art shows up on my Facebook page several times each week, has not one, but two original poems today. One is inspired by the wind and the other one came from a photograph that Margaret Simon posted on her blog.
Ruth has “Vanishing,” a sobering poem about the disappearance of birds from our world.
Jone discovered a poem she wrote about ten years ago and revised it. The crafting is terrific!
Janice Scully reviews EVERYWHERE BLUE, a novel-in-verse, about a 12-year-old oboe player whose brother has disappeared. I immediately had to go to my district’s ebook collection and check out! Sounds terrific!
Michelle Heidenrich Barnes is featuring a poetry graffiti project in Philadelphia. What a cool project! Take five minutes to watch the video with people’s reactions.
Robyn Hood Black has all kinds of fun craziness- graduations and family celebrations, plus a new home in the mountains, and then she is moving out of her artist’s studio. I’m tired just reading about all of the business in her life, but she managed to find time to post an Emily Dickens’ poem besides!
Sally Murphy’s poem, “Leisure” by WH Davies makes a perfect companion to the poems I shared today. Be sure you leave a minute to walk on her beautiful winter beach (via video anyway!)
Matt Esenwine is headed to Maine, one of my favorite spots in the whole world, but first he stopped to share a poem about his wife that he first shared nine years ago, when, coincidentally, I was also hosting Poetry Friday! A crazy world.
Catherine Flynn is pushing toward the end of the school year. Sitting on her back porch, she spotted her first firefly, several weeks earlier than usual, and wrote about it.
Fellow Coloradoan, Linda Baie, who often works at a bookstore only a few blocks from my house offers a Russell Hoban poem with some great advice on puzzles and life!
Carol Varsalona is the final late-night poster, in with a collection she calls “Winters and Sprinters.”
Mary Lee, the ever-faithful tender of Poetry Friday, has posted the new Poetry Friday Host Sign-up calendar. Be sure to stop over and choose a date.
Jama actually posted last night, but her link didn’t go live until 6:00 this morning, so I’m including it in the Friday offerings. Her poem, “The Blue Garden” by Helen Dunmore is more than a little bit magical, as are Jama’s musing’s about the poem. And the accompanying art is also ‘blue-tiful!” (To steal Matt Esenwine’s words)!
Denise Krebs comes to us all the way from Bahrain, in with a poem-prayer (one of my favorite genre), inspired by Ruth’s post last week. And then she goes on to play around with stress words (iambic or otherwise). A world unknown to me, but I know a lot of you can probably offer advice!
Mayra comes to us from the United Arab Emirate, with Elizabeth Acevedo’s “Unfurling People” from the beautiful poetry picture book WOKE: A YOUNG POET’S CALL TO JUSTICE. Mayra wonders how the book might have been different if written by women poets from an Asian background. I agree with her, a new book ready to be written!
Sending lots of love and good wishes to Molly in Maine. It’s been a difficult spring, but she writes that poetry, both at work and at home, is saving her. Today she has an original poem, “After the Diagnosis.”
Elisabeth Norton takes us on a stroll to her pond (in my next life I am so going to live by water!), where she’s discovered a new creature, and written a s-s-simply s-s-superb original haiku.
Irene Latham has completed what seems to me the Ironman Triathlon of poetry- she’s writing to a specific topic- Spring; she’s found a gorgeous piece of art- Mary Cassatt’s Spring: Margot Standing in the Garden;” and then she’s used Carl Sandburg’s “Summer Stars” as a mentor text to write “Margot Says Hello to Spring.” I’m exhausted thinking about this!
Margaret Simon, who hosted last week, is going through a bunch of rigmarole learning to use Word Press’ changes to their platform. And so she borrowed Heidi Mordhorst’s format, the definition, to write about it.
Karen Eastlund is having a super-fun week with her grandchildren, who are very talented and also funny poets! Drop by her blog to read a poem from each of them.
FRIDAY FINALE
Another Carol, Carol Labuzzetta, witnessed a small miracle this week. She took lots of beautiful pictures and wrote a story poem. Be sure to stop by to read it.
April Halprin Wayland posted a poem that she promised would blow our minds. Man oh man, was she right! DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT miss this absolutely glorious poem!!! Wow to the wow to the wow!
Jonathan, an ELA teacher from Hampton, Virginia, has been visited by an old friend that I think many teachers are facing right now! At least he has the gumption to write an original poem about it, which is a lot more than I am doing right now!
The brilliant and oh-so-creative Mary Lee has started PoemPairs, a new series on her blog. Earlier this week, she paired a picture book with a podcast, today it’s an original poem with a podcast about learning languages, and in particular, languages that are disappearing. Oh, and did I mention she’s learning Arabic?!? And while you are there, sign up to host Poetry Friday one week during the next six months.
Donnetta, like Jonathon, expresses many teachers’ realities in her original poem, “Summer Break So Far.” I can definitely relate!
And last but not least, let’s welcome Marilyn Miner, who is posting on Poetry Friday for the very first time! She has an original poem, “The Shed,” that makes me wonder if she has somehow been in my garage!
