Happy Poetry Friday! Thank you to my friend, Jone Rush MacCulloch for hosting this week. Please swing by Jone’s site for a cup of hot-cocoa-warm-poetry-goodness and the roundup!
The shorter days this time of year always encourage me to reflect, and so, I have been thinking about how grateful I am for the people in Poetry Friday circles and the broader children’s literature community over the past year.
I would like to thank all the Poetry Friday bloggers for this kind, safe place to share. Even if a piece is not perfect, you all see the sentiment behind the words and offer only encouragement and kindness. In particular, I’m sending a shout out to Irene Latham for her thoughtful support throughout this year. Thank you, Irene!
I am also thankful for the critique partners that I have worked with throughout 2024. Our relationships have grown closer and more trusting. Your insights and constructive feedback continue to impress me, and I hope to support you as much as you have uplifted me.
I would also like to thank Donna Smith, my Poetry Friday Holiday Buddy, for her thoughtful gifts. She sent me her seasonal artwork and poem that made me want to run out and build a snowman! Her snowpersons, bedecked in scarves and mittens, party it up as their shadows stretch in the moonlight. I loved this line in her poem: and if they want another friend, they roll a new snowbeing! : )
But that’s not all! Donna also sent me a handmade necklace with three pendants: a flower, a heart, and the single word – IMAGINE. That felt so apropos! Sometimes when I write, I get bogged down in the “rules,” and the necklace from Donna felt like an invitation to let go and imagine what could be. Thank you so much, Donna!
Poetry Friends
When
the world
overwhelms …
a gentle poem,
a piece of art,
a thoughtful comment
make all the difference.
© Tracey Kiff-Judson, 2024
Happy Hoildays!