I have been away from Poetry Friday since August and am delighted to be posting again. I was worried I’d be too rusty or my website wouldn’t know me. But now as I write, it seems like I never left.
My little grandson was born in a big rush two days before Christmas, eight weeks early, miles away in California and the sea.
So my husband Bart and I left snowy New York
for chilly northern California.
In the December Christmas Poetry Swap organized by Tabetha Yeatts, I received this lovely poem written by Tabatha. She knew I was awaiting my first grandchild.
EMERGENCE
for Janice by Tabatha Yeatts
A New Baby,
like a sky vibrant
with the northern lights,
draws us together
where we gaze
exhilarated
upon this gift--
The world,
Illuminated.
I love “like a sky vibrant.” Every child is so different and each “illuminates” the world in a new way.
But now, on January 31st, Tommy Bartholomew has been with us a month. He was born quite early, and we were so worried! But thankfully, he is fine, and will be able to leave the hospital soon.
I wrote this in response to Tabatha’s poem:
FOR TOMMY B.
we will watch;
wait each day
as this new star
marks his path.
Will we understand
what he brings
from so far away?
We will make sure he knows
he is part of a family
and we have been waiting
breathlessly to meet him
in our world of oceans,
rocks, and endless sky.
©Janice Scully 2025
POETRY SISTERS prompt:
Tricia, one of the POETRY SISTERS suggested we write a tanka followed by a haiku in response to it. It was written in honor of the doctors and nurses in the N.I.C.U at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. It was a wonderfully supportive place, kind and professional.
THE N.I.C.U. December 23, 2024
in between two worlds
a tiny boy, eyes still shut,
cannot leave here yet.
kind nurses swaddle and feed,
keep him warm and safe.
sudden arrival!
doctors hustled late at night,
work that never ends.
© Janice Scully 2025
I’ve anticipated claiming a new little word this year and I think it has to be HOPE. Hope for all babies, all families, hope for our country. I’ll see what I can come up with. Happy Belated New Year, everyone!
