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 Natoli 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
ew Baby, 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!
