Looking for good poetry posts?  Start here at Margaret at Reflections on the Teche who is sharing nesting poems and a fabulous oak and moon poem.  She is also rounding up all the Poetry Friday's post.

Who knows Lesléa Newman the fabulous author of SPARKLE BOY, GITTEL's JOURNEY, MISS TUTU'S STAR, and DONOVAN"S BIG DAY to name a few? And for teens, the must read book, October Mourning: A SONG FOR MATHEW SHEPARD.

Did you know she also writes for adults?  This month her latest book, I WISH MY FATHER, was published.  It's a companion book to I CARRY MY MOTHER.  Both books honor, give witness, and celebrate her parents.

 
I WISH MY FATHER delves into life without her mother, how her father coped after losing his wife of 60+ years, and aging. It is a loving tribute filled with poems that resonated with this reader. I remember how my father lived without his wife and life partner of 50 + years.  Moments of sadness, followed by his flirtatious nature and grappling with issues like giving up driving and moving to assisted living while keeping his dignity.

Poems such "My Father Drove My Mother", "The Second Time We Visit" revealing the hard decision to give up driving is crafted with tenderness and a doctor who was brilliant in getting to the point. It brought me back to when my father decided not to drive anymore.

There's an aching in the poem "My Father is Slipping" with the words: 
"...and that's how I know the ladies"

man my mother loathed 
and loved for all her life
has finally slipped away"

In the final poem, "My Mother is at the Bridge" imagines what it was like when her father and mother met up in heaven.  So poignant and the last stanza is perfect.  Many of us imagine those reunions the our loved ones pass from this earth.  We want to make sense of what is no longer.  I have imagined the reunion of my parents.

These narrative poems capture Lesléa Newman's love for her dad and who he was as a person in the last acts of his life.  Many readers who has lost their parents will be able to connect with these moving poems.

If you need a poetry book or two, I highly recommend I WISH MY FATHER and I CARRY MY MOTHER.

There is much poetry goodness in the world and do we ever need it now.  Head over to Sylvia at Poetry for Children. She has the inside scoop of the 2021 titles being born.

What a week.  I think what lifted my spirits was the arrival of New Year postcards.  

Linda Mitchell's New Year Poem is based on the Year of the Ox and it happens to be her OLW.  That it is a bookmark is a bonus. I love her mixed media art.

​Janice Scully's tree made me swoon. I love trees. I am ready for some merrymaking and some spring.

I have an extra photo and poem desktop calendar.  If you would like to win one, please let me know in the comments.

Bliadhna mhath ùr, Scottish Gaelic for Happy New Year.  This week, New Year Postcards have begun winging their way across the country.  Today I'm sharing one for New York and one from Ohio.  I'll be placing these on my Poe-tree.

upon the lake
winter's freshness
​exhale earth's frostbitten bite
Evolve!
​~Carol Varsalona
Photo by Carol Varsalona

recently minted
shiny coin of here and now
ready to be spent

~Mary Lee Hahn
​Photo by Mary Lee Hahn

Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town has the first 2021 poetry round-up.  So thankful for this community. Here's to many poems this year.