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Thursday, August 08, 2024

Poetry Friday: "How to Love" by January Gill O'Neil

I've missed a few Poetry Fridays, but that's the nature of summer, right? 

As summers go, it's been a rather strange one in many ways, but that's the nature of life, right? 

And as lives go, they are ever-changing but often circular, and so here I am, back to Poetry Friday. Right? 

Right. 

Let's go. 




This beautiful short poem looks at moving forward, at taking a risk. At Poets.org, January Gill O'Neil said of it: 

“I should have called this poem, ‘How to Trust Again.’ How does one stay open and believe in love after a betrayal? It’s a meditation on hope, really. Also, any poem I can fit my name into is a good one.”

Here's to Trust, here's to Hope, and here's to sneaking our names into poems. (Though that's a challenge for me these days, "Karen" being what it is. 😃) 

How to Love
by January Gill O’Neil

After stepping into the world again,
there is that question of how to love,
how to bundle yourself against the frosted morning
—the crunch of icy grass underfoot, the scrape
of cold wipers along the windshield—
and convert time into distance.

What song to sing down an empty road
as you begin your morning commute?
And is there enough in you to see, really see,

(Read the rest here, at Poets.org.)   

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The Poetry Friday round-up this week is being hosted by the incomparable Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone

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29 comments:

  1. Welcome! My PF presence has been a bit scanty as well. Summer, right? Thanks for sharing this poem today. I've been thinking a lot about the nature of love recently, and about versions that are possessive and greedy vs. generous and present. I am glad you included the comments from the author and her alternative title--it's so interesting to read the poem with both in mind.

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    1. Molly, I agree about the comments from the author, they add another level. Your musings on the nature of love are fertile ground for poetry! Thanks for the welcome back!!

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  2. Karen, I smiled when you mentioned "Karen" these days. It definitely would be harder to get Denise or Karen into a poem than January, so there's that too. I enjoyed reading O'Neil's poem, and stopped with her to watch the turkeys. It made me want to look more closely at the world around me. Thank you for sharing it, and glad you came by to Poetry Friday this week.

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    1. Denise, now I'm thinking of what I'd want to say about the many different kinds of Karens in the world. :D And I'm so glad the poem inspired some slow turkey-watching time for you. :)

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  3. Welcome back, Karen! The poem and January's comments about it are lovely. Thank you!

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  4. Oh, I really like that line ….”what song to sing down an empty road”…it speaks to where I am, these days … So lovely to see your post, Karen. Life, eh!? Love & prayers 🕊️🤍

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    1. That is truly a lovely line, elli. ❤️ Love and prayers to you too.

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  5. Lovely poem. Thank you so much for sharing it along with January's comments. I don't know if I have ever used my name in a poem, but probably, since I write a lot about nature. I'll have to make a point of it.

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    1. Rose, your name is tailor-made for the endeavor! :D

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  6. I’ve been away, too, this summer. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Thank you for this poem which has given me the opportunity to think about love, “your wings folded around him,/on the other side/ of this ragged January” and all that love softens in our daily life.

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    1. Hi, Janice! I hope your time away has been good. It's hard to believe we're a third of the way through August, isn't it? 😳

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  7. The last comment was from Janice. :)

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  8. Karen, sorry you are stuck with a name that has become mis-used! I know you to be anything but a "Karen". This poem speaks so much about the emerging that happens after loss, that cold time when insecurity holds on. I'm wishing you a warm heart alongside this oppressive summer heat. Welcome back!

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    1. Margaret, thanks for not seeing me as a Karen-y Karen. 😄 Yes, I love the way the poem addresses loss. I know you and I share some similar experiences in that area. Wishing you a warm heart too. ❤️

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  9. Glad you're back, Karen. And I hate it when a common first name gets turned into a symbol of something. That stinks. The PF community always awaits when we return from wandering, which is such a gift. <3

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    1. Laura, yes, this community is always waiting, with open arms. I love that so much. ❤️ And one good (and funny) thing to come of the Karen stuff is that I often get a laugh out of customer service agents when I share my name and add, "But I'm not THAT kind of Karen." We become instant friends. 😁

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  10. I love "on the other side of this ragged January" -- That's where I find hope in this poem. There will always be another side of ragged.

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  11. Here's to hope and love and the full circle of life (and Poetry Friday)!

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  12. Hi Karen! LIfe does have it's ups and downs - that's for sure. This week was hard for me not because of trying to trust and find love but because of worry. I hope your belief in new beginnings filled with trust, hope, and love bring you full circle into loving arms once again. I enjoyed the poem. Thanks.

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  13. Hope your worries have been resolved!

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  14. Karen, I read the poem many times over this weekend. It is one to ponder "as if a long sleep has ended". Your thoughts on names in poems is something I never thought about. Thanks for sharing January's poem. I took some time to read passages of her other poems.

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  15. I love "The Company of Women" by the same poet. Your link sent me to some of her other poems. I especially liked "In Praise of Okra." I prefer it fried and crunchy to "stringy and slippery."

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