Watching, January 2021
My poem published by Ink, Sweat & Tears
Hello and happy new year, everyone. I hope you’re enjoying the full moon.
I started this Substack over a year ago with a poem published by Ink, Sweat & Tears.
I had a second poem published there in September. “Watching, January 2021” is a pandemic poem, written as the second lockdown began to bite. I didn’t deliberately wait until January to post it but things have recently got in the way of doing much writing, so somehow it’s ended up here, now, almost exactly five years after I wrote it, just as the Wolf’s Moon makes another appearance. Looking back at this poem, the cyclical nature of time — especially the Groundhog Day aspect of the lockdowns — seems more evident than ever. A new year is often thought of as the chance for new beginnings, but the old habits are hard to break.
I love the concept of the new year, slouching, unlovable. Upturns established views and expectations of it.
As for the moon ... wow! Subversive in every imaginable dimension, unforgettable flourish , beyond-real yet somehow hyper-real ❄️📖🌕
Oh Ruth, this is such fine work! I love the last lines of the first 4 stanzas, especially the bridal train on the slagheap - isn't that the way it always goes? We are married in lace and then spend the next so many years with rags scrubbing at everything. Sending love and light!