Poem for the Day After Christmas

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect for Roundup.

Christmas tree shaped
charcuterie board :)

Hope everyone is enjoying some rest and relaxation during these beautiful holidays! We had a wondrous Christmas celebration, and I'm feeling super grateful for time, laughter, and conversation with my loved ones. Joy!

Last week several readers had questions about my new gig as a DAR Correspondent Docent in Training. Thank you! 

my maternal grandmother,
Ruth Lavinia Ralston Hedden Oslund

Yes, I am a member of DAR. DAR is a non-political women's service organization focused on preservation, education, and patriotism—any woman who can trace her lineage back to the Revolutionary War can join. My grandmother was a member, so all I had to do was turn in the paperwork. If you don't have this information, DAR has Genealogy experts who are happy to help you dig!

My ancestor, Andrew Ralston, served in the Thirteenth Pennsylvania as a Sergeant. He participated in the battles at Germantown, Monmouth, and Brandywine, where he suffered a head wound. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Long Island. Fortunately, he survived, and at the end of the war, he returned to York, Pennsylvania, where he married and started a family.

Funny thing: I didn't know any of this when we named our middle son Andrew! But now that I do know, it feels really sweet and special, like carrying on this name provides a vital connection to the past. Andrew thinks it's pretty cool, too.

If you've ever watched Gilmore Girls, you know Emily Gilmore was famously a DAR member. (Paul and I recently watched the entire series on Netflix. Love!) The show presents a stereotypical view of DAR as a hoity-toity social club for wealthy women. This may be true in some areas of the country. But my Warrior Rivers chapter here in Blount County, Alabama, is made up of wise, mostly elderly, down-to-earth women who are passionate about history, enjoy learning, and are eager to serve the community. 

The DAR Museum is located in Washington, D.C., near the White House. It's dedicated to the preservation of life inside the home—anything to do with everyday life, from decorative arts to what we wear, to kitchen gadgets, furniture, toys, and so much more! There are 31 period rooms (sponsored by different states) and 3 rotating galleries. 

I've never been to the DAR Museum, but I've received training about the museum so that I can be part of their Outreach team. Correspondent Docents deliver programs created by the museum's experts in their own home communities. Earlier this month, I gave a program on Holiday Traditions and how they've changed through the years. Next month, I will provide one titled "Sewn in America," which is about needlecraft, quilting, and dressmaking, based on an exhibit the museum held in 2024. Once I've given ten programs, I'll be a full-fledged Correspondent Docent and can drop the "In Training" part of the title.

Y'all, I love this! I get to learn! And share what I'm learning! I get to surround myself with other curious, history-loving folks! And who knows what stories and poems will arise because of it??

New life goal: visit the DAR Museum in person. For anyone reading this who'll be in D.C., it's free and open to the public Monday-Saturday.

Another DAR thing I'm doing during 2026 is facilitating an America 250 Book Club in our community. All the titles are related to the Revolutionary War. I'll paste in the list below. I'm excited!

The Founding Foodies: American Meals That Wouldn’t Exist Today If Not for Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin by Dave DeWitt

Angelica: For Love and Country in the Time of Revolution by Molly Beer

Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of an American Nation by Andrea Wulf

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts

1776 by David McCullough

Today's ArtSpeak: PICASSO is #52 and the last in the series! I've selected my ArtSpeak! theme for 2026, and I'll be introducing that—along with my 2026 One Little Word—next week.

One of my favorite things about Picasso is how incredibly prolific he was—he created nearly 150,000 pieces! He was constantly trying new things, and his style evolved over the years. This encourages me to be prolific and keep trying new things. So it made sense to choose for this last poem a piece of his art that was somehow related to him at work. There's also a nod to a famous Rilke quote (see below). Thanks so much for reading!

Picasso in His Studio the Day After Christmas

The air, once sharp
with anticipation
has softened. The world

rearranges with or without
our help. Do we dare
rest? We cannot

know what beauty
and terror wait for us
behind the yellow

door. The new year steals
into every room with
the feet of a thief.

- Irene Latham

p.s. I think maybe the poem isn't quite finished... I'll revisit another day!

Today I'm Feeling Winter by Irene Latham

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Michelle at More Art 4 All for Roundup. 

I've enjoyed lots of jolly Christmas fun this week...and more to come! 

This year we put up a "Keys" Christmas tree. As in the Florida Keys. So all the ornaments—pulled from our 35-years-together collection—have a coastal theme. Beaches and shells and blue! We added blue garland, and the treetopper is two dried starfish glued together. Fun! 

Texas bedroom at DAR Museum

Interesting historical tidbit I learned about in my new gig as Correspondent Docent in Training for the DAR Museum: when Christmas trees first became popular in the U.S. (as early as 1820s), they were smaller (tabletop-sized) and a small fence was placed around the tree. Inside the fence, one might build a village, or add toy animals, and the like. I'm especially fascinated by the fences!

Today's ArtSpeak: PICASSO poem is kind of an anti-Christmas poem...because some days are just like that! Also, earlier I wrote "Today I'm Feeling Autumn," and I guess I'd like to complete the series. :) Thanks so much for reading!

Today I'm Feeling Winter

stuck inside
myself

weary
of the world's
advice

where
is the sun?

- Irene Latham

2025 One Little Word: SISU Review

 

Christmas fun with family
(Levi, Lynn, Mama, MicaJon, Irene)
 at Opryland Hotel.

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Linda at A Word Edgewise for Roundup.

What a fun week...In addition to several joyful holiday celebrations, Charles and I are having a blast reading the flood of poems we received through our Open Call. 

Friends, poetry is alive and well! SO. MANY. GREAT. Poems. Y'all are making our work really difficult. Thank you!!

This just in: Ryan van Cleave, poet, author, and editor at Bushel & Peck Books runs a fantastic blog called Only Picture Books, where he interviews picture book authors, and they share loads of wisdom. Recently he interviewed me! He asked great questions, like, what did I learn from my first poetry picture book?; what is Charles Waters' superpower?; how does "every word matters" show up in your writing life? It was a fun interview, and I invite you to check it out!

As 2025 is fast coming to a close, I wanted to take just a moment to reflect on Sisu, my 2025 One Little Word.

First, a confession: a few times this year, I couldn't remember what my One Little Word was. :) It's an odd little word! So I had to go back to the blog and remember. But each time I did, I realized the word had been working under the surface of my life. I've definitely been cultivating sisu, even on those days when I couldn't remember the word. And isn't that the power of a One Little Word practice? 

Some ways I've brought sisu into my life this year (the most transformative practices in bold):

second-hand shopping

upcycling

taking small steps toward goals

limiting time with people who suck the sisu out of me/letting go of old commitments to make room for more positive growth and opportunities

taking a pause before responding: "Thank you, I'll think it over and get back to you as soon as possible."

Blue Mind - keeping water in my life (#lakelife, trip to coast, etc)

developing an allergy to self-pity - I just don't entertain it, at least not for long!

showing my appreciation of others - the grocery clerk, the lady who brings out the tortilla chips at the Mexican restaurant, my husband, etc.

So I'm feeling a bit sisu-fied, in spite of myself. Yay! And now I'm looking forward to what my 2026 One Little Word might be... do you have any OLW contenders yet?

In ArtSpeak! PICASSO news, just 2 more Picassos to go!! Today's features his Woman at the Window, 1936. It's basically me riffing off a Picasso quote I discovered sometime earlier this year: 

“The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?” - Pablo Picasso

I have been thinking about how I can apply this to my writing, and lo, this week, a poem emerged! There's also a nod to one of my all-time favorite poems "A Secret Life" by Stephen Dunn. Oh, and the form is a viator. Thanks so much for reading.

Making Sense of the World

The world today doesn't make sense

so I dive into the wondergush of words—
not to understand; to be baptized.

Let me be the one to promise chaos:
The world today doesn't make sense!
Baptists and other accountants may now rest.

One doesn't need words to witness a sunrise,
just as one can drown without water. Who says
the world today doesn't make any sense?

- Irene Latham

Poetry Friday Roundup is Here!

 

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Reminder: The Open Call submission window for The Periodic Table of Poetry is this weekend! We can't wait to read your poems!

Over at Smack Dab in the Middle, I wrote about the Golden Hour for Writers. When is your Golden Hour?

Also, you can listen to me & Charles talk about writing, poetry, and literacy at Melissa Morrison's podcast Teaching to Transform. Thanks, Melissa, for having us!

For my Poetry Friday offering, I have a poem for you from Barbara Crooker's collection titled More (C&R Press, 2010). I love Barbara's work, and I love this collection in particular. Read the review at Rattle. Big thanks to Barbara for granting me permission to share this poem with all of you! Learn more about Barbara at her website.

My Life as a Song Sparrow

by Barbara Crooker

My life is a song sparrow, chip chip chipping

on the hard white ground, hoping to find seeds,

yellow millet or black sunflower. It flits

from old apple tree to hedgerow, saying

my name. It's ordinary as this day,

beige, brown, and white, not flashy cardinal red,

not brassy jaybird blue. You'd hardly notice it

at the feeder, jostled out by all those bigger

birds, plain as the hills behind us, stippled

with trees. It's both more and less than I was

hoping for as I think about the cold mountain,

the long journey home. The sparrow looks

in the still water as it sits on the lip of the bird

bath, sees the wind-drawn ripples. It doesn't look

for more than food and shelter, a nest of straw,

a bough to keep off snow. Someone to share

a branch with, downy feathers on a night

of frozen zeroes. What more can a person 

hope for, in this world of a thousand sorrows,

than a life that was made for song, than a body

sometimes able to take wing?

--

Beautiful, yes?

And doesn't the title make a wonderful prompt? Perhaps you'd like to write a poem comparing your life to a particular bird? That's exactly what I decided to do...see below in this week's ArtSpeak: PICASSO poem. I chose a pigeon because that's what Picasso was fond of painting. :) (Without the art constraint, I think I might have chosen to write "My Life as a Hummingbird." Adding this to my to-do list...) Thanks so much for reading!

My Life as a Pigeon

Quiet, ordinary,
I scrabble for crumbs
along with my flock.
If I've learned anything,
it's that I was built
for flight—
flight and song.
Can't you hear me
cooing?
I carry a map
inside my heart
so that no matter
how far I fly,
I can always find home.

- Irene Latham