January Born JC I was winter’s child,wrapped in borrowed wool,breath small as frost on windowpanes.
The world outside was brittle then,trees bare-boned againsta sky that never learned warmth,roads lined with grit and quiet.
Inside, there was laughter,steam from mugs that foggedthe kitchen glass,a lullaby of radiators clankingas if they toowere proud to keep me alive.
January taught me patience—that buds sleep long before they bloom,that light returns in rationed teaspoons,that beginnings aren’t always bright,but they are strong.
And so when I look back,I see my first days threaded with cold,yet stitched with care,a child born not to fireworks,but to the hush of snow,the steady hands of a yearjust learning how to start again.

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• @theincidentalpoet on Instagram and Substack

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Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice.

We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO