Happy Valentine’s Day! 💗❤️💗

Manitoulin Island

A Keeper of Spirits

 One weekend in August many years ago

when we were very young 

 we rented a red Cadillac and drove to Manitoulin Island.

 Native people call it Manidoowaaling."Cave of the spirit."

And it has been sacred to the indigenous people of north America 

for more than 10,000 years.

 We drove up along Lake Huron on the Canadian side

 and disembarked from the ferry the next morning.

We found the island windblown. Maybe haunted.

Except for a couple of tourist shops

that were curious sparkling gems of the past

holding an era that no longer existed.

Inside one we found scraps of Danny Dodge.

A famous man.Widely covered in the press.

His death. Possibly reckless.

Yellow newspapers rolled  into plastic wrappers

telling a story not belonging to ten thousand years of sacred history.

As we drove on, the gray clouds let loose and soaked the goldenrod

growing alongside the silent roads spinning circles

out to the parameter of people decades earlier that had tried plowing

and planting. Then unable to grow anything of significance

that far up, got up and left their houses behind 

 abandoned, empty, and ragged in that raw wet wind.  

 

2026 Jan Darrow  /  Photo: Paul James 

 

Midwest Postcard

  

Tonight 

the dishes have been put away. 

Daylight fades.

I step onto the front porch

and smell the rain coming. 

 

 I see the clothes

 left outside on the line.

Shirts float 

like iridescent ghosts

in the wind. 

 

 

2026 Jan Darrow

Photo: Pixabay 

The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono.  Originally published in 1954 in Vogue under the title, “The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness.” 

Dear Readers,

My mom gave me this book a long time ago, and I take it out from time to time to read and remind myself that what we do is important and that our actions matter. And…that there is hope. Yes I recommend! 

Jan ❤️ 

World Peace

watercolor - 2025 / Jan Darrow

In the Beginning

winter 

rises above a blue belly

and builds the frozen earth

rapidly.

Sky hues and pale rose

flesh autumn’s remains.

Spring is lost below the horizon.

White

inky snow

feeds the growth -

and we whirl away

into darkness.

Winter Poems: Building Sound - Available on Amazon

photo: pixabay

A Ghost Story for Christmas - THE SIGNAL-MAN

Written by Charles Dickens and published in 1866 in a Christmas edition of his magazine, All the Year Round, The Signal-Man is a ghost story - and who doesn’t love a good ghost story? This BBC production is perfect for a holiday winter evening. Yes I recommend! 

https://youtu.be/I89tiXorwBQ?si=dNQAZCA_WKvVcnJO

Turkeys

Coming home last Thursday I came upon a group of turkeys that (obviously) escaped Thanksgiving!   

Ringing in the New Year

watercolor - 2025/ Jan Darrow 

 

Wishing everyone peace, joy, prosperity, good health, and love for 2026!

❤️ Jan

Happy Thanksgiving!

 gratitude: the state of being grateful: THANKFULNESS 

Nighttime is Never Late

The sky grew dark

tonight

right on time.

Nighttime is never 

late.

The earth 

never stops turning.

And the sun

always rises.

In a way 

that makes 

everything easier

because

there are so many things

in life

you can

never count on.

(C) Jan Darrow 2025 - photo: Pixabay