rooftop sparrowing
in february
sketch me if you can…
© 2023 Michelle Kogan
Happy Poetry Friday!
The sparrows have been singing to me in the morning, maybe they know spring is coming… Or maybe they just want me to do some quick gesture sketches of them…
I wrote a poem this week thinking about all the people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The poem started as a prompt in Laura Shovan’s 11th Annual February Poetry Project that I’m partaking in again this year. The prompt was from an image that had a castle like building and Stone Walls in Ireland provided to us by Kathy Mazurowski, thanks Kathy and Laura!
If you would like to help, here’s a list from the New York Times of organizations that are helping and the link to where they originated from:
“The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, better known as UNICEF, said it is in Syria and prioritizing water, sanitation, hygiene and nutrition, and also focusing on helping unaccompanied children locate their families. UNICEF is accepting donations.
Global Giving, which helps local nonprofit agencies, is collecting donations to help fund emergency medical workers’ ability to provide food, shelter and medicine, among other necessities. As needs in Turkey and Syria change, the organization will focus on long-term assistance, it said.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is requesting donations for its Disaster Response Emergency Fund so it can send “immediate cash assistance.”
OXFAM, an international organization that fights poverty, said it is working with women’s cooperatives in Turkey to determine an appropriate immediate and long-term response plan. It is accepting donations.
CARE, an organization that works with impoverished communities, is accepting donations that will go toward food, shelter and hygiene kits, among other items.
Doctors Without Borders, which responds to medical emergencies around the world, is collecting donations.
The Syrian American Medical Society, a United States-based humanitarian group that supplies medical care in Syria and nearby countries, is collecting donations to deliver emergency aid. At least one of its hospitals in northwestern Syria, Al Dana, received major damage.
Save the Children is accepting donations for its Children’s Emergency Fund, which will help provide children with food, shelter and warm clothing.
The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, which since 2012 has provided medical relief and health care services inside Syria and to Syrian refugees in Turkey, is collecting money.”
Carol Varsalona at her blog Beyond Literacy Link is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup, thanks Carol, be sure to stop by!
Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, & Writing 
Thanks for this timely post with your thought provoking poem and list of resources. Such a tragic situation. Can’t believe so many people perished! Thanks, too, for the sweet rooftop sparrows. I’m sure they were happy you sketched them. 🙂
Thanks for the nudge. I just donated to the United Nations fund. Thanks Michelle.
I think I missed this one, Michelle. I am so sad for the earthquake tragedy, keep watching and reading, hoping that even more will go or give to help. It’s great that you shared so many links. I love Doctors Without Borders and also gave to the IRC. And, you’ve captured the sparrows just as I see them at my feeder, too, wary looking always as you’ve sketched. Thanks for all you shared!
Your poem is both poignant and provoking Michelle. Rocks, like doors have two sides to consider. The devastation in Syria and Turkey is horrendous and it certainly raises the question of the standard of building desgin in such areas. The sketching of the sparrows is like a balm in a world beset with confornting situations.
“Have we failed in being human once again?” Pressing question, Michelle. Thank you for the sweet sparrow, who bring a bit of lightness to these heavy days.
I love “sketch me if you can.” Thanks for the list of ways to help, and for your other poem, too.
Michelle, your sketch and poem are lovely. Your ending question is one to ponder?
Thank you so much for this list, Michelle, and for the sparrowing that lightens the weight of all that rubble so that we can act.
I share gratitudes for the sparrow and sorrows for the state of humanity.
So so heart-breaking to see the devastation from the earthquake. Thank you for the respite of sparrow gestures, and the reminder to reach out and help somehow.
Thank you for sharing this poem again along with the list of resources. It’ s hard to fathom the destruction and devastation.
Thanks for the links. I needed that. My heart breaks for all those suffering. And, wow! What a great poem–it is amazing that we can look at walls that are hundreds of years old and see modern day structures topple.
The tragedy of this earthquake is captured in your poem. I love your sketches of sparrows. I’d like to learn how to draw birds. Do you ever do instructional videos?
Thanks for sharing your compassion here, Michelle, through your poem and the many suggestions for ways to help.
And thank you, too, for the sweet sparrows. Their challenge to you made me smile. 🙂