Echoes from the Wander

19 January 2026

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Dear Wanderers and Ponderers,

I have been on a journey.

It took me until today to realize I had briefly betrayed my truest self—believing I needed external validation of my worth as a writer by chasing a more traditional publishing path.

Recent encounters with imperfect health and mortality likely nudged me toward thoughts of legacy. Somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that legacy could arrive only through formal publication.

But that path has never truly fit me. The rules have always felt misaligned. And suddenly, it made little sense to pursue it now—except as a momentary flinch from mortality.

That flinch has passed.

I am published. I am validated. By you. And you matter.

And the journey was not for naught. It strengthened my vision and sharpened my craft, and as journeys tend to do, it returned me to where I belong.

So here I am. Renewed.

And if that makes you wonder—good.

This is the right place for wonder.

Thank you for helping me see that.

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Last week

I had a cardioversion. Of course that inspired a phaiku:

shock it all to stall
chaos scatters, seeking cover
rhythm returns for now

I find it amusing that my response to most things lately is a phaiku or some sort of rhyme. I suppose we all have our quirks to making sense of stressors.

Behind the scenes last week, I worked feverishly on assembling a collection of phaiku for publication. What was I thinking? They’ve already been published here on Substack. My more-true-to-me-goal is now to make a handcrafted edition of the collection.

I also spent much of last week, and continue, researching art styles and options for illustrating my Suno & O origin myth (a different version than the one I posted previously (see: Recorded Beneath the Ice.) I’m open to suggestions. I’m looking at grants and possibly Kickstarter to fund hiring an artist. Could that be you? This is a rare project that I do hope to get published ‘traditionally'.

Other than licking my wounds and reclaiming my truth, I published, for your reading pleasure, my experience with sestina, a finicky poetic form. If you missed it, or would like to revisit → Oh Bother: A Poet Attempts the Sestina

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What’s ahead

The muse is whispering in my ear. She wants to try something new. It remains to be seen, if what we have in mind will apparate.

I have been poeticizing a great deal lately, so there’s a good chance something will appear in that realm on Tuesday.

For sure, your Thursday mailbox will be infiltrated by an essay that came together sooner than planned: What Poetry and Math Share

Until next we meet … journey well.

Grateful.

—Jennifer
JL Tooker

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