### January Featured poet: Jonathan Chibuike Ukah “A Second of Your Life,” Jonathan Ukah’s poem that opens The Pierian 1.2, foregrounds the deep matrix of Classical and Biblical allusion that underpins the lyric tradition. Pindaric in its stirring opening, the poem pushes on to explore many more forms of excellence: the well-lived lives that comes from persistence in the face of challenge. Jonathan writes: *Jonathan Chibuike Ukah is a graduate of English and Law living in the UK with his family. His love for poetry began during his high school days when he went through traumatic experiences. Since then, poetry has been therapeutic.* His poetry recently won the Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest, and has appeared in publications including *BoomerLitMag*, *New Note Poetry*, *New Reader Magazine*, *Wildfire Words*, *Fresh Words International Literary Magazine*, and *The Poet Magazine*.