Beyond LiteracyLink
A dedicated space to ponder, reflect, and converse about life, literacy, and learning
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Invitation to Write Breathings of Your Heart
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Traveling Progressive Poem
The Progressive Poem has traveled for 13 days this month. It is my turn to add lines to the community poem that is a journey of courage. Reading through Days 1 through 13, I am reminded of a poignant story told by one of my elementary students years ago. Amid civil unrest in El Salvador, the child and his siblings left their homeland to move to Long Island.
Join me as I integrate the student's story into my lines for Day 14. I also added the art of Juan Lopez-Bautista's Border Stories presented at the Sella-Granata Art Gallery, Woods Hall, UA campus (October-November 2021). Be sure to click here and here to view the full exhibition that touched my heart.
cradled in stars, our planet sleeps,
clinging to tender dreams of peace
sister moon watches from afar,
singing lunar lullabies of hope.
almost dawn, I walk with others,
keeping close, my little brother.
hand in hand, we carry courage
escaping closer to the border.
My feet are lightning;
My heart is thunder.
Our pace draws us closer
to a new land of wonder.
I hum my own little song
like ripples in a stream
Humming Mami's lullaby
reminds me I have her letter
My fingers linger on well-worn creases,
shielding an address, a name, a promise-
Sister Moon will find always us
surrounding us with beams of kindness
But last night, as we rested in the dusty field,
worries crept in about matters back home.
Day 14
I huddled close to my brother. Tears revealed
the no-choice need to escape. I feel grown.
I pass on the torch of writing to Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities.
The Kidlithosphere Progressive Poem was started in 2012 by Irene Latham as a way to celebrate National Poetry Month as a community of writers. In 2020, Margaret Simon became the organizer of the Progressive Poem. Margaret created the above gorgeous graphic for the 2024 Progressive Poem .
Meet the writing team creators of the community Progressive Poem 2024.
April 1 Patricia Franz at Reverie
April 2 JJone MacCulloch
April 3 Janice Scully at Salt City Vers
April 4 Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
April 5 Irene at Live Your Poem
April 6 Margaret at Reflections on the Techee
April 7 Marcie Atkins
April 8 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a God Forsaken Town
April 9 Karen Eastlund
April 10 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 11 Buffy Silverman
April 12 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
April 13 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
April 14 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
April 15 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
April 16 Sarah Grace Tuttle
April 17 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
April 18 Tabatha at Opposite of Indifference
April 19 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
April 20 Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 21 Janet, hosted here at Reflections on the Teche
April 22 Mary Lee Hahn at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 23 Tanita Davis at (fiction, instead of lies)
April 24 Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone
April 25 Joanne Emery at Word Dancer
April 26 Karin Fisher-Golton at Still in Awe
April 27 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 28 Dave at Leap of Dave
April 29 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 30 Michelle Kogan at More Art for All
INVITATION
I hope more of my poetry friends, plus writers, bloggers, artists, photographers, and friends join in the Poetry Parade. The Poetry Parade Padlet is available for your artistic expressions. Laura Purdie Salas and Denise Krebs added their image poems to the gallery.
Friday, April 12, 2024
Life Awakens in Spring
Morning Springs Openmorning lightstreams inunfolding spring's verdant palette of greenhidden buds buried in earthen soil sproutbreathe innature's perfumepeace surrounds©CVarsalona, 2024, trinet poemAre you ready to sing praises for a spring morning?I invite you to be creative.Snap a spring photo that speaks to you.Write a poem and mesh the two together.JOIN ME at ThePadlet, the container for my nextThank you, Denise Krebs, for being the first colleague to add your spring image poem to the Poetry Parade Padlet.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Solar Eclipse 2024
Parts of North America silently waited for nature's moments of totality. on April 8, 2024. News stations aired programs. Libraries distributed solar eyeglasses. People huddled in parks, yards, and special event areas to watch a spectacular sight, the moon passing between Earth and the sun. News stations captured the event minute by minute as the moon blocked the view of the sun. We watched ABC News coverage. Each area from Mexico to Maine shared their 4 minutes of totality as the sun darkened the sky followed by sunlight.
My son, husband, and I moved between the news and our backyard as we waited for the event. Then, the sky clouded. What would we see? My son asked Siri, "What time will the eclipse occur here in Northern Virginia? Much to his surprise, we would only see a partial eclipse. Regardless, I decided to capture the event even without solar glasses. How did I do this? I cleverly moved my iPhone toward the sky but did not face the sky. I started clicking my iPhone camera. Click! Then, I remembered the Pink Floyd song, Total Eclipse of the Sun, that my husband likes. You can listen to it below and then read my trinet poem introduced to me by the Australian poet, Alan J. Wright during a Poetry Friday Roundup. This poem has seven lines and lines three and four have six words in each line. All the other lines have two words per line. The trinet has no restrictions for rhyme, subject, or syllable.
Friday, April 5, 2024
New Ideas for NPM Month
- an original poem superimposed on a photo (image poem)
- a collage poem with scrapbook art
- a postcard poem
- a playlist of springtime music
- inspirational quotes on springtime
- Please add your offering to my Poetry Parade Padlet here.
As Myra Garces-Bascal stated in a previous Poetry Friday, "Poetry requires one to pause, consider, and stare at the marvel of the world. the intricacies of a leaf, or be still enough to let melody wash over one's soul."
While cruising on the Potomac yesterday, I searched for the treasured cherry blossoms but many were whisked away with the rains. While this was disappointing. nature did offer a glimpse of a few beautiful cherry trees at the entrance to the docks.
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Below is my image poem from yesterday's Lunch Cruise in Washington, DC.
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It is time to join the Poetry Friday Roundup at Irene Latham's blog.
Irene has poetic goodness to share with her recent public community poetry project in Blount County, Alabama. I was happy to share some of my image poems for her project. Irene is also showcasing the beginning of the Progressive Poem up to her fifth line in the poem. I am excited to read the line for the day each morning. Besides all of this news, there is more. Irene shared her ArtSpeak: FOLK ART poem, titled Prayer. Thank you, Irene, for being this week's hostess.
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Everyday Miracles
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
National Poetry Month Marches In
It's time for another Poetry Parade during National Poetry Month. April is the month I refine past poems and write new ones. Spring brings renewal to life, so I dedicate this month to a revival of life. Some of my poems need to be revived and others need to blossom.
During the month I will visit other Poetry Friday friends who enjoy playing with words and writing poetrylicious poetry. Another wonderful stop this month is the 2024 Progressive Poem, now directed by Margaret Simon. Click here to see the opening lines. Leo Tolstoy's statement below with my digitized nature background inspires me to observe the season's evolution and add new plants, poems, and digital artwork to my collection of spring's blossoming time.