This Spring Morning, I Pause and Reflect

Fellow Spiritual Journey Friends,

On this spring morning, I know it is the moment to "Make Time", to pause and reflect on my spiritual journey. There is one word that has guided me since the beginning of 2026. 

Digital Collage for Opening Blog

Since New Year 2026, I travel the spiritual journey path with thoughts on my one word, restore, and a song, Restore My Soul, that reminds me to find my way. 

Seasons of Restoration

one word floats

like snowflakes'

rhythmic flight

                                         WINTER FLIGHT 

chilled winds blow

earth freezes

tears hold grief

                                      BEREAVEMENT

awaken

from winter's

loneliness

                                  TRANSITION

spring's bounty

revives life

in chaos

                                                   GRIEF COUNSELING BEGINS

despite rain

hope opens

new fountains

                                 MID-SPRING

music soothes

lifts grief's weight

sings with birds

                                        SPRINGTIME WISH

hope swirls while

gardens bloom

life brightens

                                        MAY REFRESMENT

grace, peace, and 

memories

opens paths

                              MAY DAYS

summer wish

make time to

reflect, pause

                                               SUMMER BREEZES APPEAR

lead me on

find new paths

summer smiles

                           ONWARD 

©CVarsalona, May 2026, tricube sequence

Click here to listen to the song "Garden of Grace".

For a year, I passed through seasons of change. I listened to earth's movements, managed the walk (even after I fractured my foot last October), broke down as tensions stormed through life, grieved, held on to faith, and prayed in silence, noting that changes needed to unfold.

Where am I now?

I am ready to mingle, not be frightened by grief, and continue my spiritual journey. There is more to come, I am sure but for now, I feel the power of faith while holding on to hope.

Spiritual Journey 2026

Logo: Margaret Simon and Photo: Molly Hogan

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My thanks to those who wish to walk the spiritual journey. I thankful for those who join me as faithful companions.

- Carol, June 2026 Host

Spring's Gifts: Rain, Garden Flowers, and Nature's Beauty

On non-rainy spring mornings, I often receive a beautiful sunrise photo from my son, who enjoys taking early morning walks. 

Sunrise in Northern Virginia by Derek Varsalona

This photo reminded me of a poem written by John Clare. (The Rural Muse: Poems (Whittaker & Co., 1835) in the public domain.)

The Spring comes in with all her hues and smells,
In freshness breathing over hills and dells;
O’er woods where May her gorgeous drapery flings,
And meads washed fragrant by their laughing springs.
Fresh are new opened flowers, untouched and free
From the bold rifling of the amorous bee.
The happy time of singing birds is come,
And Love’s lone pilgrimage now finds a home;
Among the mossy oaks now coos the dove,
And the hoarse crow finds softer notes for love.
The foxes play around their dens, and bark
In joy’s excess, ’mid woodland shadows dark.
The flowers join lips below; the leaves above;
And every sound that meets the ear is Love.

This Memorial Day weekend, the rain continually drenched my gorgeous peonies. Our Memorial Day patio picnic with the family turned into an indoor event. When the rain took a quick pause, my 6-year-old grandgirl learned how to fill different types of vases with what was left of my cherished peonies.  

Before the Rain

After the Rain

I took one of the lines from John Clare's poem (see below) and created a Golden Hinge Poem introduced by Patricia Franz. 

Fresh are new opened flowers, untouched and free.
Are they nature's perennials sharing their
New budding gifts of glee? 
Opened petals of pink and soft white share
Flowers swaying in fashionable wear.
Untouched, they stand with dignity,
And pose for all to stare
Free from life's responsibility.

Draft, CVarsalona, 2026

Digital art of peonies by CVarsalona

Thank you to Mary Lee Hahn at A(Nother) Year of Reading for this week's Poetry Friday Roundup. She is setting up a summer picnic with "yummy offerings for today's potluck". 

Grace Fills My Garden

April showers bring May flowers. I have heard this quote since I was a child. When visiting my Nonnie Rose, I often found myself dancing in the multiple gardens with excitement. Nonnie's gardens were graced with the love of her gentle hands, which turned the soil into glorious, colorful flowers. Today, I understand the hope-filled goals she had for her grandchildren. I am honored to continue her dreams for the family.

While I am not the gardener with the green thumb that my Nonnie was, I love watching my blossoms open their petals after rainstorms. Unfortunately, my herb garden was overrun by fresh mint last summer. The gardeners pulled all the mint, but this April, the mint stubbornly decided to intermingle with my flowers. Now I need to wait for the gardener to redo the bed. I shall pick the mint before the current area is created into a new bed. I hope new growth will restore the garden's beauty. This time, the herbs will grow with grace in their rectangular outdoor pot while new flowers find companions other than mint.

One of my beds

   Magnolia buds open

“Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers.”—May Sarton

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” – May Sarton, poet/novelist

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Today, I am celebrating the birthday of my youngest grandgirl, Lila. Time moves on quickly. She turned 3 today!

As you can see, I finished my Poetry Friday blog after the party. I plan on visiting Poetry Friday poets blog posts over the long weekend.

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Take a virtual ride on the Ferris Wheel at Carol Labuzzetta's Poetry Friday blog post. Click here to read about Carol's new plans and read other poets' blog posts.

Have a wonderful family and friends Memorial Day.

Springtime Is

As spring evolves, nature brushstrokes earth with variations of dazzling colors. Earth applauds Mother Nature's artistic endeavors and invites all to enjoy the gifts of the season of rebirth. I continue my National Poetry Month project at Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet, sharing colorful artistic expressions of nature's beauty and with poets' and artists' voices. I move with ease from changeable April to May's vitality, "the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope." (Emily Bronte) 

It is Poetry Friday, a day meant to bring a community of poetry friends together to share their latest writing. I try to read as many of the blog posts as I can. To be candid, life is still messy. This week, Patricia J. Franz is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup. A couple of weeks ago, she introduced the Golden Hinge poem, and since then, I have been reading hinge poems to learn more about them. Patricia also introduced me to Traci Brimhall's poetry. She is an Associate Professor and Director of Creative Writing at Kansas State University and the poet laureate of Kansas. While reading through her myriad of poems, I found Traci's writing to be deep, reflective, and intense. 

"The spring - dripped its steady syllables. Arise, Arise." from Traci Brimhall's poem, "End of Girlhood"

My second try at a hinge poem uses the lines above to draft a Golden Hinge poem. I placed the key line horizontally, then vertically, to begin the format.

The spring dripped its steady syllables. Arise, Arise. 

The azure sky shared its colors with

spring. She anointed earth with petals of peace,

dripped in floral scents. With

steady assurance, spring presented 

its treasures. Poets chose simple poetic

syllables to proclaim heavenly wishes:

Arise. Nature will soothe your sorrow. 

Arise. Unfold the beauty before you. 

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." -Psalm 19:1

Repeating the word "Arise in the Golden Hinge poem opens my heart mind, and body to a physical and emotional awakening. I thank all my poetry friends for standing by me.

My first Golden Hinge Poem was shared on Margaret Simon's blog post, This Photo Wants to Be a Poem. You can find it here.

When a Photo Wants to Be a Poem

Thank you, Margaret Simon for today's This Photo Wants to Be a Poem, and the quote from Asclepius, "Help me shed the skin of grief and put on the armor of hope."

I was inspired by the Healer title on the oracle card. I decided to dive into the what and why of a snake icon. I found the "symbol, the Rod of Ascelepius, has been associated with health care since the 5th Century BC." (National Center of Medicine) With thoughts of healing, I am ready to revive my mind, body, and spirit by nurturing myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Margaret, the following golden hinge poem slid from my thoughts and onto this page. I read and reread my words until I realized that my poem is a prayer from my heart to God.

Help me shed the skin of grief.

Me, finding my way,
sheds tears of sorrow.
The weight of loss is heavy. My
skin shivers in darkened moments
of unresolved sadness.

Grief flows, slides away, returns, so I pray,

and put on the armor of hope.

Put it near my heart, Lord.

On each day boost 

the faith within. Add your 

armor of strength, 

of perseverance, and enduring

hope to revive my being and my spirit.

draft, CVarsalona, 2026

Endings and Beginnings on the Spiritual Journey

As the night trickles from sunshine to a darkened sky, grief knocks on my door again. It pecks at my soul and washes away yesterday's warmth. I question its pounding return. What makes you nestle in my heart, wave upon wave? --- Once again I quietly fall asleep holding my computer in my lap. Two hours later I wake perplexed by this constant reoccurrence.

Morning light awakens me. Spotted visions of a continual dream series rattles me. I turn to my laptop with the hope that writing will calm the feelings of loss. Thanks to Chris Margocs' May Spiritual Journey invitation, I turn my thoughts to the topic of transitions and celebrations. A new prayer finds its way into my bereaving heart. "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 

The ending of my husband's life one year ago is troubling but Chris' inspirational quote from Seneca along with faith and hope brightens my future journey. "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Advice from my bereavement counselor:

"Time doesn't erase the past, but it provides the space to think about the person you're grieving, heal from the loss, and find meaning in life".

Reminder from my last bereavement session:

"Significant events such as grief anniversaries can feel daunting and can lead to feeling painful emotions more intensely than usual." 

Inspirational Quote from Washington Irving:

There is sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.

So, I end my Spiritual Journey post with new thoughts after the first anniversary of my Richard's passing. I hope to start a new beginning by bringing calmness into my days, shifting my focus from what was to what is, and trusting God to lead the way.

                             Spiritual Journey May 2026

                              Thank you, Chris Magocs, host,      

                                and my Fellow Journey Takers

News of the Week: I happily checked my  Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet and found eight poet friends, Verreno Diane Anderson, Ramona Behnke, Jill Dailey, Patricia J. Franz, Mary Lee Hahn, Bob Hamera, Denise Krebs, and Joyce Ray, who added their creative image poems. There is still time to add your original artistic expression related to the theme, if you are interested and have time.

Rainy Days Pass On

I breathe in, breathe out, while the series of rain storms soak the neighborhood. Despite the darkness and dampness of several days of showers, a new day dawns with a blue sky overhead and the greenness of earth surrounding me. Red azaleas are blossoming after the latest storm saturated the bushes. This sign of life lifts my spirit and dresses the earth in color. As I sit watching the morning sunlight and the swaying of branches on my pear tree, I feel a quiet stream of words unfolding. Using the inspirational quote by Vivian Greene, I review the digital collage I designed and begin to write a golden shovel poem.

I breate in life,

washing away what isn't

anymore. I listen to birds singing about

the freshness of life waiting.

I breathe in springtime's air for

a revival of my heart beating in the

 sloshing, pounding storms

of fear hoping for calmness to

wipe away sorrows that will  pass.

What life offers is in the future; it's

spring shaping new buds, news about

humans understanding and learning

how to bring about a new era, to

not engage in animosity, but dance

with each other in

calmer times, breathing in the

peaceful sounds of gentle rain.

draft, CVarsalona, 2026

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It's the last day of the 2026 National Poetry Month, 30 days of trying to push away grief bursts, and find time to write. I am amazed at the commitment of our community to create a Progressive Poem that grew from one map and one line to a poem of 30 lines of outstanding verse. This poem not only is a magical adventure to the Land of Poetry. It ends with an inspirational mantra, 'Words transform and restore us!"  I am delighted to add the Progressive Poem with the its map to my Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet that you can find here.

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For those who are interested in adding an artistic expression to the Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet, please do so. I plan on showcasing the Padlet Gallery in mid-May. 

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The Poetry Roundup is hosted by a long-time poet friend, Rose Cappelli, at Imagine the Possibilities. Rose is sharing her tankas that are her 2026 National Poetry Month project.

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It is time to bid adieu to the 2026 National Poetry Month, but you can visit the projects at Jama Rattigan's Kidlithosphere Events Roundup.

National Poetry Month-Day 30/30

Painting a Glorious April Day-The Art of Ekphrasis

Imagine Nature painting a spring sky in yellow, white, and blue, and inserting a tree filled with dainty blossoms. Artists, like Van Gogh, added beauty to a canvas by observing nature's glorious hues.  The beauty of living life is captured in Van Gogh's artwork, Almond Blossom from the Van Gogh Museum. Adding poetry provides another layer of artistic expression. 

A poem transforms a Van Gogh painting from a static image into a multisensory dialogue, adding emotional layers and narrative depth that a frame cannot hold. While Van Gogh used color to express mysterious vibrations, poetry uses language to give those vibrations a voice. The Poetry  Lab 

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While scrolling through Google Arts and Culture, I discovered PoemPostcards, "a playful experience that allows the user to create an art-inspired and AI-generated poem using Google's PaLM 2 Model".  I tried two different formats, haiku and elegy, AI-generated with Google tools.

Pale blooms reach for the sky

Branches dance in azure light

Hope on every bough

AI Generated with Google Tools

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Without AI's help, I created my own Ekphrastic PoemPostcard.

The above ekphrastic poem will be added to my Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet. I encourage my readers to create an ekphrastic poem, nature photo, music, or inspirational quote for the padlet gallery. Enjoy writing by blending art, poetry, and springtime!

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Two Writing Teachers, a meeting place for a world of reflected writers.

National Poetry Month-Day 28/30