Embraceable Summer Memories Gallery

In a world of masked moments and little travel, summer photos and poetry provide us with global adventures, albeit virtually. Join me in the final Embraceable Summer Gallery Walk. Applaud the beauty of summer and its alluring call. 

Do you remember pre-pandemic, summer concerts or gatherings?

I spent my #QuarantineLife summer without ever stepping in the ocean.

How did you spend your summer months?

To my delight during Summer 2019 and 2020, many digital inspirations were sent to me as gifts from across the globe. They provided an opportunity to relax and drift away into a summer moment while in a staycation frame of mind. 

Enjoy the Embraceable Summer Travels Across the World Google slideshow, here.

Share in the wonder of sunrises and sunsets by clicking on Summer's Enduring Beauty and Summer's Enduring Beauty Part 2. 

#QuarantineLife's motto is reflected in Jessica Bigi's fiery sunset glow.

Remember the steamy heat that had everyone talking.

Click here to watch the video poem, Summer's Steamy Embrace.

View Alan J. Wright's Embraceable Summer Poem here

that accompanied the visual from Australia (below). View the poem here.

Then, take a breath while ready Elizabeth Steinglass' poem.

Taste the succulent September's harvest offered by Janice Scully.

Click below on other segments of the Embraceable Summer Gallery to be dazzled by

various collections with digital inspirations like the one by @lucky_budd from British Columbia.

Introduction to Embraceable Summer Gallery

Unveiling Embraceable Summer Gallery 2019

Sending Summer Goodbys from Embraceable Summer Gallery 2019

September Bidding Summer Godspeed

End-of-Embraceable-Summer Slice

I would like to express my sincerest thanks to all the poets, bloggers, photographers, artists, friends, and colleagues from across the world for their contributions to this evolving gallery. Because of the magnitude of the collection, the gallery has been presented in six segments.

I hope you enjoyed the experience of taking gallery walks of nature throughout the world.

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 Thank you for spending quiet time perusing the final segment of the

Embraceable Summer Gallery. 

Are you interested in writing your own embraceable summer poem or sharing the experience with students?  

Start with the following prompt that offers a child's perspective on summertime, 

or this image of the stillness of sunset,

or observing a butterfly sent by Stephen Kelley

Photo by @ElizaWallace27 from Butterfly Conservatory, Aruba

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 Sending thoughts on love and peace out to all.

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I join Tabatha Yeatts, host of this week's Poetry Friday Roundup. I am excited to read the guest post by author Carole Boston Weatherford featuring her new verse novel about Marilyn Monroe.

I thank @anuj_feedspot and Feedspot for once again featuring my blog, Beyond LiteracyLink, as one of the top 40 Children's Poetry Blogs & Website To Follow in 2020 (updated September 30, 2020).

End-of-Embraceable-Summer Slice

"Find your joy and let it run your life." - Cleo Wade

Cleo is a writer, poet, and author "being hailed as the "Millenial Oprah." As a positivity personality, I am drawn to her inspirational quotes. I open this segment of my Embraceable Summer Gallery offering joy to those who take a quick gallery walk through the collection of inspirational, artistic expressions. 

Let's start with a look at slicer Molly Hogan's muted marshland photo found on Twitter. The serenity of the scene offered inspiration to compose a haiku that was quickly tweeted to Molly. 

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Welcome to #EmbraceableSummer Gallery Seen Through the Artistry of Slicers

Alone at the marsh. 

Feeling blessed.

-Molly Hogan, 2020

My response to Molly:

stillness sets sharing

end-of-summer quietude-

marshland's gracious gift

©CV, 2020

Slicer Kevin Hodgson's response to Molly:

Blessed is the thin

branch still stretched

from the tree, standing

like a beacon in open

fields of grass and water,

a moment's respite

for birds and poets alike

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Spot two is a scene from slicer Terje Akke's country of Estonia seen on her blog.

summer seaside stroll

bright as sunshine it stands-

nature nurtures life

©CV, 2020

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Slicer Fran Haley's illustrates the quiet beauty of nature in this lovely photo.

cradled among trees

winding path beckoning-

future is fragile

©CV, 2020

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The last stop on the gallery walk was found at slicer Margaret Simon's post, This Photo Wants to Be a Poem. It is a dreamy, digitized photo by another slicer, Paula Bourque.

Margaret Simon drafted the following poem for Paula's photo:

I would like to be remembered*

as someone who softened things

like the still, blue surface

of a lake at dawn.

*words from a Ruth Bader Ginsburg quote, "I would like to be remembered a someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability."

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Silence speaks in soft shadows,

inviting life to reflect

upon painted horizons.

©CV, 2020

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At the end-of-summer, nature embraces the energy of summertime, cradles earth in shades of golden sand, and folds into the arms of autumn. 

I salute the summer season that still wishes to stay here on Long Island and offer hopes for an abundant autumn of well-being and fiery kaleidoscope colors.

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Thank you to the following slicers, Terje Akke, Paula Bourque, Fran Haley, Kevin Hodgson, Molly Hogan, and Margaret Simon, whose work I share in this segment of the Embraceable Summer Global Gallery of Artistic Expressions. 

Now, I am off to join Two Writing Teachers for the Slice of Life Tuesday.

Sending Summer Goodbys from Embraceable Summer Gallery 2019

Do you have fond memories of the summer of 2019?  "It is easy to forget now, how effervescent and free we all felt that summer." (Anna Godbersen, Bright Young Things )  In contrast to the summer of 2020, I present this follow-up Embraceable Summer Gallery collection to the second segment of my summer gallery here.

“The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer."

-George R.R. Martin

From Long Island's Shores

summer tiptoed in

on gritty, heated sand under

feather-stroked skies

now it sings end-of-summer

while softly strumming the blues

©CV, 2020

but

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart."
-Celia Thaxton
and

-Valerie Tilton, 2019 

During Summertime

butterfly grace notes

hover over my zinnias

prompting a duet

©Karen Eastlund

                                                                      Karen Eastlund                                               Linda Baie                                       

 while children are

or engaging in artistic pursuits.

The Artist

The world awaits her touch

like a canvas craves the brush

behind, she leaves a trail of beauty

bright and full and lush.

-2019 Matt F. Esenwine, all rights reserved

Travelers search near and far for summer sights to savor.

Beachgoers find their happy place at the shoreline.

Readers relax with a good book.

Foodies search farmers markets for delectable tastes,

farm-fresh market

visual feast of produce

in summertime hues

©CV, 2020

Gardeners enjoy the fresh beauty of summer flowers and fruit.

Beware of locust season!

Crafter, Linda Mitchell, finds pleasure in creating environmental-friendly 

paper collage art of re-cycled paper.

Magical Summer Moments

are cherished by many

Sunsets Across the Globe Bid Summer Adieu

From South Africa

to New York City

sunsets share the magnificence of nature's skies.

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Letting Go of  Our Sweet Summer Life is Bittersweet!

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Thank You to the Following Global Contributors

to this segment of Embraceable Summer Gallery

@collidingwithscience (Melissa Chouinard Jahant)

#chazchaz   

Cheryl Alba

Jeri Asaro

Linda Baie

Leanora Benton's Son

Jolie Buchanan

Leia Cator

Jeff & Judi Drucker

Karen Eastlund

Kevin Foley

Matt F. Esenwine

Alyssa H

Mary Lee Hahn

Devin Hartnett

Tara Hartnett

Ruth Hersey

Rebecca Herzog

Molly Hogan

Kimberly Hutmacher

Tracy Scott Kelly

Lillian Lake

Jone MacCulloch

Faige Meller

Chris Militzer

Linda Mitchell

Janet Nestor

Bonnie Nieves

DeAnn Pettinelli

Laura Robb

Margaret Simon

Donna Smith

Donna Tassone

Valerie Tilton

Carol Varsalona

Rita Wirtz

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Listen to the Embraceable Summer Playlist to extend your gallery walk and 

embrace the wonders of summertime.

Artwork by Leia Cator

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Thank you for taking a gallery walk through this segment of the Embraceable Summer Gallery.

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I send this gallery across social media to celebrate the beauty of nature as a constant reminder of what we have to be grateful for as opposed to what we are missing. The first stop is Poetry Friday, hosted by an amazing poet, Matt Forrest Esenwine who is always a supporter of my galleries. You can read his lovely poem to his daughter above in the gallery.