Nature Nurtures! Poems of Hope

The preponderance of rain-moistened days, gray skies, and news broadcasts moves me to paint the world in surrealistic color-gradient hues when slivers of sunshine break through. 

The human need for social connections cannot be more heightened than now when shimmers of hope rise amidst the early days of spring. The delicate balance of life is cupped in hands outstretched, faces masked, and fatigued sighs. Through veiled visages and muted horizons, determination gives rise to strong voices ringing with expectation and faith in the human existence. 

I offer the first installment of Nature Nurtures poems of hope rising from landscapes across the world. May nature nurture our loss of connections as we wait out the duration of this unexpected pandemic. I am encouraging more voices to join the chorus of united thoughts. Shelter in place is not a verdict of isolation, it is a chance to renew faith in life. 

Kevin Hodgson from Massachusetts is the first to populate my Nature Nurtures! padlet.

Kevin Foley from Ireland captured a fiery sky. My thoughts followed his lead.

Jessica Bigi captured a glorious sunset that set my thoughts on fire.

🔀

I invite you to join me during National Poetry Month to bring voice and the artistry of nature into focus. Consider sending visuals, original photos of what you see around you. Let your nature photography, inspirational quotes, image poems, digital art, drawings, musical compositions, and/or poetry, carry songs of hope for a world in need of connection. With the theme, Nature Nurtures!, a gallery of artistic expressions and stories will evolve to heal troubled hearts throughout the globe during these challenging times. All are invited. Deadline: April 30, 2020. Reminder to add your offering to my Nature Nurtures! padlet and on social media using the hashtag, #NatureNurtures2020.

I am traveling over to Poetry Friday led by a poet with voice, Heidi Mordhorst at my little universe blogspot. Heidi is highlighting shelter in poetry. 

More on Social Distancing_SOLSC 19

Poetry heals the soul in trying times.

 Since the onset of the concept of social distancing, 

poems are appearing giving rise to the collective voice. 

After writing my commentary on social distancing, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my slicer writing friend, Kevin Hodgson, responded poetically to my poem. Several years agao, Kevin introduced me to the video-writing platform, Lumen 5.  In gratitude for his gifts of Lumen 5-created video poems of my work, I am returning the favor. Below is the print version of Kevin's poem. You can view the video poem I created of his response to my poem by clicking on the word preview here. 

Sharing our writing and creative spirit with friends is a way to bring voices together

and soothe the soul.

Do the birds understand

the concept behind
social distancing?

Neither flutter
birds still sing
of coming spring

While we fret
our days away
on the heels of
Winter

I'm noticing
the wire, the
gathering point
of convergence

feathers touching
to remember
the rains

before the presence 
of sound -- it's me, 
after all --
the flock

gone, distancing
the social norm
of the scattering
--a poem response --Kevin Hodgson

☵

Each year since March 2015, I have engaged in Two Writing Teacher's Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. Slicing allows me to ponder life, literacy, and learning, capturing small moments poetically through writing, photography, and digital art. Welcome to Day 19 of 31 days of writing with Two Writing Teachers. 

Sweet Winter Gifts

on sandcastle dreams

the muse rides across

new year's dawning day

winter thoughts arrive

poetry postcards,

fresh morning greetings

a story evolves

crackle, fizz, flash, bang

some days we dash to win the race

new hope springs forth with

friendship shipped by air-

heavenly winter gifts

©CV, 2020

Thank you Jone MacCollach for continuing the Poetry Postcard Exchange and Kimberly Hutmacher and Linda Mitchell for their gifts of song. (Listen to that song below.)

As I receive so let me give and live with joy my whole life through...

-Balance-

❅

And now I turn to the Poetry Friday Roundup that brings a variety of poetry gifts. Catherine Flynn is the host this week and has beautiful, winter haikus for hope. Stay tuned to next week's blog to see more poetry gifts from friends.

❅

My granddaughter Sierra gave me a gift of story when I traveled to Virginia for the birth of her little sister. She told us about her nature walk filled with wonder. I listened and wrote what transpired. Click here. You will also find poetry gifts from Kevin Hodgson and Margaret Simon, who were kind enough to send me a comment with a poem in response to my post and poem. As they said, "Poetry begets poetry." 

March Musings #26: Echoes of a Dream

Have you ever awakened and knew you were still in one of your dreams? 

Lately, dreams have been dancing in the fertile playground of my mind. Hearing Yanni's Echoes of a Dream play on my car radio made me think of the dreams that disturbed my sleep pattern and echoed in my mind throughout the day.

I have written about this before and from that poem post my slicer friend, 

Kevin Hodgson, created a video poem, Further Dreaming.

Dreaming in story format is a phenomenon that happens during sleep time. Dreams may be based on how we feel before retiring for the night. They could be triggered by what we are worrying about, hoping for, or our to-do list. 

Remembering my dreams may be a way to spark creativity, get in touch with my emotions, or just be echoes of my mind wandering in the darkness of sleep. I wonder, why I have lingering thoughts haunting me when I wake. 

Today, I may have woke feeling uneasy but on a positive note, whatever was echoing in my mind provided me with an idea for writing. I just wish I could remember what I dreamt about last night. That might make an interesting story.

 

Day 26 of Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Story Challenge

March Musings #2: March Roars!

"Alert! Winter storm watch for Long Island." Every meteorologist belted out the announcement.  

I woke to what seemed to be mild rain.  Ping! An email came in from slicer Kevin Hodgson. "I worked on this this morning, since we have a snow day with high winds and sleet and snow. You probably have some elements of the same storm." 

Did I? I stepped outside. Within minutes, high winds, pelting sleet, and cold temperatures turned this winter day into a nor'easter. March roared! 

In case you are wondering what Kevin sent me, his song and image poem are below. They will be included in my upcoming Winter Wonderland Gallery.

  

"Amazing sound, Kevin." (I am sure you will agree.)
"Glad you like it! I tried to capture the ebb and flow of what was happening outside my window. The wild gusts of wind, and then, calm."

🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨

Did I mention 

my intention

to look at life's

new dimension-

to see gray rain

on window pane

swooshing storms

during winter's reign?

Did I mention

my intention

to capture hope,

life's invention-

to rid the world

of growing tension,

bringing sun's rays

best intentions!

©CVarsalona, 2018

Now within the confines of my warm home, awaiting a power outage, I bring closure to this writing. Off it goes to Poetry Friday at Renee LaTulippe's website and Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life here.

Day 2

Visualizing Joy

How do you greet each day? Do you celebrate the moments that pass by or see the blades of grass as the rebirth of earth? 

I reflected on these thoughts this week as I awaited news of a tiny new life about to be born.  Each day seemed endless with anticipation. I needed to slow down, rest my mind on the breath, and see the world with new eyes to finally realize that joy will come. Then, I read a quote from Peter Sis: "How much do you visualize something you've never seen and just imagined...?" 

While waiting for news, I started creating to visual joy. My colleague, Kevin Hodgson interpreted my poem, Strange Dreams, that I wrote last week. He created a visual poetry video. (You can view that here.) It is an amazing piece of work that made me wonder? How did Kevin accomplish what he did? What was the platform he used? Being a connected educator, Kevin gave me insight into how to create something that was only in my mind's eye.

A poem, Joyful Expectancy, evolved. Shortly after that, I began the process of creating a poetry video. I must have gone through ten iterations so far and I am still not finished. The credits do not note that the rainbow was created by my friend, Delia, who traveled recently to Ireland nor which photos are my originals. I am waiting for my last remake to correct my inputs. Lumen 5 is an amazing platform to create videos but when "playing" with a new format, I need time to work out the kinks. For now you can see the draft version here. 

"There are words in the soul of a newborn baby,

wanting and waiting to be written."

-Toba Beta

Joy is soon to arrive with the new birth. Stories will arise. In the meantime, it is time for this week's Poetry Friday. Mary Lee Hahn is hosting at A Year of Reading and shares an original poem that holds my one word, joy. When I chose this word to guide my yearlong journey, I hoped it would find me. Thank you Mary Lee and Kevin for helping me visualize joy. I am looking forward to finding joy while reading my Poetry Friday friends' entries this week. 

SPECIAL NOTE: Thank you to all my Poetry Friday friends who contributed poetic offerings for my spring gallery, Springsations. I have been working on the design and will send out announcements on when the gallery will be unveiled. 

Strange Dreams

Have you ever had a strange dream that made you wish you had a pen and paper to record it?

The mind can be a strange playground!

wandering in the darkness of sleep,

moving silently through unwalked corridors,

holding court with people never met,

engaging in unknown happenings-

The mind can be a strange playground!

bringing waking to a startled moment,

a wrestled, unfinished, lingering thought,

opening daylight with uncharted waters,

that float in the midst of unfinished business.

The mind can be a strange playground!

©CVarsalona, 2017

Thank you to two colleagues who set the stage for this flight of the mind poem that really was lurking in the clutches of a recent dream. Kevin Hodgson's response, "The mind can be a strange playground," to Fran Haley's slice, Song of Invisibility, set my mind thinking. While not remembering all the details of a dream (probably set off by my post, Whoosh), I quickly wrote back to Fran and Kevin.

After my frustrating experience with computer glitches and my vanishing work, I tried to fall asleep. Yoga breathing was one of my remedies but it took a long time to enter dreamland that was filled with all sorts of weird happenings. I wake rested but am trying to remember bits and pieces of what transpired. 

From this crazy experience, a Wonder Bundle Learning Experience on dreams evolved. That ELA lesson plan for 5th grade, using Wonderopolis' Wonder of the Day, #988, Have You Ever Had Crazy Dreams?, is found at the Wonder Ground. 

It is time for this week's Poetry Friday. Buffy Silverman is hosting at Buffy's Blog. 

SPECIAL NOTE: I am collecting poetry for my spring gallery, Springsations, this weekend. Please send in your offering if you have not done so yet. Come celebrate springtime with me.

Positively Reaching and Connecting

While gearing up for #NYEDChat's conversation on Positive People Do More, my writing colleague Kevin Hodgson, sent me poem based on the invitation to the chat that I tweeted. I then, retweeted Kevin's text to honor the work fellow poets and writers are engaging in during National Poetry Month. 

We search the gap

between the difficulties

of the world

and the silent negativity

of the complaints;

We nestle our way forward

and work around way into the warmth

of the positive.

I'll light the fire, with words if I have to,

these poems make fine kindling,

and you bring the sustenance of ideas

we can share together.
Kevin Hodgson, 2016 

Intrigued by the line lifting remix technique, I composed a poem based on one line of Kevin's poem.

Following the lead of poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater who created Wallow in Wonder for her 2016 National Poetry Month project to celebrate learning and writing from learning, I searched Wonderopolis for an article on positivity. I found Wonder of the Day #991, Do You Have a Positive Attitude?  Below is a blackout poem that I created from the information in the article.

My fellow Wonderopolis Wonder Lead Ambassador, Paul W. Hankins, has also been writing poetry alongside Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, based on Wonders of the Day. His series can be accessed here. 

To reach out and connect with #EduFriends and connected colleagues across the globe, NYEDChat will open its doors on May 2, 2016 for a chat on positivity that will surely be a meeting of the minds. 

Join the NYEDChat Moderating Team(Bill Brennan, Victoria Day, Blanca Duarte, Dan McCabe, Lisa Meade, Starr Sackstein, Dennis Schug, Tony Sinanis, Carol Varsalona) and our Positivity Champions (Bobby Dodd, Sean Gaillard, Reed Gillespie, Phil Griffin, Neil Gupta, Jon Harper, Jennifer Hogan, Eoin Lenihan, Craig Vroom, Jennifer Williams) for an epic conversation.

In the meantime, stay positive. According to the Mayo Clinic, looking at life's challenges in a positive way has its long-lasting rewards. Here are some benefits: 

• lower levels of distress 
• greater resistance to colds 
• better coping skills

You may enjoy listening to Luke Britnell's catchy tune, Think Positive. 

Silence

Have you ever sought comfort in the darkness? When darkness covers the earth, we can listen to its evening sounds. There you can find peace in the silence as the sky shows its last rays of light and night settles across the land. 

While creating my poem of the day for National Poetry Month, I decided on writing a blackout poem using a popular song from the past, Sound of Silence, as the spark. 

The image below was captured during a winter evening in New York State and digitalized 

for the blackout poem's visual. 

Darkness, I've come

to talk with you.

Within the silence,

I listen,

sharing sounds 

I know.

Silence G R O W S.

Hear my words.

Like silent raindrops fall

                                            ing,

                                                                                        they form - are written.

©CVarsalona

My twitter/writing colleague, Kevin Hodgson, created a blackout poem today also. Please take a look here because Kevin used an interactive site that you may be interested in searching. 

Are you interested in learning more about blackout poems? You can read a quick summary with procedural steps here.