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.

Digital Design Inspires Poetry

Poetry loves discovering things. You're not necessarily knowing where you're going when you start a poem.   

-Catherine Graham, award-winning poet and novelist

Nor do I know what my gardens will become when my seeds are planted. 

-CVarsalona

April is a bridge

gentle connector

from winter to spring

renewer of life

restorer of earth

as a troubadour

of earth's whisperings, 

I speak of spring seeds

a gallery of

poetic writing

with a pen in hand

artists, poets work

words flow like water

nature finds its beat

ensemble rises

©CVarsalona, 2026

While I did not know what my National Poetry Month Project would be, the power of patience and the wonder of nature helped me find my connection. Last year's journey felt like a continuous rollercoaster ride. My emotions still roar with fear and the anxiety of a wild ride. The onset of April and the glory of Easter Sunday blended together, offering me a golden key to a quiet renewal of life and an awakening of my soul and senses. I embrace April as a gentle month of hope, rejuvenation, and a soft reset to life.

april's "soft reset"

cultivates new beginnings

seasonal refresh

©CVarsalona, 2026

I Invite Friends, Poets, Writers, Artists, Photographers, and Students

Join me during National Poetry Month. Offer your creativity to embellish my Spring Seeds Grace April Gallery. Add an original spring poem, nature photo, inspirational quote, or artwork to my new padlet. Click here. For a sample of one of my spring galleries, click here to see my 2016 Spring Seeds Gallery of Artistic Expressions. You may find one of your poems there.

Thank you to our Poetry Friday host, Jone Rush MacCulloch, who shares her new book, "Tilt", midterm videos from her TWU students, and her original poem, "How to Write a Poem". In addition, Jone is hosting a Pop-Up Poetry Salon tomorrow and shares the beginnings of the poetry community's Progressive Poem. Stop by to enjoy her bounty of gifts and read what other Poetry Friday poets are offering. 

Let your imagination take you on a journey throughout the 2026 National Poetry Month.

Winter Gray & Crystal Healer

Days pass by. The sun remains covered by ethereal clouds of gray. Cold temperatures negate the ability of walkers to take a winter walk while admiring winter's beauty. I sit watching the snow lessening while leaving patches of earth’s greenery for me to enjoy.

Something nags at my heart. Is it grief, sadness, or both? Is the shadowed sun grasping for a glimpse of spring or the feel of warmth coming from its rays? Where is there a heart healer? At the stroke of morning, a new February Poetry Project prompt is offered by poet/author/educator, Margaret Simon. “Choose a crystal to use as a muse for your poem today”. Like Margaret, I chose a shadorma poem format to write my thoughts.

Crystal Heart Healer-Mango Calcite

I hear tales

of your healing strength

soother of 

body, mind,

soul, bringing positives

to my broken heart

©CVarsalona, 2026

It is said that Mangano Calcite uplifts the human heart and body. The next time I am near a jewelry boutique, I shall browse through the crystals to find this one. For the time being, I shall listen to the beautiful, calming song, Restore My Soul, that I found to embellish my one word, "restore".

It's Friday the 13th and the sun finally turns the sky to a positive shade of sunshine rather than this morning's grayish color. I now turn my thoughts to Poetry Friday with the talented and creative poet, Robyn Hood Black, who is hosting today. It looks like it will not be an unlucky day with Robyn at the helm. If you go to Robyn's blog post, you can see some very charming products she creates at .

One Word: Restore

It is official! My one word, RESTORE, has opened my heart and soul as a guide on my 2026 spiritual journey. You can read more here about the steps I took to find my one word and invite my Mind and Body to engage in my under-construction plan.. 

The digital graphic below is my opening piece  a faithful walker on the spiritual journey to revive my heart and renew my life.

one

word floats

like snowflakes

dancing to earth

in rhythmic motion

swaying with every

sound of chilling, blowing winds  

seeking winter's blanket of white      

quietude evolves, nature pauses, 

one word, restore, offers a deeper rest 

© CVarsalona, January 2026 

This month, the Poetry Sisters gathered to create the first monthly challenge for 2026. Poetry Friday poets were invited to write a tricube. Below you will find my tricube series of 3 stanzas of three lines each.

2026 One Word

one word flies

with weathered wings

should you choose

time moves on

2026 comes

word appears 

"restore" sparks

energy 

guiding light

© CVarsalona, January 2026

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Arctic Blast

Arctic Storm

blasts through states

with iced snow

winter roars

whirls and twirls

share its blast

cold winds

tip the scale

no snowmen

© CVarsalona, January 2026

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Visit the Poetry Sisters and enjoy reading their tricube poems. Poetry Pals are invited to join in. 

Mary Lee @ Another Year of Reading, Laura @ Laura Purdie Salas,

Liz @ Liz Garton Scanlon, Sara @ Read Write Believe, 

Tanita @ {fiction, instead of lies}, Tricia @ The Miss Rumphius Effect 

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It's time to join the Poetry Friday Roundup at the Poem Farm with our host, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. She offers us a triolet poem with two outstanding thoughts: 1. One can be one's best self in many different ways. 2. True goodness will not always be celebrated.

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May everyone feeling the chilling winds of the Arctic Blast be restored by thoughts of an early spring.  

Winter Silence

🌲 “Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” – Paul Theroux 🌲

Early morning stillness:

From a photograph

to digital art

In this frozen winter

I would like to decorate the silence

that stills the start of the day.

Perhaps, the sole bird's coo

will wake the chill or

bells will dance in the wind.

Nature knows the next step.

Meanwhile, the house is heated. 

The fireplace stirs with warmth

and the day begins.

©CVarsalona, 2025

(Credit and thanks to Linda Gregg for the italicized line below.)

🌲🌲🌲

     Winter Love by Linda Gregg

I would like to decorate this silence,   

but my house grows only cleaner

and more plain. The glass chimes I hung   

over the register ring a little

when the heat goes on.

I waited too long to drink my tea.   

It was not hot. It was only warm.

🌲🌲🌲

Special Invitation to Slicers: I am hosting Poetry Friday on February 7th at my Beyond LiteracyLink blog. Create a love note, valentine, poem, digital artwork, etc. I will create a padlet, titled Heartnotes for interested writers. Join me as I honor Valentine's Day, a love-note to the rest of the year. (Jo Lightfoot)

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for providing writing space for reflective writers from around the globe.