Winter Whisperings Unveiled

Welcome to Winter Whisperings
A Gallery of Artistic Expressions
featuring a Community of Reflective Writers 

It is with pleasure that I unveil the Gallery of Winter Whisperings designed to showcase winter as a season of perspectives and nature as a positive vehicle for expressive voice.  With the 2015 National Poetry Month in progress, the poet's voice has been raised across Twitter channels and throughout classrooms. This gallery is a tribute to digital poetry as it reflects in image and words the harmony and serenity found in nature.

While perusing the gallery, be drawn into the visual experience.  Find the many faces of winter as you travel with me across the United States, through Canada, off to Europe, and then to Katmandu, Nepal to

*You may wish to enlarge your screen before perusing the gallery and listen to Fiona Hawkins' music to add an audio experience.

Fiona Hawkins, "Winter Cold"

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Featured Poetic Form, the Zeno, 

created by J. Patrick Lewis

Former National Children Poet Laureate

Above the Clouds I by Georgia O'Keefe (1962-63)  - The Georgia O'Keefe Museum

The new verse form that J. Patrick Lewis invented was inspired by the mathematical "hailstone sequence." It is a 10-line verse form with a repeating syllable count of 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1. The rhyme scheme is abcdefdghd. His poem above is a zeno with two zenos included. 

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 There is a stilled beauty in winter. 

Winter's quietude blankets the world with a swatch of white.

Sense the serenity found in stillness.

For children, winter is a playground of white

or a Chalkabration celebration

that allows for restful sleep.

Even adults encased by white winterscapes can 

have a playful perspective and a smile.

Behold the beauty of winter gardens

and the wonder of the season that can be found around the world.

Winter, one of the four seasons

Few flowers for climate reasons

BUT some are STILL growing well

Looking similar to a bell

YES, Snowdrops are growing

THEY let nature get going

Gust MEES aka @knolinfos, Luxembourg

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, 

and winter in the shade.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Winter dances in patterns. I watch its flight.

As dreamers wander and writers write.

This beautiful instrumental is a soothing background sound for the continuation of your reading.

 

Reflect on the wonder of winter and the lasting memories.

Sometimes, winter desires to settle and stay.

The first signs of spring spring forth, bringing hope.

Waiting patiently for thaw's softened breath, 

hopes fly into a stilled sky awaiting spring.

Listen to the whisperings of nature to be inspired! 

Dreams float like whisperings 

among frosted branches 

flanked against a winter sun. 

Then, fly into a stilled spring.

It is my hope that this collection has allowed you to reflect on the beauty that exists in the winter season, rather than remembering winter 2015 as the season of extreme weather conditions. 

I am deeply grateful to the REFLECT WITH ME writers who contributed their creativity and artistic expressions to make this gallery a reflection of the inner spirit. As you exit this gallery, please leave a comment for all to read. 

plus Audra Beberman

At your leisure, please visit the other galleries of artistic expressions that I designed and curated. 

• Finding Fall Gallery
• Summer Serenity Gallery
• April Awakenings
• REFLECT WITH ME - Bringing Together a Community of Writers to Celebrate Life and Learning

--Thank you for visiting the Gallery of Winter Whisperings--

during National Poetry Month. 

Please visit #digipoetry, a space dedicated to digital writing, 

2015 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup collected by Jama Rattigan at Jama's Alphabet Soup,

and continue to read and appreciate poetry.

As J. Patrick Lewis says, 

"Poetry should never come to an end. 

It should go on all through the year."

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Thank you again for viewing the gallery collection and joining my

Gentle Stroll

While waiting to unveil the Winter Whisperings Gallery, I am filled with the spirit of creating, the passion of poetically expressing emotions, and the love of nature's bounty. In the great universe of the outdoors, there is the gentle touch of the Giver of Life who bestows love upon life. 

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Tonight, when Kevin Hodgson (@dogtrax) introduced the #digitpoetry writing community to Magnetic Poetry, I decided to give the tool a try. At first, I thought I could only use the words presented on the screen I was in. This presented me with a problem since I needed additional words to create a full thought. Then, I fiddled around until I found the button to add words. The words winter and love were on my mind for two reasons:

• the launch of the Winter Whisperings Gallery showcasing 48 reflective writers
• the focus of this week's Spiritual Journey Thursday under the leadership of Holly Mueller is love

I created the poem below with the Magnetic Poetry board.

To expand upon the poem created with the digital poetry tool, I revised the poem to read:

Gentle Stroll

Breathe in fresh winter air

as you stroll through the garden of the world.

Observe nature resting in seasonal glory.

See daffodil-light shining through the wind-swept sky.

Listen to the sweet murmurings heard beneath the quiet.

Stroll - Relax - Thrive in a world 

created by the hand of a loving God.

With the song of the soul and a gentle spirit in your heart

find the LOVE 

of life's sacred sanctuary

in the verdant eden of peace.

Spring awaits!

Carol Varsalona © 2015.  All Rights Reserved

Listen to the powerful voice of Chris Tomlin sing Jesus Loves Me and be filled with the presence of love.

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
1 Corinthians 13:7

Thank you for joining my Poetry Parade.

Now, please visit the following reflective writing communities that this post is being offered to.

• Spiritual Journey Thursday
• #digipoetry created by Margaret Simon
• PO-EMotions - Snapshots created by Mary Lee Hahn    

Slicing A Poem

I witness ocean waves rushing to shore
with bravado and strength,
desiring my words to flow
in similar progression.

  Movement synchronized with breath, 
  longing for a resting stop.

Desiring a rush of thoughts 
to break at the shoreline,
I quietly roll them out and reflect,
like the ebb tide in its flow.

  Slicing imitates the ebb and flow- 
  rushing waves in rolling movements
  against the sandy shore.

Desiring no earthly sounds to disturb my flow,
I engage in the give and take of gushing words,
eagerly moving with the flow of pen to paper. 

  Slicing captures the spirit of composition.
  Artifacts of life become the prompts.

At the end of my day, 
I desire the gift of time 
to slice a poem.
CVarsalona ©2015. All Rights Reserved

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My Poetry Parade is featuring the word desire as the challenge word from Mary Lee Hahn's PO-EMotions site. The above poem is also being offered to the Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life and #digitpoetry site, created by Margaret Simon.

Poetry Parade Marches On!

Today, my Poetry Parade joins Mary Lee Hahn for her PO-EMotions Challenge where the emotion hate is the focal point. I twisted and turned the word inside out to find the right positive touch for this troubling time where headlines about violence are prevalent.

Created by Mary Lee Hahn - today's emotion is hate

Hate crimes are hateful-

dark smears on society

Erasers needed!

Please visit the writing communities, #digipoetry and PO-EMotions,

 to read more poetry from a variety of writers.

Digital Poetry

My Poetry Parade continues today with more digital poetry. Much attention is being focused on the art of poetry reading and writing this month because it National Poetry Month. Three writing communities, #digitpoetry and DigitLit Sunday created by Margaret Simon and PO-EMotions created by Mary Lee Hahn, are celebrating the poetic format this month. I have been enthusiastically offering my poems in these challenges when time allows. Tonight's original poem is based on Mary Lee's word, aversion. 

Today's word in aversion.

 

=>AVERSIONS<=

I had aversions during childhood
but positivity taught me 

to TURN these thoughts AROUND.

clipartpanda.com

Childhood aversions 

revolved around food:

liver with its bitter taste: 

One uncle chased me 

until I ate the deadly food.

squiggly eels
cooked at high pressure:

Another uncle made me 

made me watch the process.

Childhood aversions 

revolved around medicine:

cod liver oil:

slimy, not kid-friendly
iodine:
burning, crying out-loud pain
upon application

Childhood aversions 

revolved around Catholic school stories:

extreme punishment:

ruler slapping, hand tying

air raid drills:

scary walks to a basement level,

end-of-the-world comments,
running home afraid. 

Childhood aversions turned into 

distastes, abhorrences, loathings, and dislikes

but today, openness

and positive thinking 

turn what is not liked into 

what is bearable. 

How we look at life

changes negative words, 

like hatred, disgust, revulsion,

into new ways of thinking 

and speaking.  
CVarsalona ©2015. All Rights Reserved

Celebrate the Possible

This week has been an exercise in celebrating the possible despite challenges. The stomach bug invaded my household on Holy Thursday, making Easter Sunday a most unusual one in a physical sense. However, the spiritual message of hope and renewal filled my space. 

-I celebrate faith and family during Easter week. Although Easter was not the same this year with my daughter and son-in-law not able to come to Long Island because the household was contagious, the message of Easter was honored. See the poem written for Resurrection Sunday here. 

-I celebrate a day trip to New York City even though traffic, congestion, and parking were determiners to how we spent our day. With all those issues, it was still exciting to travel from Long Island to find one new spot in New York City to explore and one new moment to savor. The trip to see the Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial which I wrote about in a previous blog, Survivor Tree Speaks, did not happen but the afternoon drive through different parts of Manhattan, World Trade Center area, Chelsea, Soho, and the Bowery lighting district, were enjoyable. 

-I celebrate a family dinner at a well-known restaurant that sufficed for our missed one at Easter.

-I celebrate poetry that is being showcased during National Poetry Month at #digipoetry, a site created by Margaret Simon and at Mary Lee Hahn's Po-emotions site where the word of the day is despair. 

 

I spent the day trying to find the words to capture the emotion of despair that is on the other side of the possible. When at Mass tonight, the gospel reading revolved around the story of doubting Thomas, a favorite of mine. Thomas needed reassurance that Jesus Christ had risen. I thought, how many times do people move from doubt to despair when answers are not given? After Mass, words swirled and swayed until they found a home. Thomas did not move to despair because Jesus provided the possible. 

On the Fringe of Despair

Not hearing His voice

or feeling His presence, I'm

empty and alone.

CVarsalona © 2015. All Rights Reserved

Thank you for joining my Poetry Parade today. Celebrate the possible to turn thoughts to positive thinking.

Now turn your attention to Ruth Ayres' site, Celebrate This Week, where her courage and vulnerability as a mother and writer are visible in her blogging life. Please peruse the pieces of the many other writers who share Ruth's celebration space.