Friday, February 14, 2025

Valentine's Day Heartnotes

On the eve of Valentine's DayMother Teresa's quote is a message for the world: 

Spread love wherever you go. 
Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
heartnotes are love's messages from one heart to another
cherished
thoughts
spreading
cheer
cherished
love
notes
savored
cherished
heartnotes are love's messages from one heart to another
©CVarsalona, 2025, skinny poem

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The following Poetry Friday writers joined me at my Heartnotes Padlet to send
their messages out into the world. I am grateful for their kindness:
Linda Baie 🩷 Rose Cappelli 🩷Karen Edmisten 🩷 Matt Forrest Esenwine
🩷 Michelle Kogan 🩷 Denise Krebs 🩷 Irene Latham 🩷Margaret Simon
🩷Susan Thomsen 🩷 Linda Kulp Trout  🩷 Tabatha Yeatts
🩷Avalyn, James, Marifay (Margaret Simon's Students) 

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Call  To  Action
beyond Valentine's Day
let your heart
reach out to others-
connections
open doors to human kindness
©CVarsalona, 2025
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Thank you to Linda Baie for hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup with her walk down memory lane  Love Is In the Air message. She offers a memory, music to accompany it, and a creative poem written about her playlist. Click here.
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If you would like to add a heartnote, inspirational quote, photograph, etc. please click here.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Baby's Kiss

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A baby's kiss is the purest form of love.

Looking back to summer, I remember the warmth of the wind with its puffy clouds swirling in a slow-motion sky. I eagerly waited for the three little grandgirls to play in my backyard, stroll to the gardens, and laugh as the birds swooped down to the neighbor's birdfeeder. 

The sound of a door opening caught my attention. Two little girls ran through the house ready for play. Little Lila, who was 15 months old at that time, entered while being held by my daughter. "We have a surprise for you," she announced. At that moment, Lila was encouraged to move closer and plant her first kiss to me on my cheek. Ah, her sweet baby lips upon my face was pure joy. You can imagine how excited I was to receive Lila's magical kiss on a sunlit summer day. 

one kiss ascends
into a warm summer sky
lighting up my world
©CVarsalona, 2025
💋
each summer day,
flutters like a butterfly. 
in a garden of love

unconditionally
kisses a sunlit world
spreading joy
©CVarsalona, 2025

💋

I thank Two Writing Teachers for sharing their reflective space for Slices of Life across the world.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Poetry Friday Roundup Is Here!

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Let's gather to honor "love as the poetry of the senses"!

(Honore de Balzac)

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To honor Valentine's Day, a love note to the rest of the year (Jo Lightfoot), I offer you my heartnotes to savor. I also invite you to create heartnotes / love notes to add to my Heartnotes Padlet for public viewing.

🩷

lift up your heart
residing within the soul
wrap it in love
©CVarsalona, 2025

This heartnote is a Love's Message postcard from 1912. There is no message on the back, just an address. I created the haiku based on an inspirational thought: Love in all its complexity, is the ethereal beauty that resides within the human soul.
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The above image poem/ekphrastic poem came from nature's surprise as I walked out the door. Voltaire wrote, Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination. The photo is a heartnote to winter on a FotoJet canvas. My imagination allowed me to meld the photo and word choices into another love message.
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"Love is the greatest refreshment in life." - Pablo Picasso


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May everyone enjoy the A Gift of Love postcard sent in 1911.

Love is magical
Gift of one heart to another
souls unveiled
©CVarsalona, 2025

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Please add your link below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Opening a New Door - Spiritual Journey

It's Spiritual Journey Thursday with our host, Bob Hamera (aka arjeha). He reminds us that when God closes one door, He opens another. It is up to us to recognize the new door and go through it. Thank you Bob for the questions you provided for us to be aware of the roadblocks in our life and proceed with steadfastness.

After mulling over Bob's questions, I mentally listed the abrupt challenges that occurred during different seasons of my life. While these times were difficult, I hung on to hope. New pathways to renew life evolved. Each time gratitude filled my heart. God was with me through every challenge.

Walking on the Edge of Darkness

Life moves in seasons.
Sometimes I walk
Joyfully along the road.
Other times I trip,
Lost in a tangled maze 
Darkened by mishap.

Sunset's shades close.
Tears puddle.
Heart blackens.
Wonderings wander
in a swirl of heavy clouds.
Where is the light? I often ask.

Doubt jumps in but
Faith widens a pathway
Shimmying in silence
Under an inked sky.
Sometimes, a path is unclear.
I pause to recalibrate.

Stars gather with
Enough brilliance,
Leading the way
To a bright new day.
Only the Master Artist
Creates new walkways.
draft ©CVarsalona, 2025

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 30: 31) 
With this promise in mind, I send a song of gratitude into the universe.
Logo designed by Margaret Simon

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Two Sides of Winter

While winter white snow leaves a feeling of tranquility on a day filled with sunshine, it also has another side after the pristine snow settles and lasts for days. That snow is frozen and silent until vehicles traveling on town roads and highways push their snow bundles around causing "dirty snow". 

I have experienced snowfalls up to 6 feet growing up in Syracuse, the central part of New York State. My sister and neighborhood children enjoyed the pristine snow scenes but adults mostly complained about the very tedious shoveling. Growing up, I watched winter bring all different types of snow, white dancing fairy snow, frozen cold snow that you could feel through your mittens, and melting snow from rain just when you wanted to build a snowman. 

Two Sides of Winter





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 created 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)


You can find my padlet here.

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Thank you Two Writing Teachers for the space to write with colleagues from across the globe. You can read other Slices of Life here.

Thursday, January 30, 2025

January's Tan-Ku

"January is the month to let go of fear and embrace transformation." - AI

When the Poetry Sisters (Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee,  LizSaraTricia, and  Kelly) announced their January challenge, write a tan-ku, a tanka followed by a haiku, I paused because I was unaware of this poetic format. It was time to pick up the snow shovel and dig deep. I started by staring at my photos sharing winter's dazzling scenes of quietude. Then, I turned on the world news with updated reports on the world's sadness. So I picked up my computer mouse and began to compose a tan-ku. It was time to embrace a new format. 

This worked for me but I decided to concentrate on the mentor poem, Hubrus by Marko Kiakubo & Deborah P. Kolodji the Poetry Sister offered. My first poem did not look as terse as Kiakubo's and Kolodji's poem, so once again with a shovel in hand, I paused to create another poem. 

Winter Frame

through
the clearest
window
of our traveling car
nature stands still

one frozen moment
clear sky blinks
world tears-up
©CVarsalona, 2025



Dear Readers, I appreciate any comment you have on my first tan-ku.


Special Invitation

I am hosting Poetry Friday next week at my Beyond LiteracyLink blog. Join me on February 7th as I honor Valentine's Day, a love-note to the rest of the year (Jo Lightfoot). Please join me by creating your own heartnote, valentine, poem, digital artwork, etc.  I look forward to seeing the variety of imaginative work that will brighten the Heartnotes Padle that you can find here.


Valentine's Day is the poet's holiday! - Ted Koosner, Poet

Let's gather to honor "love as the poetry of the senses"!

(Honore de Balzac)




The Poetry Friday Roundup is brought to us this week from Florida. Our wonderful host, Jan Annino at bookseedstudio, offers interesting information and much poetic goodness.