Sea scattering is a memorable way to say goodby to a person whom we love. We approach the tranquil ceremony as the azure skylight hovers over the foaming tides. The sparkling waters rush toward tiny feet. Not fearful, the children watch in awe of the happening. The ocean breeze and swooshing tide ??? are a backdrop for nature's they wait in the quietude of daylight.
Beyond LiteracyLink
A dedicated space to ponder, reflect, and converse about life, literacy, and learning
Saturday, July 18, 2026
Sea Scattering
Friday, July 17, 2026
Light on the Pathway
On one specific night when a torrential rainstorm arrived, my landscape lamps froze and stopped shining. The darkness was overwhelming, not just in its reality but in the emotion that I felt. Grief rushed in as rain poured from the darkened sky. I sat inside writing, remembering the stillness of sunlit afternoons and the beauty of nature glowing against the light. The darkness was haunting. The discomfort of grief created a dark moment. I needed faith to calm my soul. One Bible verse from John 1:5 offered solace. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." With this thought, I leaned on faith, remembering that God's light has led me through many darkened paths, providing hope.
This week, Jill Dailey, our host of Poetry Friday is inviting us to her creative Summer Camp. I enjoyed watching Jill's video on how to create a zine. Since I never worked with paper to make one, I am eager to do so.
Saturday, July 11, 2026
A Light Unto My Path
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
A Slice of the 4th of July
Authentic voicesMake noise as theyEmbark onRoads ahead-If freedom devoteesCommit, they will riseAs responsive Americans ready for
Next Steps
Positive approaches thatInspire students toReach outIgnite the flameTo make more noise
draft CVarsalona, 2025-26, acrostic poem
Friday, July 3, 2026
4th of July 2026 Semiquincentennial
"Miss Liberty, at Dawn's First Peep, Awakes the Echoes from Their Sleep"(Original Postcard from early 1900)Flag of the United States Semiquincentennial celebrationIgnite the American Spirit (for our students)Authentic voicesMake noise as theyEmbark onRoads aheadIf freedom devoteesCommit they will riseAs responsive Americans ready forNext steps:Shape outcomes withPositive approachesInspire students toReach out with concernsIgnite the flameTo make more noisedraft CVarsalona, July 4th, 2025It is Poetry Friday and our host, Michelle Kogan, invites us to the Roundup. Her blog post 4th of July Justice, shares her artwork, poetry, and songs. Please click here to read Michelle's blog and other poets' blogs.
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
June Is...
June is ending today with fanfare since it shares two joyful seasons, late spring and early summer. June's sunrises opened with a centering feeling, a tribute to nature. Sunsets energized watchers, even when the sky was gray. There is vibrancy in the month of June, as if a seamstress dressed it in style.
Click here to listen to the lively song, "June Hymn".
Saturday, June 27, 2026
Thinking in Threes
" Life, it seems, is series of eras, periods, and ages that are constantly shifting, rearranging, being integrated, and viewed anew."
- Karen Edmisten
I am always on the lookout for well-stated thoughts to inspire my day. While reading Karen Edmisten's blog recently, I decided to capture the above quote to add to the Poetry Sisters' writing challenge.
It's the end of June, and the Poetry Sisters invited PoetryPals to join June's challenge. Here's the scoop from Tanita Davis: "We’re greeting the opening act of summer with a triptych." Tanita was introduced to the poetic format by Tabatha Yeatts, who shared West Coast poet and essayist Louise Ireland’s three-act August Triptych.
Even though I never heard of a triptych poem, I decided to bring together three different summertime moments as poet Linda Pastan did in her Summer Triptych. My triptych poem went through many revisions, so it is still in the draft stage. Wordy narration, was a start.
“It’s strange how summers from different decades can be yoked together by memory in a single poem.” -Linda Pastan
Summer Love Connections
Love is summer's heated-blush
to a young lady, who arrived late.
A sun-kissed sky, and one crutch
slowly. moved me toward a surprising spark of connections.
From the thumping of his heartbeats,
smiles and conversations rose.
Temperatures swelled and
whisperings swirled as
hearts melded together.
2.
Summers passed by; full-bloom gardens
shared nature's nurturing fragrance.
Hearts deepened as heated sands
and roaring waves ebbed and flowed.
The sounds of children's voices
echoed across ocean waves and
cherished memories lit sunsets.
Love sparked amidst life's shifting,
and tides of ups and down.
Anniversaries broadened.
Summers renewed a bond.
Love connections flourished.
along with blooming gardens
of florals and herbs
and refreshing waves.
3.Summer years followed;
love grew like the deer family
marching strategically from the woods.
Geese paraded with fledglings broods.
At times, connections were
lost in unexpected time warps.
Sunrise either brought warmth
or skytears of gray mornings.
New home renewed life's designs
until love split in half as
one life slipped heavenward.
draft, CVarsalona, 2026
Hope and faith are strong components in life. Connections are anchors. Love and nature nurture life. Breathe in. Breathe out and notice what is precious in our lives and on our earth of contrasts
Friday, June 19, 2026
Noticing Life's Beauty

The little grandgirls and I are off to make chocolate cake for the birthday party. It's a family weekend but I will catch up with the Poetry Friday Roundup blogs. In the meantime, I excitedly moved to Buffy Silverman's blog that she states is the Soggy Edition of Poetry Friday. Click here to find our what the gardener, nature lover, poet is offering. 











