Forevermore

Today, I read Diane Anderson, newtreemom's blog and found an interesting prompt from Ethical ELA's Verse Love challenge. Use the "first words" from a poem that inspired you. 

As many of my poetry and writing colleagues know, I have been bewildered by a new way of living since my husband passed suddenly last April. Writing is my way of dealing with loss and so I try to find time each day to unfold my thoughts. This day started out with what a person in the bereavement phase of life calls a grief burst.  You will find my poem starting with the first line of Rumi's poem, The Window,  a raw piece of writing that opened my soul. I found the above image at Unsplash's free image collection. Then, I scrolled through blogs on love and loss and found a quote that reminded me that love is forevermore. "Love is the bridge between two hearts, and death cannot break a bridge built with such strong and lasting love." I share my poem with you. ⇣

LOVE AND LOSS

"Your body is away from me."                    (1st line of Rumi's poem, The Window)

 Year two begins anew.

 Everlasting love remains,

 Tucked away in my heart

 Unexpectedly, grief 

 "Gushes in", flooding 

  My soul with sadness, 

  Changing my perspective.

  I pause in the warm sunlight.

 Tears quietly stream down,

 Like a rushing waterfall.

 Another "grief burst" 

 Finds its way, uprooting

 Years-old, seeded thoughts.

 Your heartnotes sprout

 Preserved in our gardens -

 Forevermore cherished 

 With eternal love. 

 draft, CVarsalona, 2026

                   I listened to this love song.

I have always been intrigued by dandelions and their puffballs' ability to fly through the air with one breathe-in, breathe-out blow. This week when I saw a perfectly ready dandelion to make a wish, I ran right to the ground and picked the "wish weed" (what I have called the dandelion for years). I  photographed it before the seed heads spread across the lawn. 

←Thank you, Poetry Sisters (Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly) for inviting "PoetryPals" to write an Ekphrastic Poem for the Poetry Sisters' monthy challenge. 

News of the Week: I happily checked my  Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet and found five poet friends, Bob Hamera, Ramona Behnke, Joyce Ray, Denise Krebs, and Verreno Diane Anderson, who added their creative image poems.  There is still time to add your original artistic expression related to the theme.

Click here to join our lovely host, Irene Latham, at her An Emily Dickinson Poetry Friday Roundup. Irene shares news on her new book, Some Starry Night that "explores what might have happened if Emily Dickinson and Vincent van Gogh met in 1886 Paris. It's a re-imagining, as Emily never actually went to Paris or met Vincent. In actuality, she died May 15, 1886.

National Poetry Month

Day 24/30

Breathe in Spring's Air

I breathe in spring's air.

Morning freshness fills life.

Scents gardens; welcomes prayer,

Negates the gray and bitter strife.

Morning freshness fills life.

Pollen drops with gentle ease,

Negates the gray and bitter strife.

Birds coo from tree to trees.

Pollen drops with gentle ease,

Under awnings of sky clouds.

Birds coo from tree to trees.

City parks bring spring to crowds.

Under awnings of sky clouds,

Raindrops cascade leaving puddles.

City parks bring spring to crowds.

Nature lovers run in huddles.

©CVarsalona, 2026, pantoun poem

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain." -Vivian Greene

Mother Nature seems to love the month of April. Maybe this is because she can play with different weather patterns. She surprised me on Sunday with a long, whooshing rainstorm as I drove to Church and then to my grandgirls' house. Not until late afternoon did Mother Nature change her tune and let the sun shine. 

Another Surprise

As I sit writing, I hear little pings. Four colleagues have sent their image poems to my "Spring Seeds Grace April Gallery and Padlet". Thank you, Arejha (Bob Hamera), Ramona Benhke, Joyce Ray, and Denise Krebs. I invite others to add their artistic expressions to the theme.

Two Writing Teachers, a meeting place for a world of reflected writers.

National Poetry Month-Day 20/30

Cascading Along With Words

Join me as I continue to add poetry to my "Spring Seeds Gracing April Gallery and Padlet". I invite you to add at least one original image poem (or other options) to the padlet I created. You can find the invitation here.

Spring Graces Our Earth

🔏

early spring unfolds

golden rays sparkle

zephers whoosh along

lush azaleas burst

renewing post-winter gardens

early spring unfolds 

in afternoon splendor

blossoms spread beauty

golden rays sparkle

dusk's colors dance

awakened buds rest  

zephers whoosh along

©CVarsalona, April 2026, poem and photo

🔏

I was inspired yesterday to use a new poetic format, the cascade poem, shared by Margaret Simon's This Photo Wants to be a Poem. 

Spring's Meet-and-Greet at the Pond

baby ducklings splish and splash

in the pond at the end of the street

grandgirls frolic while watching ducklings play

—–

But Mother Duck hides in the shadows of day

observing her little ones

baby ducklings splish and splash

—–

few more minutes to watch and dash

rows of ducklings follow the leader

in the pond at the end of the street

—–

sunshine warms our meet-and-greet

time to say goodbye-no one wants to leave

grandgirls frolic while watching ducklings play

CVarsalona 2026, first cascade poem.                     Duckling Nature Photo by Margaret Simon

 🔏

Margaret Simon stated: "At Ethical ELA, Erica Johnson is leading us in writing a “Playful Cascade” which is a poem form that takes each line of the first stanza making them the last line of the next stanzas. I decided to use tercets, 3 lines per stanza."

Thank you to Heidi Mordhorst for hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup here. I appreciate that Heidi has gathered two other poetry friends, Margaret Simon, and Jone MacCulloch to create a lively conversational video on poetry with and for kids! The key thoughts they explore are: 

1. Approaches to the teaching of poetry with elementary-aged kids 
2. Why it's important
3. How writing with kids inspires and sustains us, three middle-aging white ladies

Nature and Writing Nurture My Soul!

May it do the same for you.

NPM 2026: Progressive Poem

Welcome to the 2026 National Poetry Month's Progressive Poem. Inside The Land of Poetry, you will discover the magic of words coming alive. You will also uncover poetic elements and enjoy vivid imagery as you stroll through each line created by the 15 Progressive Poem poets who added their lines before me. 

It is now Day 16, my turn to add a line. I pause after reading and rereading stanza 4 of my colleague's lines. I ponder how I should tackle the last line of stanza 4. The right rhyme is key to following a pattern noted in the previous stanzas. A memorable statement seems important for those standing in front of the bandstand in Frost Forest. A spark evolves. I hope my line brings clarity for my poet friend, Robyn Hood Black, who will add the next line.

The Land of Poetry

On my first trip to the Land of Poetry,
I saw anthologies of every color, tall as buildings.
A world of words, wonder on wings, waiting just for me!
Birding for words shimmering, flecked in golden gilding.

Binoculars ready, I toured boulevards and side streets
exploring vibrant verses, verses so honest and tender,
feathery lyrics, bright flitting avian athletes
soaring ‘cross pages in rhythmic splendor.

In the Land of Poetry, I am the conductor,
seeking oodles of poems that tug at my heart,                        a musical medley of sound and structure,                                 an open mic in Frost Forest! Wonder who'll take part?

There's a pause in the program; no one takes the stage
the trees quiver, the audience looks up. Raven lands,            singing Earth's message of the sage.                                        "Poetry in motion will be forevermore, from forests to sands."

_____________________________________

Credits: Irene Latham created the idea of a Kidlit Progressive Poem during National Poetry Month, Margaret Simon organized the Progressive Poem and created a lovely logo. Tabatha Yeatts created the colorful Land of Poetry map, and Donna Smith added the location names, followed by Heidi Mordhorst. Stanza 4 colleagues, Linda Mitchell, Jone MacCulloch, and Joyce Uglow, offered a mid-poem surprise.

-------------------------------------------------

Below, you will find the names of poetry friends who contribute their lines for the Progressive Poem. 

April 1 Tabatha Yeatts at  The Opposite of Indifference
April 2 Cathy Stenquist at A Little Bit of This and That
April 3 Patricia Franz at Reverie
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 6 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
April 7 Ruth Hersey at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
April 8 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
April 9 Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche
April 10 Janet Clare Fagel at Reflections on the Teche
April 11 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 12 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 13 Linda Mitchell at Another Word Edgewise
April 14 Jone MacCulloch at Jone Rush MacCulloch
April 15 Joyce Uglow at Storied Ink
April 16 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
April 17 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 18 Michele Kogan at More Art for All
April 19 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 20 Buffy Silverman
April 21 Irene Latham at Live Your Poem
April 22 Karen Edmisten
April 23 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
April 24 Mary Lee Hahn at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 25 Tanita Davis at Fiction, instead of Lies
April 26 Sharon Roy at Pedaling Poet
April 27 Tracey Kiff-Judson at Tangles and Tails
April 28 Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference

Let's Celebrate Springtime!

 april spreads its windy wings

poetry reverberates 

springtime sings

©CVarsalona, 2026

I Invite Slicers, 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.

I hope this calling card will inspire you to create an artistic expression for my newest gallery and padlet. I would like to showcase the work of slicers and other writers.

Happy National Poetry Month!

National Poetry Month-Day 14/30

Two Writing Teachers, a meeting place for a world of reflected writers.

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.