Endings and Beginnings on the Spiritual Journey

As the night trickles from sunshine to a darkened sky, grief knocks on my door again. It pecks at my soul and washes away yesterday's warmth. I question its pounding return. What makes you nestle in my heart, wave upon wave? --- Once again I quietly fall asleep holding my computer in my lap. Two hours later I wake perplexed by this constant reoccurrence.

Morning light awakens me. Spotted visions of a continual dream series rattles me. I turn to my laptop with the hope that writing will calm the feelings of loss. Thanks to Chris Margocs' May Spiritual Journey invitation, I turn my thoughts to the topic of transitions and celebrations. A new prayer finds its way into my bereaving heart. "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 

The ending of my husband's life one year ago is troubling but Chris' inspirational quote from Seneca along with faith and hope brightens my future journey. "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Advice from my bereavement counselor:

"Time doesn't erase the past, but it provides the space to think about the person you're grieving, heal from the loss, and find meaning in life".

Reminder from my last bereavement session:

"Significant events such as grief anniversaries can feel daunting and can lead to feeling painful emotions more intensely than usual." 

Inspirational Quote from Washington Irving:

There is sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.

So, I end my Spiritual Journey post with new thoughts after the first anniversary of my Richard's passing. I hope to start a new beginning by bringing calmness into my days, shifting my focus from what was to what is, and trusting God to lead the way.

                             Spiritual Journey May 2026

                              Thank you, Chris Magocs, host,      

                                and my Fellow Journey Takers

News of the Week: I happily checked my  Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet and found eight poet friends, Verreno Diane Anderson, Ramona Behnke, Jill Dailey, Patricia J. Franz, Mary Lee Hahn, Bob Hamera, Denise Krebs, and Joyce Ray, who added their creative image poems. There is still time to add your original artistic expression related to the theme, if you are interested and have time.

Rainy Days Pass On

I breathe in, breathe out, while the series of rain storms soak the neighborhood. Despite the darkness and dampness of several days of showers, a new day dawns with a blue sky overhead and the greenness of earth surrounding me. Red azaleas are blossoming after the latest storm saturated the bushes. This sign of life lifts my spirit and dresses the earth in color. As I sit watching the morning sunlight and the swaying of branches on my pear tree, I feel a quiet stream of words unfolding. Using the inspirational quote by Vivian Greene, I review the digital collage I designed and begin to write a golden shovel poem.

I breate in life,

washing away what isn't

anymore. I listen to birds singing about

the freshness of life waiting.

I breathe in springtime's air for

a revival of my heart beating in the

 sloshing, pounding storms

of fear hoping for calmness to

wipe away sorrows that will  pass.

What life offers is in the future; it's

spring shaping new buds, news about

humans understanding and learning

how to bring about a new era, to

not engage in animosity, but dance

with each other in

calmer times, breathing in the

peaceful sounds of gentle rain.

draft, CVarsalona, 2026

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It's the last day of the 2026 National Poetry Month, 30 days of trying to push away grief bursts, and find time to write. I am amazed at the commitment of our community to create a Progressive Poem that grew from one map and one line to a poem of 30 lines of outstanding verse. This poem not only is a magical adventure to the Land of Poetry. It ends with an inspirational mantra, 'Words transform and restore us!"  I am delighted to add the Progressive Poem with the its map to my Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet that you can find here.

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For those who are interested in adding an artistic expression to the Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet, please do so. I plan on showcasing the Padlet Gallery in mid-May. 

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The Poetry Roundup is hosted by a long-time poet friend, Rose Cappelli, at Imagine the Possibilities. Rose is sharing her tankas that are her 2026 National Poetry Month project.

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It is time to bid adieu to the 2026 National Poetry Month, but you can visit the projects at Jama Rattigan's Kidlithosphere Events Roundup.

National Poetry Month-Day 30/30

Painting a Glorious April Day-The Art of Ekphrasis

Imagine Nature painting a spring sky in yellow, white, and blue, and inserting a tree filled with dainty blossoms. Artists, like Van Gogh, added beauty to a canvas by observing nature's glorious hues.  The beauty of living life is captured in Van Gogh's artwork, Almond Blossom from the Van Gogh Museum. Adding poetry provides another layer of artistic expression. 

A poem transforms a Van Gogh painting from a static image into a multisensory dialogue, adding emotional layers and narrative depth that a frame cannot hold. While Van Gogh used color to express mysterious vibrations, poetry uses language to give those vibrations a voice. The Poetry  Lab 

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While scrolling through Google Arts and Culture, I discovered PoemPostcards, "a playful experience that allows the user to create an art-inspired and AI-generated poem using Google's PaLM 2 Model".  I tried two different formats, haiku and elegy, AI-generated with Google tools.

Pale blooms reach for the sky

Branches dance in azure light

Hope on every bough

AI Generated with Google Tools

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Without AI's help, I created my own Ekphrastic PoemPostcard.

The above ekphrastic poem will be added to my Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet. I encourage my readers to create an ekphrastic poem, nature photo, music, or inspirational quote for the padlet gallery. Enjoy writing by blending art, poetry, and springtime!

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

National Poetry Month-Day 28/30

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' monthly 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, which "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

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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

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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

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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.