A Different Type of Birthday

Death is not extinguishing the light.

It is only putting out the light because the dawn has come.

Rabindranath Tagore

For Richard

Time passes quietly. 

Silence fills the room.

This is your day of days.

I pause in the stillness of

Your heavenly presence

Warming morning's chill.

A slice of cake awaits.

This is your day of days.

You may not be here, but 

Your heart is leaning in.

❤

© CVarsalona, March 25, 2026

• Note: Today is a solemn day, a different type of birthday. You are here in spirit. We honored your heavenly birthday on Sunday at the little grandgirls' house. All three children placed the candles on the cake, and Sierra decorated the label with your name, Grandpa. Then, the family sang the birthday song and I took photos. My heart is my gift to you...
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My

for March 25, 2026

The Doorway Effect

Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why you walked into it?  I am one person who does this many times a day. My Poetry Friday friend, Donna Smith, sent a Facebook message and a reel that explored the topic of forgetting, and the importance of spoken words. Click the Facebook message above and listen to Kyle Cox's quick reel. Thank you, Donna, for sharing the Doorway Effect. 

What's the fix for walking into a room and forgetting what you are looking for? According to Kyle Cox verbal tagging is key. Here is another reel by Kyle with an additional fix.  Click here. 

I'm ready. Before walking into a room, I will say out loud why I am entering. For instance, I left my room with several piles of paper. The electric heater was on. When I came back to continue working, I found the heater on because I forgot. At least I remembered that I had paperwork to do. 

Since I read Donna's Facebook message, I have been reading as much as I can about the doorway effect. I am going to try the tips. Hopefully, I will remember why I enter a room, rather than just staring dumbfounded.

Laugh for the Day

PINTEREST MEME

What do you think about the doorway effect?

Is it a reality for you?

Day 24, March 2026

 12th year with Two Writing Teachers

Love Is Never Lost

 With St. Patrick's Day still on my mind and only a few days to my husband's birthday, I dream of laughter, nighttime, and meeting my love in my "deep heart's core". While there was both joy and sadness this week, the family celebrated with a St. Patrick's Day dinner. We thought about Grandpa, who would have enjoyed watching the grandgirls scurry about during the scavenger hunt. Two previous blogs, Happy St. Patrick's Day and Dressed In Green. 

Love Is Never Lost

Over the laughing land   

Andwhere the sky’s a pale blue cup,

at night, on the edge of sleep,

shadows fall;ing

everythingwa's simmering.  

My love and I did meet;

bid me take life easy.

As the leaves grow on the tree,

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore.

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Searching for the last sight of a hand,

I imagine

silently climbing a cloud-lit sky.

 The Words will flow to St. Patrick's Day,

this emerald gem.

Sweet, there is nothing left to say

But this, that love is never lost.

cento poem created by CVarsalona, 2026

The lines in the poem come from the Poetry Foundation's

St. Patrick's Poetry Collection.

 Lines 1-2       Song by James Joyce 

      Lines 3-4       The Lost Land by Evan Boland

Lines 5-6       Corned Beef and Cabbage by George Bilgere

Lines 7-8       Down By the Salley Gardens by William Butler Yeats

      Lines 9-10      The Lake of Innisfree by William Butler Yeasts

Line 11-12      The Lost Land by Evan Boland

Line 13         Dawn at St. Patrick's Day by Derek Mahon

      Line 14         St. Patrick's Day by Eliza Cook

Line 15         St. Patrick's Day: With a Shamrock 

                by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna 

     Line 16-17      Her Voice by Oscar Wilde

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I am sharing my thoughts with two writing communities I am associated with. 

Poetry Friday

Tanita S. Davis is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup today at her blog site here. She offers powerful thoughts on songs of protest with the theme, Comfort in Community. Tanita asks us to "Hold on to who you are, what you know to be right, and how you live - with open hands, helping your neighbor and community, and uplifting sanity and kindness."

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Day 20, March 2026

 12th year with Two Writing Teachers

Dressed in Green

St. Patrick's Day is an event that my family has enjoyed as long as I can remember. Even though we are not Irish, we appreciate St. Patrick's Day each year. I remember the parades, wonderful food, and the enjoyment of being with family and friends. This year, my sister and I hosted a special dinner and game time to make a special night for my little grandgirls. Hopefully, they will remember this time we spent together on St. Paddy's Day.

Below are two quotes in my baking area. They remind me that blessings come even when a day starts out gray.

"May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door."

"Blessed beyond measure!"

I baked Irish Soda Bread for the first time

I added a touch of color.

to make the bread more festive.

☘

Three little Grandgirls are dressed for St. Patrick's Day.

Each child presented me with three different thoughts.

6-year-old: "Grandma, I made a Leprechaun trap with my 5th Grade Buddy at school today. It's in the car." Off she went to get her trap. It was an interesting device with a quick drop. I was impressed.   

2-year-old (almost 3): "My dress fell in the toilet when I went to the potty today at pre-school."  I wasn't expecting that comment but we all had a good laugh.

8-year-old: "I'm ready to begin the scavenger hunt. Do I have to find real shamrocks?" After finishing her scavenger hunt paper, she said.↴

"Grandma, I wrote a poem about Four Leaf Clovers:

Clovers are good luck

but they are not much.

4-leaf clovers are hard to find.

Maybe you can find them in a mine.

☘ by Sierra, age 8 ☘ 

The poem was a surprise, even though I had asked Sierra to add one to end her scavenger hunt. Sierra was pleased with her poem, and I was happy that each child had a good time. Of course, there were small treats and candy for each little girl who finished her scavenger hunt.

blessings bring joy

like snowflakes fluttering down

circulating peace

©CVarsalona, 2026

Day 19 March 2026

 12th year with Two Writing Teachers

Happy St. Patrick's Day: Then and Now

Memories of many St. Patrick's Days float through my mind. I put aside the to-do list and concentrate on tonight's dinner party with the family. I wonder if my little grandgirls will be excited? Will the leprauchan tales be told in school? I look forward to hear about their day at school just like my mother would listen to my St. Patrick's Day stories. I want to tell my grandgirls about my childhood days. The nuns would bring us into the cafeteria to learn the Irish songs and dance the Irish jig. This day reminds me that children enjoy laughter, fun, and treats. It's time to wear the green, decorate the house, and enjoy the sunshine.

 

What makes me feel the wonder of this day? The undeniable taste of corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and Irish soda bread with yummy sweets. Today was the first time I made Irish soda bread. It was delicious, and the Irish butter on top made it more so. But beyond the food, decorations, and treats, I am eager to enjoy the closeness of family gathered together tonight.  In the image poem to the right, you will see only two little grands. Their sister was not yet born but the outfit shown is now fitting granddaughter #3. Let's hope she wears it tonight.

The doorbell rings and here they come, all dressed in green. Let the dinner party begin!

Day 17, March 2026

 12th year with Two Writing Teachers

Reflaction on Life

When I spend time reflecting on life, I get to know myself better.  I slipped out of this habit during the initial phase of grief, but I am trying to make a comeback each morning.  A reflaction is a reflection with action. It was coined by two colleagues in New Jersey. The action part of my reflaction is in the last two lines of the poem.  Father Mike on YouTube centered his Sunday sermon on this mantra. 

Before dawn has broken

I lay in quiet stillness

Waiting for flickers of light.

Outside 

            Lies an imperfect world

            In disrepair from continual

            Disharmony and egregious behavior.

Call the seamstress!

Restitch the torn, the worn.

Restore hearts broken from turmoil.

             Renew our precious land.

             Relight the darkness found.

             Revisit possible solutions.

Before the close of the day

Find rest in nature's offering.

Seek comfort in others' hands.

            Hold high the light of hope.

            Look for joy and steal it

            Every time we find it.

                                                  (c) CVarsalona, 2025

                                                 

Day 16, March 2026

 12th year with Two Writing Teachers

MARCH, a Mercurial Month

March is here with its mercurial spirit, continually changing from bitter storms to golden, sunny days. It's a month of transition for nature, from lion-like roaring to lamb-like gentleness. I march through March, a month of memories, a time to celebrate my husband's life, and honor his passing. The following poems come from my heart as I near the upcoming Year Two. 

  SUPPOSE-Then and Now  

we weaved through life 

like gentle lambs, calmer, calmer

moving through stormy weather

suppose we stretched across the sky

like billowing clouds of beauty, slowly, slowly

floating to nature's rhythm

   suppose we meet in evening dreams

like fairies whispering, circling, circling

into a magical web of forever  

(c) CVarsalona, March 2026 - based on Wendell Berry's poem, Like Snow

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Thank you to Jone MacCulloch

for her Wendell Berry-like poem

Suppose we did our work

like winter, renewing and replenishing

Readying ourselves for spring

© Jone Rush MacCulloch, 2026

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I offer my work to two writing communities

that I belong to: 

Poetry Friday

Linda Baie is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup today at her blog site, TeacherDance. She offers us a few Friday the 13th superstition stories and a beautiful picture of the sky with an original poem about nature and loved ones.

 

Day 13, March 2026

 12th year with Two Writing Teachers

Connections

The sky opened in a shade of gray yesterday morning. Sunlight was not evident, so I spent time meditating and hoping for peace. As I reached for my laptop, Margaret Simon's Wednesday blog, "Photo Wants to be a Poem," popped up on my screen. 

Margaret's photo from Louisiana showed a cardinal posing in a garden of silent stillness. In addition, Margaret shared her beautiful draft poem titled "Besotted". She also added a piece of Southern lore: cardinals visit humans who have lost a loved one. Other tales say that the cardinals carry messages from a heavenly place to earth, as a spiritual sign of connection with the deceased. Lore or not, I was touched that the red cardinal, a carrier of love, offered comfort, especially during this grieving time of life. --- This was Connection #1.  

cardinal's connection

you pose in stillness

waiting to connect

offering solace, comfort-

in nature's garden

love perfumes the air

draft CVarsalona, 2026, cherita poem

Photo by Margaret Simon 

Connection #2: I am sending my poem with a link to Margaret for "This Photo Wants to be a Poem".  

Nature nurtured me yesterday morning and

continues to do so today in the darkened rain.

Day 12, March 12, 2026

12th year with Two Writing Teachers

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for offering reflective writers a meeting place.