#ThinkPoetry

After an inspiring night of sweet as honey conversation with my poet friends and #NYEDChat colleagues, I sit still to relax. One half-hour of quick conversation has my head spinning and my heart racing. My thoughts swirl as I continue to #ThinkPoetry. With energy still high, I recall tweet after tweet, question, comment, response, fingers pounding keys at such a fast pace that I could not keep up. Is this not the process of moderating, keeping an even keel, making sure positivity floats through the conversation, and then, amidst guided talk, draw the chat to a sweet ending?

Through one direct message, I was able to bring together this amazing group of poetry friends to share the power of poetry at #NYEDChat. Many thanks to each and every one of them for helping me send out #poetrylove.

Now in the quiet of a house asleep, I compose my thoughts around nine paint chip colors to use as I #PlayWithPoetryNPM. Imagine lovely colors of spring in front of me, pushing me to include their vivid color swatches in my thoughts. Yellow shouts out "Sweet as Honey, Delicate Lace, and Raffia Ribbon." Orange chimes in with "Seed Pearl, Paper Heart, and Peachy Confection." White adds the luster with Honied White, Polished Pearl, and Varnished Ivory. All these colors mix together to create a bouquet of ideas that I would like to blend into a poem for the close of #NationalPoetryMonth.

Created with Buncee

My mind fills with
unpolished pearl thoughts,
as delicate as wisps of 
honied white breath
stretching, ribboning
like raffia, gracefully
waiting to release
onto lacey landings
of glossy white paper.
In silence, I listen for
the muse of night
to polish my words
into confectioned wonder
and let them soar.
©CVarsalona, 2019
*********

Thank you to my friend, Dr. Mary Howard for helping me understand how to archive #NYEDChat with the Wakelet app. Click here or use the QR code below to view the transcript.

Let my words soar right over to Two Writing Teachers for the Tuesday Slice of Life.

On a Spring Day: Poetry Friday Roundup

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Roundup! I am hosting the last Poetry Friday community gathering of National Poetry Month. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the earth is green. Let's celebrate springtime and poetryliscious poetry!

I live on the south shore of Long Island, a short distance from the beautiful south shore beach, my family's go-to place to visit in any season. There the ocean roars makes lapping sounds, and its boardwalk invites all to walk, reflect on nature, and be inspired. On Palm Sunday, my husband and I traveled to Long Beach, a dense fog settled on the beach, making it impossible to see the ocean. We have never seen such a thick fog settle on the beach in this way. It was an intriguing phenomenon of nature that inspired me to write. You can access my post and poem here. A couple of days later, I created a wordless, nature video and placed it on YouTube and on the Wonderopolis Wonder Ground. 

For days I continued to think about the foggy day. How could I share my collection of nature photographs? To remind me of my unique spring walk at the beach, I gathered an assortment of gray paint chips (gullwing gray, wish, silver satin, gray clouds, sweatshirt gray, anchor gray, overcoat) and drafted a paint-chip poem. 

        
Sweatshirt-Gray Day

Gray clouds hover

upon my silver wish.

Gullwings of satin-

gray dip and swish.

Silver haze coats

sweatshirted skies.
Gray clouds linger-
nature's surprise.

My heart flutters.
Gray gullwings fly.
Fog sits in majesty,
wonder of the sky.
©CV, 2019

INVITATION:

I invite you to view my wordless, music video, Into the Fog Seaside Walk, created with the Lomotif app. If interested, write a poem to accompany my video?  (Click below to view the video.)

I look forward to reading through all the offerings for this week's Poetry Friday Roundup! 

PLEASE NOTE:

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets' link-up moved to a new address.

Please see this week's Poetry Friday Roundup poetic offerings HERE.

(If you are trying to link-up, please click on the word HERE to add your blog post.)

Celebrate World Book Day

Alexa, good morning!

Good morning, it is World Book Day! It is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization to promote  reading, publishing, and copyright."

Sierra, did you hear that? Alexa said it is World Book Day. Would you like to read a book?

"Yeah," my 22-month-old grandbaby said as she immediately took out four of her books and sat down on the floor to read them to her babies. I watched with wonder.

Stephen King says, "Books are a uniquely portable magic." They can transport a reader to a new place, engage them in a fantasy, or provide information. At a young age, my grandbaby has learned that books are friends she can take anywhere with her. 

As a reading specialist for years, I know that books are a source of entertainment and enjoyment for most children. For those who have not experienced the joy and magic of reading, we need to share our passion for reading and help each child discover the power of books.

On World Book Day, in particular, let's remember to enrich children's lives at an early age with daily reading. so they can grow to be lifelong readers. 

I am joining Two Writing Teachers tonight for Slice of Life Tuesday.

Inspired to Bake

Easter is just days away. My kitchen fills with the sights and smells of Holy Week baking just like my mother and grandmother's kitchens before me. I recall these women, my creative baking mentors whose hands lovingly crafted honey dolls fashioned out of dough, Easter bunny cakes with just the right amount of coconut, and mounds of delicious cookies. Their artistry was well known in their neighborhoods. Remembering the Easters of my life, I bake for family and friends to celebrate the spiritual and temporal joys of the Easter season.

Messy baking tins, bowls filled with different colored frosting, and platters of chocolate dipped cookies waiting for the finishing touches are lined up. From my mother and grandmother, I learned that the presentation stage is an important part of the creative process. 

Usually, I take photos of my finished creations but there was such a rush this morning that I had no time to photograph the Easter week treats that were carefully placed in an open weave, spring-green plastic basket laced with a pink bow. Easter filler was placed in the bottom of the basket. On top of this, I stacked chewy brownies, different varieties of chocolate chip cookies, and Easter eggs of brownie dough covered in yellow, buttercream frosting with a touch of Triple Sec, and finished with a layer of coconut. I was pleased with the presentation and so were the recipients.

Baking by Phoebe Boswall is a fitting poem that shares the experience of baking and remembering a loved one. 

Smells of baking remind me of you.
Your red apron, my small striped one with the torn pocket.
Your soft stretched skin, fingers kneading dough
into a ball. My fat floury hands
grasped for your amber necklace,
Quick, Phoebe, the oven.

You played with flavours,
made little blobs of buttery dough on the tray
Your warm kitchen my safe haven.

You can read the rest of the poem here.



Smells of baking remind me of you,
Anise seeds, almond extract, sweet honey,
they lift my senses, taking me back to childhood-
little fingers stroking an oversized rolling pin,
playing baker, standing by your side on summer days.
Your warm kitchen, small for modern day baking,
was my childhood playground and learning ground.
I remember your wisdom with each cookie I create.
©CV, 2019

I join the delightful, children poet, Amy Vanderwater at The Poem Farm for the Poetry Friday Roundup as National Poetry Month continues.

Into the Fog

The sun peeked out from behind grayish clouds and for that moment, I felt giddy and adventurous. "Let's go to the boardwalk!" With that quick morning greeting, I was outside in a flash, aching for a chance to feel free with hair blowing in the air. I pulled out my sunglasses at the same time my husband rolled down the windows and off we went. The sun continued to brighten until we neared Long Beach - a hazy light was visible amidst the gray sky. 

By the time we arrived on the boardwalk, an intense fog hovered, reminding me of Carl Sandburg's poem, Fog. As we made our way to a railing overlooking the beach, the ocean was not visible at all. In the many years that I have lived here, I have not seen such haziness encapsulate the sea.  A man on a bicycle came rolling by laughing and calling out to bewildered beachgoers, "If we could see, we might be able to find the ocean."  Determined, I proceeded to capture what I could or could not see through my lens, even though there were stretches of nothingness beyond the beach. 

The word, nothingness, was circling back to me.  Before leaving the house, I engaged in the #SpiritChat Sunday morning Twitter convo.  Was Kumud Ajmani's opening question meant for this boardwalk encounter?  "On Celebrating Nothing(ness)" - what does the phrase evoke/inspire within you today?"  My response seemed fitting for a coming-into-the-fog scene.  "Nothingness is a state of calm, resting in the joy of living." 

No one at the beach seemed to be concerned about the fog and they were certainly enjoying the day. Surfers were fully dressed hoisting their surfboards above their heads. Youngsters were rollerblading, others bicycling. There were even children barefoot in the sand.  A few large trucks were making their way horizontally in the sand, trying to level it out. 

into the fog

they came on

silent footsteps-

waiting for sun

This joyous spring happening on Palm Sunday gave me the inspiration to finish my one line for the annual Kidlithosphere Progressive Poem. Today, was my day to add a found line from a song.  You can see the poem in progress at my site under the title 2019 Kidlithosphere Progress Poem Continues.  

It is Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers so I am ready to add this slice. 

2019 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem Continues

Today, it is my honor to continue the journey of the 2019 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem, an annual tradition of our poetry community. At the beginning of National Poetry Month, 30 bloggers, poets, and children's writers joined Irene Latham's challenge to write an original poem. Matt Forrest Esenwine began the process with a creative move. Using found lines from song lyrics, he created line 1 of the Progressive Poem. Other poets followed in suit, adding their found lines from songs that resonated with them, making each line unique.

Each day the Progressive Poem grew, I felt a little bit more nervous. After all, growing up I always enjoyed listening to music but did not know lyrics for sing-alongs. I questioned if I could find lyrics that would fit so I began searching for possible songs, like Chad and Jeremy's A Summer Song and Ella Fitzgerald's Summertime. Song titles from my summer galleries and accompanying lines started filling my digital journal. Then, on Palm Sunday, when the sun peeked out behind the clouds, I decided to take a spontaneous ride to the boardwalk. Christie Wyman just posted her line, "I wanna fly like an eagle, to the sea," so off I went with my husband! The Long Beach Boardwalk was surrounded by a dense fog making the ocean not visible but I could hear the sounds of the sea and sky and smell the fresh salt air. The quick trip energized and inspired me to write.

I woke on Monday morning, looking for day 15's blog by the amazing poet and creative artist, Robyn Hood Black. Her line made reference to the Masters Tournament and a song from a 1985 movie revolving around America's favorite pastime. My immediate thought was "Really Robyn, a tiger!" While I loved the line, I thought of it as an interesting curveball so, with expectation, I took a swing at how I would like the poem to progress. I wanted to keep the summer vibe from a child's eyes. I thought about little ones I saw playing in the sand on Sunday and my grandbaby who loves music and lullabies. It was then that I found Song of the Sea, a lullaby that featured a recurring question and descriptive action. By Monday evening, I decided that the question from "Song of the Sea would be the beginning of line 16 but flipflopped between two Mary Poppin songs and another specific action line from the lullaby. When I reread the stanza orally for one more time, I realized just what I felt I needed. 

Are you ready for line 16?  While it is long, I wanted the end of the stanza to be a visual invitation with action. I offer the line to you now. Please feel free to comment. 

Endless summer; I can see for miles...
Fun, fun, fun - and the whole world smiles.
No time for school - just time to play,
we swim the laughin' sea each and every day.

You had only to rise, lean from your window,
the curtain opens on a portrait of today.
Kodachrome greens, dazzling blue,
It's the chance of a lifetime,

make it last forever-ready? Set? Let's Go!
Come, we'll take a walk, the sun is shining down,
Not a cloud in the sky got the sun in my eyes.
Tomorrow's here. It's called today.

Gonna get me a piece o' the sky.
I wanna fly like an eagle, to the sea
and there's a tiger in my veins.
Oh, won't you come with me waltzing the waves,
                                                                                          diving the deep?

Found Lines:
L. 1   The Who, 'I Can See for Miles' / The Beach Boys, 'Endless Summer'
L. 2  The Beach Boys, 'Fun, Fun, Fun'/Dean Martin, "When You're Smiling"
L. 3  The Jamies, "Summertime, Summertime'

L. 4 The Doors, 'Summer's Almost Gone' / Led Zeppelin, 'Good Times, Bad Times'

L.5   Ray Bradbury, 'Dandelion Wine

L6    Joni Mitchell, "Chelsea Morning"

L7    Paul Simon, "Kodachrome," "Dazzling  Blue"

L8    Dan Fogelberg, "Run for the Roses" 

L9    Spice Girls, "Wannabe"/Will Smith, "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It"

L10  The Beatles, "Good Day Sunshine"

L11   The Carpenter, "Top of the World"

L12   Lin-Manuel Miranda, "Underneath the Lovely London Sky" from Mary Poppins

L13   Carole King, "Hi-de-ho (That Sweet Roll)"

L14  Steve Miller, "Fly Like An Eagle"

L15   Don Felder, "Wild Life"

L16   Nolwenn Leroy, "Song of the Sea" (lullaby)

𝍂𝍂

April Schedule  -  If you are interested in the backstories of each Progressive Poem writer, please visit the sites linked below. 

1 Matt @Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme

2 Kat @Kathryn Apel
3 Kimberly @KimberlyHutmacherWrites
4 Jone @DeoWriter
5 Linda @TeacherDance
6 Tara @Going to Walden
7 Ruth @thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown
8 Mary Lee @A Year of Reading
9 Rebecca @Rebecca Herzog
10 Janet F. @Live Your Poem
11 Dani @Doing the Work that Matters
12 Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
13 Doraine @Dori Reads
14 Christie @Wondering and Wandering
15 Robyn @Life on the Deckle Edge
16 Carol @Beyond LiteracyLink
17 Amy @The Poem Farm
18 Linda @A Word Edgewise
19 Heidi @my juicy little universe
20 Buffy @Buffy’s Blog
21 Michelle @Michelle Kogan
22 Catherine @Reading to the Core

23 Penny @a penny and her jots

24 Tabatha @The Opposite of Indifference
25 Jan @Bookseestudio
26 Linda @Write Time
27 Sheila @Sheila Renfro
28 Liz @Elizabeth Steinglass
29 Irene @Live Your Poem
30 Donna @Mainely Write

Playing With Poetry

It's National Poetry Month and I am taking every opportunity to #thinkpoetry. Come and take a peek at what I have been delving into this week. 

The week started off with an amazing combo chat between #WonderChat and #NYED Chat. Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong were our esteemed poets/publishers/co-hosts. Their publicity flyer, questions, and ability to respond to attendees were commendable. I thank not only Sylvia and Janet but our Poetry Friday members who engaged in the chat. I am planning on writing a separate post about this awesome night of committed and passionate voices rising to #thinkpoetry. 

Created by Sylvia Vardell-shown at the comboTwitter chat

When I read about Mary Lee Hahn's plan to spend the month PLAYING WITH POETRY at her blog, A Year of Reading, I decided to dip into my bag of paint chip samples and play along. After all, I had created an activity for teachers to create their own paint chip poetry exercises, so I set out to do the same. I dipped into my bag of samples and chose seven titles.

Splash Of Teal, Solemn Silence, Garden Vista, Cotton Sheets, Clear Sailing, Faded Denim, Winds Breath, were interesting choices for me to play with and create a poem, a Buncee, and a Lumen 5 video.

Garden Vista

Wind's breath

rustling through

faded cotton sheets,

a splash of teal,

clear sailing
solemn
silence.
©CV, 2019

Creating a Buncee, a creation and presentation tool for students and educators is always a fun prospect. I added a background, a clothesline, and my poem to make my the Buncee more visually attractive. 

Next, I created a Lumen 5 video, a fluid approach to blending poetry with media.

Now, after the 2nd poetry chat of the week at #ILAChat, I am off to connect with my Poetry Friday friends at Irene Latham's blog site, where she continues with her own National Poetry Month project, ARTSPEAK: Happy! series. 

Playing with poetry is a delightful experience that allows me to try out different creative moves that are pure fun. Meet me on Instagram, FaceBook, and Twitter to  #playwithpoetryNPM) and #thinkpoetry.  

Letter to Spring

Dear Spring,

I love you dearly

but your sunshine is merely

an in and out treat.

I request your time to meet.

Blooms ask for more buds

but not deluged with chance floods.

Perhaps, Chill can retreat

and Warmth add sweet heat.

Respectfully longing,

without prolonging, 

I send you greetings

for a chance meeting.

With Regards,

    -Help Wanted-

A Springtime Lover

This letter to Spring was written on Monday morning.  Perhaps, Spring listened to my requests because the sun appeared in the afternoon. 

I am joining Two Writing Teachers for the Tuesday Slice of Life