The preponderance of rain-moistened days, gray skies, and news broadcasts moves me to paint the world in surrealistic color-gradient hues when slivers of sunshine break through.
The human need for social connections cannot be more heightened than now when shimmers of hope rise amidst the early days of spring. The delicate balance of life is cupped in hands outstretched, faces masked, and fatigued sighs. Through veiled visages and muted horizons, determination gives rise to strong voices ringing with expectation and faith in the human existence.
I offer the first installment of Nature Nurtures poems of hope rising from landscapes across the world. May nature nurture our loss of connections as we wait out the duration of this unexpected pandemic. I am encouraging more voices to join the chorus of united thoughts. Shelter in place is not a verdict of isolation, it is a chance to renew faith in life.
Kevin Hodgson from Massachusetts is the first to populate my Nature Nurtures! padlet.
Kevin Foley from Ireland captured a fiery sky. My thoughts followed his lead.
Jessica Bigi captured a glorious sunset that set my thoughts on fire.
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I invite you to join me during National Poetry Month to bring voice and the artistry of nature into focus. Consider sending visuals, original photos of what you see around you. Let your nature photography, inspirational quotes, image poems, digital art, drawings, musical compositions, and/or poetry, carry songs of hope for a world in need of connection. With the theme, Nature Nurtures!, a gallery of artistic expressions and stories will evolve to heal troubled hearts throughout the globe during these challenging times. All are invited. Deadline: April 30, 2020. Reminder to add your offering to my Nature Nurtures! padlet and on social media using the hashtag, #NatureNurtures2020.
I am traveling over to Poetry Friday led by a poet with voice, Heidi Mordhorst at my little universe blogspot. Heidi is highlighting shelter in poetry.
A beautiful post. I might have to wander through my camera roll to see what I can find.
ReplyDeleteI would love for you to do so, Linda. You also have a beautiful paper collage collection. Maybe something related to nature will pop out from those beauties. Thank you for joining me and I look forward to seeing what you find to share your love of nature.
Delete"Through veiled visages and muted horizons, determination gives rise to strong voices ringing with expectation and faith in the human existence." Your words are strength Carol - and your digital poem is stunning with its message of settling under the discomfited sky. Your gallery today is also breathtaking and spirit-boosting. I am working on mine! I also plunged into Poetry Friday today and am so glad I did. Thank you, Carol for always being a beacon of welcome.
ReplyDeleteFran, as always your responses are faith-affirming. This pandemic is reaching its arms out to pluck people I know. Hope has to be on my heart each day I wake. I will keep sending out poems of hope to comfort troubled hearts including mine. I am so glad that we found each other at Two Writing Teachers. Peace be yours today.
DeleteYour words in your post today are very uplifting and comforting in this uncertain time. Even the sky is "discomforted." I will work on submitting something.
ReplyDeleteLeigh Anne, I await your words of comfort and hope to add to Nature Nurtures Gallery. Reaching out to so many, brings to mind the reality of the pandemic.
DeleteHow nice, Carol. I will try to write & find something hopeful. After our crazy snow, things really are popping up all over. Now I'm in the middle of making masks! That's the first thing I've sewn in a while, since helping my granddaughter make a few things. Hope your weekend is going well!
ReplyDeleteI see that I never responded to you and I can't believe another week has gone by, Linda. I have enjoyed reading your poems for National Poetry Month and want to tell you that you have been very creative with your project. Stay safe. I do hope that you send me an image poem, maybe one that includes the wooden circle.
DeleteI love that line, "shelter in place, world."
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting, Mary Lee. Stay safe.
DeleteBeautiful inspiration, Carol. I suspect we will all need daily doses of nature's nurture to get us through these next weeks and months. I plan to share the poem I posted today (unless write something I like better). I just need to capture an image to go with it. Maybe my songful friend will return for a photo shoot.
ReplyDeleteThe days seem endless, Kay. Poetry and nature nurture my soul and yours, too.
DeleteThe poems you shared in this post are gorgeous, Carol! I know that your Nature Nurtures gallery will be a welcoming shelter for us all.
ReplyDeleteI know that the gallery work is keeping me company even though many days I can't go out due to the weather. Thanks for stopping by Michelle.
DeleteLovely post, Carol!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth.
DeleteHi, Carol--here I am, finally...gearing up for online PreK is very time-consuming! Thanks for always making a place for our seasonal sentiments, since poets do always return to nature, don't they? I have an idea for this gallery and hope to get to it this weekend. Be well!
ReplyDeleteHeidi, I totally understand how busy everyone is. I am backtracking to look at more posts that I might have missed. Quarantine life is complicated these days as the virus continues to spread on Long Island. Coming back to nature is always a calming factor. Stay safe. I see that Washington, DC is the next hot spot. We are raging red from NYC to Long Island. There are so many stories that poetry is the right move to soothe souls.
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