As one of the #PoetryPals, I'm joining the Poetry Sisters, Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly, for their February challenge.
This month the Poetry Sisters invited all writers to create epistolary poetry in the form of a love poem. Epistolary poems are, quite literally, poems that read as letters. As poems of direct address, they can be intimate and colloquial or formal and measured (Academy of American Poets). I decided to create a small bank of heartnotes (aka valentines) that tugged at my heartstrings and led me in different directions.
I see love through my family as they share precious life moments, smiles, laughter, and joy. Ordinary moments bring us together to discover what love is.
💘❤💘
Love's Emotional Ties
This poem is dedicated to my 2nd grandgirl who has a bright smile.
Childlove is the beginning of lasting friendships!
small poem
It is my hope that this little 4-year-old miss will grow in love to bring
continuous sunshine to those around her.
💘❤💘
The poem below shares the love of little sisters who happen to be my grandgirls.
childlove
priceless treasure
like glistening shells
swishing in ocean waves
keepsakes
©CVarsalona, January 2024
Elfchen poem
💘❤💘
Dear Me,
There have been six and a half years of being
a Grandma like my mother and Nonnie.
What have you learned?
There is a special love
seated deep inside a heart.
It is a thumping, wondrous love
that offers more
sweetness than chocolate and
warmth on cold winter days.
It is an intangible love
that melts hearts,
mends broken wings,
and floats in imaginative minds.
It is the purring of a gentle kitten,
the whoosh of baby's sleeptoy,
and the softness of a furry blanket.
It is the God-given gift
to Grandmothers who
cherish family life.
Love, Me
©CVarsalona, January 2024
epistolary poem, #PoetryPals
💘❤💘
💖
⇣
Grandma Love Is...
gracefilled
a gift
of enduring love
fountain of perpetual devotion
forever
©CVarsalona, January 2024
Elfchen poem
💘❤💘
I love this french fry,
Mommy gave me.
Yummy in my tummy!
Do you love food
As much as I do!
Meme Poem, Created by Grandma,
©CVarsalona, January 2024
💘❤💘
May love surround you and your family.
💘❤💘
Is at
Tabatha Yeatts blog,
"Open for Poetry Business".
Tabatha has a wonderful story poem about Scheherazade. Check it out.
💘❤💘
Carol, what a wonderful wealth of poems you've shared! I really love your letter to yourself and this bit:
ReplyDelete"that offers more
sweetness than chocolate and
warmth on cold winter days"
Trish, thank you for your comment. I was aghast when I went to my MacAir and could not find the blog post. It went into cyberspace but my IMac saved me from a night of worry. This post became a labor of enduring love.
DeleteThis is Patricia: Grandma Live is all this, Carol! So much love bursts from your poems and your epistle. Hope you’re saving so the fit this grand girls 🥰
ReplyDeletePatricia, today I was blessed with a morning breakfast out with the grandgirls. Since we have been ill with the respiratory infection, the invitation to eat out was just perfect. Being homebound is not a good place for an extended time. I recall back during the Pandemic that we could not leave NY to travel to VA to see the family so I do feel blessed now. Enjoy your winter home.
DeleteA fun gathering of poems (the French fry is adorable) but the poignant question Grandma asks herself of "what have I learned these six years?" is lovely. -tanita
ReplyDeleteTanita, maybe that question should be the start of a new poem-perhaps the pantoum for March. We'll see what I comes to be. Thanks so much for commenting. It feels good to have feedback.
DeleteWell, I love them all, Carol, and have loved seeing all your own grands grow, too. However, the one to you as grandmother touches my heart. I love "more
ReplyDeletesweetness than chocolate. . ." Being a grandmother is a wonderful part of life. And I had the good luck to have three; I loved being with each one; memories fill me up! Keep having the fun of your life with all those grands!
Linda, I agree with you. Being a grandmother is such an important role. I fell blessed just like you. Have a wonderful week with your grandgirls. It is supposed to be warmer this week. I look forward to the warmth.
DeleteMost grandparents I meet speak of the special love they feel for their grandchildren and you capture that here, Carol. "A fountain of perpetual devotion" is present always in your work.
ReplyDeleteJanice, I live in a community with many grandparents who moved to VA to be near their granchildren. Being a granmother is a very special role that makes me happy. Tomorrow night we are bringing heart-shaped ravioli to celebrate a belated Valentines Day. I celebrate February as Loveuary Month. Have a wonderful week.
DeleteWhat a wonderful thumping love! Thanks for sharing these sweet poems.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marcie. I enjoyed writing this blog. Have a wonderful time this week.
DeleteYour blog post is a bouquet of beautiful poems celebrating the love of family. Thanks for sharing them with us!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elizabeth, for your kind words. Bouquet is a lovely word!
DeleteLove the letter to yourself, the warmth on cold winter days.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Buffy. I will see you at Poetry Friday in the morning.
DeleteOh, Carol, what a beautiful letter to yourself. It feels so warm and affirming. You've had so much going on. I hope this reminder of not only the blessings you have but the blessing that you ARE is a bedrock for you.
ReplyDeleteLaura, my yoga teacher reminds us that "I Am" which sounds much like You ARE. Bedrock is a sturdy word that I need to ponder. Thanks.
DeleteI love that you wrote a letter to yourself! Imagine all you'll experience in the NEXT six years!!
ReplyDeleteMary Lee, the future offers the promise of delivering lessons to me. In six years grandgirl #1 will be a pre-teen. Oh My! Thanks for reminding me.
DeleteYour love and devotion to your grandgirls shines through every one of your posts, Carol. I always feel better after visiting and reading your love poetry.
ReplyDelete(and that photo of your youngest french fry lover...*swoon*)
Bridget, little Lila is the best baby eater I have seen. This week she gobbled up her heart-shaped ravioli and meatballs. She get very excited when she sees her foot being delivered to her highchair. You can imagine what she looked like after that portion of food.
Delete