Slowdown Summer Overflows with Poetry

What started this afternoon continues throughout the night. Crackling noises, flashing lights, and sudden darkness break through the sky. I sit here remembering the flash announcements and the fear of traveling home amidst a terrifying twist of nature. Passing by a five-car accident, fire trucks, and police cars brought the reality of the situation. What I thought would be slowdown moments of summer's ending became Earth in motion. The severe thunderstorm moved from one section of the highway to another. Six hours later, rain continues to make its mark on life. With a deep care for life, I sit and read William Wordsworth's thoughts and ponder the magnitude of what poetry is.

"Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility." 

This summer during slowdown moments, the annual Summer Poetry Swap found its way into fellow Poetry Friday friends' hearts. Under the superb direction of Tabatha Yeatts, writing to my poetry swap friend, Denise Krebs, became a reality. Denise became a Grandma for the second time as I began my swap writing to her. I was overjoyed by the blessing of her little pink blossom, the growth of her grandson, and the surprise mailing she sent me. The crocheted pieces for my kitchen made me smile but the clever poem from Health itself was a joy. The gift held a special message "to ponder the bounty of living in full abundance". 

Then, after receiving Denise's poetry swap gift, I found mail from Tabatha Yeatts awaiting my read. She focused on my thoughts about 48 years of my married life and created a Golden Shovel poem using the strike line from Kahlil Gibran, one of my husband's and my favorite poets.

I look back on the torrential rainstorm that just calmed down and compare it to the artistic card that Tabatha sent me. Stilled tranquility appeals to me more than an intrepid storm. The power of poetry brings sensory thoughts flowing from the corners of my mind. 

🌅 

 For the August Challenge the Poetry Sisters, Tanita, Lauras, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, and Kelly, invited writers to create an ekphrastic poem. I decided to use the artwork sent to me. #PoetryPals

Photo from @TwinDesigns

🌅 

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Susan Thomsen at

Chicken Spaghetti. She shares a funny poem that will make you smile so stop by.

🌅 

May a sense of peace and quiet fill your weekend as August hands the baton to September.

"Picture Perfect Poetry"

It's Back-to-School time. As a reading specialist and administrator, I like many other educators found the time to make classrooms and offices inviting. New and old book titles decorated my space.  In my unretirement days, I continue this practice. My library has many titles waiting for my little grandgirls who can always find a new book to read. As a consultant, I search for new children's books to read and review. My 7-year-old grandgirl assists me when I need a child reader involved in a review. As a reader for several years, she can tell me when a book is inviting.

I am pleased to introduce Picture Perfect Poetry, An Anthology of Ekphrastic Nature Poetry for Students. My Poetry Friday friend, educator, and poet, Carol J. Labuzzetta, edited and published a gem of a poetry book for middle-grade students. Besides 5th-9th grade students, teachers, librarians, parents, and community members including homeschoolers will be delighted to read the never-published ekphrastic poetry in this book. Twenty-five author-photographers were inspired to capture a photo and write an accompanying poem for the book. An ekphrastic poem is a type of writing that involves creating original poetry or prose in response to a work of art, often a visual art. As an Indie publisher, Carol J. Labuzzetta spent considerable time producing this book so teachers and students could explore this type of poetry. Picture Perfect Poetry will become an excellent mentor text for the classroom library. 

An appealing part of the book is the addition of color. Each page pops with color. The photographs are beautifully presented, the layout is impressive, and the font format is universal. 

Ekphrastic Poem by Carol Labuzzetta

The book includes instructional resources found in the back matter. Different styles of poems are noted as well. Carol asked me if I would send a photograph without a poem to include in the book. It would become a prompt for writing. More extra photographs (without poems) are included for young writers to compose an Ekphrastic poem. 

Instructional resources are included in the back matter of the book, along with website references for each style of poem included in the anthology. In an interview with Jone MacCulloch Carol Labbuzzetta stated.

I wanted to provide a volume of Poetry that could be used as a mentor text, an instructional manual, or a self-instructive text for highly motivated students. Thus, I included back matter that could be reference easily by teachers, students, homeschool groups or anyone interested in writing poetry. 

Thank you, Carol, for your creativity, preparation, and perseverance in creating a unique poetry anthology centering on nature for young writers. I am honored that you chose three of my Ekphrastic poems for insertion in the book. Next week. I will share more on this gem of this book that blends poetry with photography. 

While this book was published during National Poetry Month due to medical issues, I was delayed in sharing a book review. Virginia's back-to-school opening is an opportunity to showcase Picture Perfect Poetry for classrooms and school libraries. Thank you, Carol Labuzzetta for bringing this amazing book into the world of Kidlit poetry.

It's Poetry Friday hosted by Rose Cappelli. She and her writing group studied line breaks and the revision process using a "Make it and Break it" exercise. She offers an inspiring beach scene photo to ignite her thoughts. 

Sunkissed Summer Days

It is almost the end of August. I have seen many sunkissed summer days alive with trees showcasing their colors, bees buzzing while circling gardens, and floral scents perfuming the air. On other days, nature painted the sky with dark gray swirls. In my mind, each summer day fluttered like a butterfly. I watched the flow of nature as I tried to recuperate. I stared at the glowing moon in an inked sky and the morning sun peeking through the clouds. Another season will soon be here. Leaf prints will scatter across sidewalks. Have you discovered the warmth and beauty of a sunkissed summer day?

There is still time to watch sunkissed summer days fill the air with various scents and settings. Will the ending days of summer gracefully transition to the next season?

Emily Dickinson reminds me

"How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door." 

Will Summer find herself resting among the leaves to create a carpet for the Earth?

It's Slice of Life Tuesday and I am happy to join Two Writing Teachers (late at usual).

The Pause Continues

Last week my family returned home from our beach vacation in Cape May. The house welcomed us. Laundry was piled across the laundry room and the luggage was ready to return to the shelves. The garden flowers were still beautiful and patiently waiting for their water routine to begin again. As returning vacationers, we knew we needed time to pause and recalibrate. Yet, there was unpacking and a couple of days of Grandparent-sitting as must-dos.

What August Knows

Dog days continue.

Humans move slowly in the heat.

Brown spots mingle between once-vivid green grass.

Weeping flowers yearn for cool spritzes of water.

Memories of a creamy-colored,

Sandy beach and turquoise waters remain.

Conversations revolve around downpours

That swept across the sky and slid

Down to earth in a splish-slash manner.

August knows to unplug,

Amidst must-do moments.

©CVarsalona, 2024

Haiku Heartnotes

from Cape May, New Jersey

pause each day

wrap yourself in self-care thoughts

sunsets offer peace

©CVarsalona, 2024

painted ladies pose

as artifacts of the past

summertime's showcase

©CVarsalona, 2024

evening whispers

of peace in the dimming light

seagulls congregate
©CVarsalona, 2024

Find peace at the Poetry Friday Roundup with our host Janice Scully at Salt City Verse. Janice discusses Nikki Grimes' 2023 picture book, A Walk In The Woods, Illustrated by Jerry Pickney and his son, Brian Pinkney. 

#YouAreHerePoetry

As summer rolls on, so does nature's changeable weather patterns. Meteorologists consistently offer news that challenges our patience. What is the best time for a relaxing family vacation before school doors open? We wonder and plan but the weather reports are not always accurate. 

I was intrigued by The Inkling's challenge for the first Friday of August. Host Catherine Flynn presented an invitation for everyone to join the 2024 Poet Laureate, Ada Limón’s Poet Laureate project, “You Are Here.” You can read more about the project on The Library of Congress website. The prompt asked that poets and non-poets respond to the question that asks, "What would you write in response to the landscape around you"? 

I Am Here

In the steamy "dog days" of August,

Summer salutes life with

golden streams of morning bliss.

⭣

Here, I find the historical presence of Cape May, NJ,

esteemed as the oldest seaside resort in America-

my place to pause and relax.

⭣

I find solace in the imperfect weather

where a billowy, marshmallow

pattern transforms the sky.

⭣

Droplets descend.

Nature shifts her perspective as

sunlight peeks through clouds.

⭣

Land and sea rest.

Choice opens a pathway

under nature's canopy.

⭣

I am here at the shore   

renewed by sunshine and sprinkles.

Summer welcomes nature's joy. 

⭣

At each pause, I savor the

artistic presence of vivid sights

when nature meets shore.

⭣

©CVarsalona, 2024, image poem series

The above poem is highlighted with picturesque photos of the Cape May Jersey Shore and my thoughts on the marvelous landscapes that recently surrounded me during my family's beach vacation.

This summer has been a series of medical ups and downs that did not provide enough space for me to join Two Writing Teachers for Tuesday's Slice of Life. Today, I am delighted to write alongside educator friends.

Gift of Your Heart

An anniversary is a time for roses, dinner out, and a pause from our household to-do lists. This year, I flashback to 48 years ago. I can still smell the scent of gardenias wrapped in love, the delicious taste of the Italian cookie tray carried throughout the reception by my Nonnie, and the late-night rain. Where has the time gone? Has it been cloaked in obligations, to-do lists, and expectancies? I wonder if we pause enough to consider the magnitude of the word togetherness?

I may not know the answers to the questions I pose but I do know that time has been full of fleeting moments sweeping throughout the decades. I peel through physical and virtual albums that hold a treasury of thoughts. Some pictures are faded from years of storage and others are memorialized. The heart knows what exists. 

I have been thinking about life lately. I surmise that life is a series of moments remembered in intentional pauses. Tucked away in each sacred moment there is a foundational piece called love. It floats in and out like the waves upon the shore. Love is the underlying emotion that knows no bounds. Is love sometimes hidden due to unexpected events and fears?

I have been taking a walk down memory lane awaiting the actual date and coincidentally came across the collage below. Anniversaries celebrate gifts of the heart so the collage and poems are my gift to my husband.

💗Another Year of Togetherness💗

💗

💗Gift of Your Heart💗

Within the bonds of love shall we give

streams of floating waves of

pause-itivity time to savor your

thoughts from the heart?

©CVarsalona, 2024

💗

As a child, I stared into the stain glass mural of St. Francis of Assisi each day I walked into grammar school. The following inspiration thought by St. Francis was quoted in The Sun & Moon Over Assisi by Gerard Thomas Straub.

Where there is love and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.

💗

Both my husband and I enjoy the writings of Kahlil Gibran. I offer his beautiful prose poem on love.

Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the     pillars of   the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow. -Kahlil Gibran

You can also read the lengthier piece, On Marriage found at the Poetry Foundation that holds this beautiful line: And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. 

💗

 

Join me at Laura Purdie Salas' blog post for this week's Poetry Friday Roundup. It's the book birthday for her new children's picture book, Line Leads the Way. Take a sneak peek to let the fun begin. I plan on sharing the short videos with my little grandgirls who will come to Grandma's house again. Then, off we go to our long-awaited, week-long, family beach vacation in Cape May, New Jersey.

This year, Little Lila makes her debut sitting on the sand

and Grandma and Grandpa celebrate year number 48.

Pause To Reflect (on the Spiritual Journey)

This year, I chose the word pause to guide my spiritual journey. I had high expectations but little did I know that a couple of months later, I would experience unexpected pauses that started from a simple surgery. During the initial recuperation period, I grieved the loss of my strength. This led to mounting stress. Now,  as I begin physical therapy, I pause to rethink the road ahead. My hope is to have a refreshed attitude and time to enjoy the simple moments of life.

The digital graphic I created shows sunset before the 4th of July fireworks burst into the air. Sky colors are beautiful in Northern Virginia. This particular night was filled with excitement. I wanted to capture the sun's beauty and its awesomeness. I found serenity during the night. After pondering the effect of beauty in the natural world, I created the image poem below. It captured the feeling I had at the fireworks display and gave me hope for a positive spiritual journey.                    

My short poem impacted my thinking? Upon reading quotes, Bible entries, and blogs, on positivity, I found that a positive attitude activates "pause-itivity: the power of the pause". The inspirational writer, Eleanor Brown, also reminds me that self-care is important. If Earth at the end of the day finds rest, I can too. I plan on stepping back to "take time to replenish my spirit and serve others from the overflow-not from an empty vessel." BUT, I cannot do so without the help of the Divine Creator who is present even in troubled times of uncertainty. 

NOT busyness but a slowdown spirit is needed because Life itself is fragile and uncertain (CV). I shall take time to rest in the Spirit, find my way through uncertainty, and with hope, continue the spiritual journey with "pause-itivity". Below is a quick skinny poem with recent photos that made me ponder more.

pause-itivity moments

seeking

peace

quietude

wonder

seeking

hope

inside

rainbows

seeking

pause-itivity moments

©CVarsalona, 2024

★★★★★★★★★★★★★

As the host of August's Spiritual Journey, I offer the prompt Pause to Reflect. Perhaps, this prompt will stir thoughts on your own one word or other sacred pauses in your life.     - Please log in with Mr. Linky below.