A Day to Remember Forever

Did you hear the bell ring for the 9/11 fallen heroes yesterday? 24 years ago, New York City first responders, police, firemen, and newscasters flooded the streets and the media with traumatic news. People ran from their buildings under a shower of dust and darkness. Cement covered the streets as people tried to find a passage over the Brooklyn Bridge. While I did not witness all of this in person, I felt the weight of fear and grief as did the Village of Rockville Centre in Long Island, New York, where I lived. 

Forty-nine people in my village died during the 9/11 catastrophe. The Patch news named it the "deadliest terror attack on American soil". Of those people, Cantor Fitzgerald, American financial services firm, lost the most lives, one of whom was the mother of my daughter's senior high school friend. Because their friend suffered such a loss, my daughter and her two friends organized a candlelight vigil parade. Three hundred people gathered together. Tears flowed throughout this silent passage from the high school througout the village. For a long while life was worrisome. Memorials were erected so people could remember that horrible day in 2001 and be hopeful about the future. 

I remember September 11th each year and so does the world. Families  gather together to honor their fallen loved ones. A bell tolls like the sound of grief. Names of 9/11 victims are read as tears flow like water. Now life continues with a different thought. It is the time to bind the world together as a connected global society. Rid the world of hatred and unkindness to find peace.

September 11th

unpredicable hatred 

swept across the sky

New York City was attacked

fear and sorrow opened their channels

to all fallen heroes

draft CVarsalona, 9/11/2025, cherita

Listen to Fallen Heroes (9-11)

Hope for Tomorrow

Bind the human race into

a connected global society

with hatred extinguished

and unity established.

©CVarsalona, 2025 quick write draft

Thank you to author, poet, and educator, Rose Cappelli, for hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup today. She added Mary Oliver's poem that can be a call to action.

Cherish the Now!

As I read through other writers' posts, I often choose a line or two that makes me pause. Cherish each fleeting now was written by slicer/poet, Molly Hogan. Her thought made me connect to the past and back to the present. If only I knew that my husband's time would be unexpectedly shortened, I might have cherished ordinary days with more intent. The if-onlys in my life still pop-up but I know that I cannot rewrite our history. What I need to learn is how to stop obsessing on what I can't keep up with. I also need to put my energy into what I can do in small amounts each day. I found the following poem by Wendell Berry several times during last week. It made me take a mindful pause. 

Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

The above poem allows me "For a time, to rest in the grace of the world". With this thought, I decided to create a Golden Shovel poem from my heart to my husband's resting place.

The family journeyed along the coast for

nine days ready to celebrate a  

life no longer existing in real time.

My husband  journeyed also. I

honored his love and felt his spirit rest.

The sun opened our hearts in 

layers of clouds and the 

blessings of God's grace 

recycled in a pool of 

ocean waves surrounding the

memories of our world.

I shall cherish each fleeting now!

draft 2025 @CVarsalona

This is my Slice of My Life that will be placed at Two Writing Teachers, 

a meeting place for a world of reflective writers.

Barefoot At the Beach

On my family's journey to celebrate my husband's life, I was touched by the beauty of nature, longed for the ocean dancing beyond the beach, and felt a feeling of family togetherness. Looking back on life, I realized that sunshine and the beach were an important part of my marriage. We gathered there with family and friends, listened to concerts, and walked barefoot in the sand. My daughter's wedding took place in a beautiful church, St. Mary of the Isles, a block away from the ocean, so it made sense that one way to honor my husband was to be near the Atlantic Ocean. 

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet

and the winds long to play with your hair."  

- Kahlil Gibran (one of our favorite authors)

 

Barefoot At the Beach

standing still on the edge of the shore

I watch children bobbing in and out

like the dolphins in the far distance

flood currents splash to shore

in a rhythmic pattern

sand castles whoosh away and

footprints in the sand dissolve as

the ebb and flow of waves arrive

hidden in my soul, grief lies waiting

for the ocean to wash away sorrow

and the sun to dry the tears

barefoot we stand honoring

the husband, father, and grandfather

who loved us all

©CV, September 2025

Reflective Memory

I walk barefoot

as many others do

along the shore of wet sand.

I listen to cool, lapping waters

create a solemn, sacred moment.

Mindfully, I pause.

My mind and body calm down.

Anxiety lessons, knowing that

healing will be a slow,

God-blessed process

during the journey of life.

©CV, September 2025

This month, the Spiritual Journey group of writers under the leadership of Linda Mitchell is writing to a singular word, barefoot. The prompt is simple and timely for me since my family has been lovers of the ocean, shore, and sand for decades. To honor my husband's life, my small family traveled to three beaches facing the Atlantic Ocean: Cape May, the South Shore of Long Island, and Coney Island. The journey was filled with multiple therapeutic moments.

I borrowed the beautiful logo for Poetry Friday from Margaret Simon, host of the Poetry Friday Roundup. The picture brings me to another slow-down, calming moment or two. Margaret offers a love poem to silence that is lovely enough for several reads.

Getting The Blues

There is an art to summering during the summer season. It begins with a place animated by nature's hand and a feeling of ease. Sunshine warms hearts while clouds stretch across the sky watching below. A curtain of positivity swishes in the breeze. But there may be days when gray clouds push through the sunshine and thunder through trees.  Either way, bright sunshine or torrential rains, nature nurtures human beings in invisible ways. This I know since my family and I set out on a journey to celebrate my husband's life, as he wished. Summering was a treat since the weather was beautiful and the memories fond.

It is three weeks since we celebrated my husband's life. I carried home with me a spirit of peace but lately there have been difficulties sleeping. I wake with thoughts that I am overwhelmed. My dreams encourage this feeling although I cannot remember exactly what I dreamed. I turn to my writing to find a sense of balance but deep inside there is a void. 

I thank the Poetry Sisters, Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies}, Laura at Laura Purdie Salas, Tricia at The Miss Ruphius Effect, Sara at Read Write Believe, Mary Lee Hahn at Another Year of Reading, and Liz at Liz Garton Scanlon, who invite writers to join their August challenge. I am happy to do so because I need a distraction from reality. Their prompt states, "If poetry is a love letter to readers, this month, we're writing back. Using Nikki Giovanni's "Talk to Me, Poem, I Think I Got the Blues" as a mentor verse, we are writing poetry in conversation with a poem and adding the hashtag #PoetryPals to our posts and social media. 

My strike line for a Golden Shovel poem comes from  

Nikki Giovanni's mentor text/poem,

Talk to me, Poem, I Think I Got the Blues.

Dear Poem, I need to talk.

Each night, I wake up mid-sleep to 

stop worrying about me.

Are you listening, Poem?

Discombobulated, I

feel, so let's pause to think

before writing. I

need to stop waking up shaken. I got

an overwhelming amount of the

to-do-list blues.

(Poem, help me to feel renewed!)

draft © CVarsalona, 2025

It is time to offer this blog post to the Poetry Friday Roundup who is hosted by Karen Edmisten. Karen is sharing her poem for the Poetry Sisters' challenge. Click here.

Stay tuned. In the near future, I will share a mini-gallery of artistic expressions, The Art of Summering 2025.

Welcome to the Art of Summering 2025 Mini-Gallery

Welcome to The Art of Summering 2025

Summering is a state of mind that brings feelings of joy and relaxation. It revolves around the best of summertime and the ability to savor those feelings year round. 

There is an art to summering,

from sun simmering

to fan swaying-

leisurely enjoying

porch sitting

shore watching

sunsets blazing

sparklers swooning

cameras shooting

people celebrating

children playing

families planning

trip taking

beach happening

memory sharing

love noting

and sea scattering

©CVarsalona, 2025

During  Summer 2025, our family traveled from Virginia to

Cape May, NJ (↓)  and then to Long Island, NY (↑)

to celebrate my husband's life. 

What did I learn?

The art of summering encourages me to savor life-living moments that nourish my soul while fully experiencing the now.

In 2018, I created 

The Art of Summering Mini-Gallery Goodbye to Summer 

followed by the

Unveiling of The Art of Summering Gallery.

Many individuals joined me in sharing their thoughts and image poems for the galleries.

Questions to Ponder:

 How do you engage in the Art of Summering?

Do you have a special photo, artwork, and/or poem  to share?

🌞

Welcome to the

POETRY FRIDAY ROUNDUP!

I am delighted to be your host today.

If you have an offering for The Art of Summering 2025,

please share it with me. I will add any offerings to a new blog post for public viewing.

Poetry Friday

August 21, 2025

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party.

Click here to enter

Clunker Give and Take

Linda Mitchell, librarian, poet, and collage artist, enjoys sending out clunker lines to other writers.  According to Linda, "a clunker is a line or lines that didn't work in a particular poem". Periodically, she invites Poetry Friday writers to create a poem from one of her clunker lines. 

After taking a look through Linda's clunkers, I settled on one line, "daisies nod hello springy stems". The line immediately brought me back to my high school senior prom. During my teen years, I adored daisies, but not only the typical daisy with white petals and a yellow circle in the center. I dreamed of a bouquet of multicolored daisies that would match the gorgeous gown my mother made for me. Since that time, I have enjoyed the simple appearance of a daisy. It evokes joyful feelings. In exchange for Linda's clunker, I sent the following thought, "a harbor of shared memories". Her thoughts rose into a fine poem (click here).                     

With Linda's clunker line, daisies nod hello springy stems, I created a poem for springtime.

photo by LAWJR, Pixabay

Daisies blush after morning dew;

Bask in sunshine, wake anew.

Daisies nod hello springy stems,

And bow to spring's greentone gems.

Songs of springtime freshen the air.

Waiting for summer's  goldenwear.

Daisies dance to sunshines's  tunes.

Offer their gifts.

Nature swoons!

©CV, Summer 2025

💖

Teenage Love

"I will  go pick daisies and have a happy heart." - Kimber Annie Engstrom

Why do daises

Fill my heart with memories?

Flash back to my teenage years.

I sent you my heart

And a bouquet of daisies

Let's dance the prom night away.

©CV, Summer 2:025, sedoka 

Sedoka Guidelines from Writer's Digest:

• Two three-line stanzas
• Five syllables in the first line and seven syllables in the second line
• First stanza is a question by one lover
• Second stanza is an answer by the other
• It's traditionallly a love poem.

I am checking in with Heidi Mordhorst, the host of Poetry Friday this week. She has news, an annoucement of The Nature of Our Times anthology. Congratulations, Heidi. One of her poems was submitted for the online Gallery to be in the print book.

🌞

Summer Invitation:

In 2018 I created a global Gallery titled The Art of Summering. 

7 years later, I invite writers,  photographers, digital artists, teachers, and students to join me next week at my blog, Beyond LiteracyLink, since I will host Poetry Friday on August 22nd. I would enjoy reading your interpretation of your 2025 summering experience. I will showcase each person's work at my blog  presentation or in a presentation.

Celebrating, Not Mourning, Life

At the end of our nine days of celebrating my husband's life I found peace in the gentle waters of sunset. Golden layers of sky surroundied the harbor.  It was time to pause and gaze at nature's reflections and remember past layered memories.

summer sweltered

gentle waters shared stillness

sunset celebrated

sunset spoke

of life's celebration

stilled waters agreed

©CV, August 2025 

One of my writing friends, Bob Hamera (aka arjeha), offered a quieting thought to me. "Life should be celebrated not mourned."  I brought that quote on my family's trips to various ocean spots. I step back now thinking that it was peaceful to shift my focus from mourning the loss of my husband to honoring  the life lived and the impact it had on others. The celebration of life ceremonies during the nine days offered comfort and remembrance in a special way.

Thank you to Ralph Waldo Emerson for his beautiful quoteL

"Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn."

Now that I am home in Virginia, I shall remember to walk forward in peace.

nature's stilled waters

offers solace

My Slice of Life 

for Two Writing Teachers

A meeting place for a world of reflective writers.

Celebrating Life With Family

What is life without a loving family? 

Ever since I was a child, I felt the closeness of family even during challenging times. This year, during springtime, sorrow and loss unexpectedly interrupted our family life when my husband Richard fell prey to an incurable, silent disease. Cancer swept across his body as quickly as mighty waves moving across the ocean. My family withstood the rush of anguish and a heart-rending situation, yet we prepared for a family trip to the Atlantic Ocean in Cape May, New Jersey, and the south shore of Long Island, NY, to honor my husband's life. 

As we drove to the ocean sites, I followed the inspiration of Albert Einstein. "Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life". We felt the glow of sunshine streaming down on us as wind-driven waves rushed in with diamond-sparkling effects and quickly returned seaward. The first seaside landing in Cape Map allowed our extended family to enjoy the children frolicking in the water, the delicious seafood, and creamery ice cream delights. We lived life as a summer vacation should be, and yet we remembered that one member of the group was missing. 

As our immediate family traveled north to Long Island, we eagerly prepared for the Celebration of Life ceremony at Jones Beach's Field 6. The beach was quiet. As we moved closer to the ocean, we watched the constant flow and backrush of ocean waves. The ebb and flow of the tides brought peace to the ceremony. Readers' words flowed across the sea. My mind floated like the waves, not about sorrowful days but to present moments. The seagulls flew across the South Shore beach, squawking in tune with the crash of the waves. The magnificent ocean at Jones Beach, Long Island, NY, offered a private place to honor a man with whom I spent close to 49 years of marriage. I was present, my mind was cleared of daily busyness, and I seemed to float with the rhythm of the tides as I looked across the horizon.

not a day to mourn

but one to celebrate life

peaceful souls connect

©CV, July 31, 2025 

I now think of that day at the majestic ocean. We brought the immediate family together and linked our souls with Richard's. There was a powerful release of tension, loneliness, and grief. "Ocean separates lands, not souls".  (Munia Khan) 

" Say not in grief ' he is no more' but in thanfulness that he was."

Hebrew Proverb 

For me, without family, life spins in an unsettled world.

I am thankful for my family, their love, and support,

and the tiny heart shell that was my heaven-sent sign at the shore.

Today is Spiritual Journey Thursday (SJT). Leigh Anne Eck is our host today. She chose the prompt, family, for each writer to ponder. This is a powerful prompt for me. Please visit her blog post here to enjoy the blog posts on "family". Leigh Anne is sharing about her Mother, who recently passed away. My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family.

I am also sending this blog post to Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone. I have missed the last two Poetry Friday Roundups because we were enjoying 9 days of celebrating my husband's life. Now, I am ready to settle down and find a respite through reading both SJT and Poetry Friday blog posts from two different writing communities. I already read Holly's post that provided a look into nature and the word pause.