Year of the Wood Snake

2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake. The last celebration occurred 60 years ago so there is excitement for this year's event. Years ago, my family traveled to Chinatown in New York City and watched the colorful parade followed by a delicious dinner. 

To celebrate this momentous Year of the Wood Snake, Jone Rush MacCulloch invited writers to join her annual New Year's Postcard Project. Below are the names of poets (Linda Baie, Patricia J. Franz, Michelle Kogan, Denise Krebs, Linda Mitchell, Mona Voelkel, and Tabatha Yeatts-Lonske) who sent me offerings on various topics: Year of the Snake, florals, light, and hummingbird poems that share creativity and artwork. Since my computer is acting up, I will need to delay the sharing of these wonderful poems for another date.

*My Poetry Postcards will hopefully be sent out this weekend. I thank all of the poets who sent me their postcards. Each one is unique and interesting to read.

Below are two poems I created for the Year of the Snake.  

Happily, I added my one little word to the above poem
with advice that I need to remember. Below is another short example.

2025 Year of the Snake
r

I recall many Chinese New Year's parades in the streets of Chinatown, New York City. Colorful costumes dazzled onlookers. There was music, dancing, and a costumed animal, symbolizing the year of a specific animal. Streamers and firecrackers added to the excitement of the parade. Many people shared Chinese cuisine throughout the day. 

This year the wise wood snake encourages people from different parts of the world to gather together in joyful merriment. As a sage filled with wisdom, the wood snake reminds us to:

 Embrace new beginnings.

Paint a blank canvas.

Walk in stillness.

Join a parade.

Unfold the new and

Let go of the past.

Be mindful of 

Wood snake's wisdom:

Growth requires patience,

Adaptability, and inner strength.

A year of newness and

Transformation awaits!

draft © CVarsalona, January 2025

Thank you, Tabatha Yeatts, for hosting today's Poetry Friday Roundup.

Join Tabatha at her blog post to enjoy the poetic goodness of poets and see the Zine book she created with poems from a variety of writers.

I thank her for adding my poem to the Brave Poetry Project.

 Within yesteryear's corners

darkness held hidden patches of fear.

An image, a sound, and thoughts

bring flashing moments to life

haunting a withered soul.

Is there enough moral strength

to sweep away persistent fear?

Within corners of today,

life finds a light to extinguish

grief-stricken moments.

A mindful pause searches to

release hidden patches of fear.

Bravery finds its soul.

©CVarsalona, 2025

Winter Musings

🌲“Winter is a season of hope and magic, filled with the wonder of snowy adventures and cozy fireside stories.” – Unknown🌲

The grandgirls cozily find their space in the great room the light of day darkens. The window shades open as we wait for nature's sublime movie screen to share its story of the expected snowfall. A bird flies onto the neighbor's lawn expecting seeds from the feeder. It stands puzzled in the slush and disappears as...

snowrain

drips droopily

down to the patio

unsure of its permanency

watchful wonderfilled eyes

question nature's

reasons

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weather

interrupts life

or does it bring solace?

slow down, gather with family

laugh, play, and enjoy life

hot cocoa time

warms life

©CVarsalona, 2025

In the above poem, the voice questions nature's path but also sees the positive side of being at home with family on a snowy and icy day. Prose and a new format for a poem are combined to create an eintou. This is a traditional form of West African poetry. It is a 7-line poem with a syllabic/word count form consisting of 2 words/syllables in the first line, 4 in the second, 6 in the third, 8 in the fourth, 6 in the fifth, 4 in the sixth, and 2 in the seventh. 

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Winter Serenity

Winter Advice

↓

fountains dance

 iced-winter patches standstill

be in the moment

©CVarsalona, 2025

Poetry is a wonderful way to capture inner thoughts that are hiding inside. Sometimes nature shares its darker side as seen with the California fires. Climate can change and alter patterns in harsh, unexpected ways. Northern Virginia schools had snowstorms and chilling temperatures that interfered with family schedules and children's education. 

Stay warm and believe in hope during dark days!

I join Two Writing Teachers, a writing space for reflective writers. 

Winter: Time for Home

 🌲 “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food, and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” – Edith Sitwell🌲

In the cold of winter, warmth is a common thought. Blankets of snow warm the landscape while inside the fireplace warms the little girls. We watch the day pass by. The flank of windows brings us closer to nature and its daily changes. Green patches pop forward with snow as borders. One deer jumped from one small patch of woods into another across from our house. It was a spectacular sight. We waited silently for the rest of the deer family but they did not come. I've heard the coo of two birds as they soared across the community but birds don't nestle in the backyard during the chill. Perhaps, the tiny one that fell frozen on our front porch tried to fly south. The fox jumped back and forth from the woods near a neighbor's house. Some animals frolic in the winter chill, while others seek refuge. We watch the antics and the sorrow within the warmth of our house, knowing that winter is a time for home.

winter's scenic sights

delight snuggling children

from inside out

©cvarsalona, 2025

haibun draft

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Since our winter days have dipped below freezing, I thought of adding some color to the photo of the scene outside my front porch. The two older grandgirls are inside lounging by the warm fireplace with furry throws wrapped around them. Warm cocoa, peppermint, and a warm shower bring the comfort of winter right into the home.

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is hosted this week by

professor/poet Tricia Stohr-Hunt who is sharing an interesting poem about the typewriter. As part of the Poetry Sister's, Tricia invites all to this month's writing challenge. 

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I also have an invitation:Winter

I am hosting Poetry Friday on February 7th at my Beyond LiteracyLink blog.

HeartNotes

I invite all to create a love note, valentine, poem, digital artwork, etc.

 I will create a padlet, titled HeartNotes for interested writers. Join me as I honor Valentine's Day, a love-note to the rest of the year. (Jo Lightfoot)

Winter Silence

🌲 “Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” – Paul Theroux 🌲

Early morning stillness:

From a photograph

to digital art

In this frozen winter

I would like to decorate the silence

that stills the start of the day.

Perhaps, the sole bird's coo

will wake the chill or

bells will dance in the wind.

Nature knows the next step.

Meanwhile, the house is heated. 

The fireplace stirs with warmth

and the day begins.

©CVarsalona, 2025

(Credit and thanks to Linda Gregg for the italicized line below.)

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     Winter Love by Linda Gregg

I would like to decorate this silence,   

but my house grows only cleaner

and more plain. The glass chimes I hung   

over the register ring a little

when the heat goes on.

I waited too long to drink my tea.   

It was not hot. It was only warm.

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Special Invitation to Slicers: I am hosting Poetry Friday on February 7th at my Beyond LiteracyLink blog. Create a love note, valentine, poem, digital artwork, etc. I will create a padlet, titled Heartnotes for interested writers. Join me as I honor Valentine's Day, a love-note to the rest of the year. (Jo Lightfoot)

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for providing writing space for reflective writers from around the globe.

January Delights

This week the predicted winter storm came in horizontally and continued until snow covered the earth.  I was surprised that Fairfax County in Virginia closed schools for four days so far. The scenery looked like a winter wonderland similar to my winter days in Long Island, NY. By the end of the winter storm, the  landscape was beautifully arrayed with blanketed snow, which offers slow-down time to reminisce and write poetry.

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January

showcases winter

with marshmallow-embarkments

time for hot chocolate

bliss

@CVarsalona, January 2025

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January

filters light

as snow dances

in streams that glisten

serenity

@CVarsalona, January 2025

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quietude settles as snowscapes sparkle

stillness

flows

perfecting

evening's

stillness

earth

tip-toes

in

stillness

snowscapes glisten as quietude settles

@CVarsalona, January 2025

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Inspiration to Live By

Move slowly on winter's frosty path.

Pause intentionally.

Witness small moments.

Be in the moment.

Reflect quietly.

Breathe in stillness to

Renew my heart's spirit.

©CVarsalona, 2025

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I am excited to unveil the Holiday Poem Swap, recently sent to me by author/poet Patricia Franz.  I am grateful for the package that arrived. Patricia sent a miniature Metaphor Dice Starter Set to create small poems with my little grandgirls, an artistic card of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve two thousand years ago, a small notebook, and a found poem based on my words in my monthly blog post. 

I was touched by the gift of poetic goodness.

With gratitude, I share a bundle of joy created just for me.

Patricia wandered through my 2024 monthly blog posts for words that called out to her. She gathered the words together to create a summation of 2024. Once I read the poem, I paused at the last line and knew that I uncovered my one little word renew. How fortunate for me! Thank you, Patricia, for the Holiday Swap that I shall cherish.

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I am also grateful to the lovely Australian author, poet, and presenter Kathryn Apel for hosting Poetry Friday. Kat shares pictures and a humorous, fun poem about cats and dogs (furry friends).

2025's First Snow Days

Wake Up Early!

Welcome to January's 1st Snow Days!

Peek into a series of different formatted poems

that showcase the two-day winter storm event in Northern Virginia. 

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snowplowers

bundled up

crunch snow layers

homeowners watch in stillness

gratitude

@CVarsalona, January 2025

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pause  in winter silence

 tranquility

soothes

stirring

winds

tranquility

paints

snow

scenes

tranquility

in winter silence pauses

@CVarsalona, January 2025

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As the sun arrives so does peace.

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It is the 2nd day of the winter storm in Northern Virginia. Under the blankets of snow there is ice. We all hear the announcements to be careful. I switch my attention to the beauty of a snowy landscape and send my wishes and blog post to Two Writing Teachers, a place for reflective educators and writers around the globe.

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