Spreading Poetry Love

As the host of Poetry Friday, 
I am here to spread the joy of creating! Let's begin!

While spring has moved on, I am finally ready to unveil the beauty of springtime through a gallery of artistic expressions, Springsations. The garden is full with vibrant hues from a vast array of spring blossoms, sounds, and images. Many Poetry Friday poets have contributed to making this gallery a rich experience. When you visit the gallery, you will be guided through a museum garden in full blossom.  Stay tuned for further announcements. I will add the link to Springsations to this post after the gallery is unveiled.

In the meantime, did you know that it is 
National Fried Chicken Day?

Decades ago when fried chicken was the box lunch favorite I created a feast fit for an 8th grade auction. It was complete with chocolate cake. It was a: 

Sizzling, crispy chicken feast

calorie counter, messy beast.

But yummy for the 8th grade boy who won it.!

It is also International Kissing Day. I found an Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem for a read aloud.

Lastly, I have a Special  Announcement 

for Poetry Friday writers: 

July 14th is National Macaroni and Cheese Day. The Poetry Friday Roundup will be at The Opposite of Indifference and in honor of the event Tabatha Yeatts will have an optional Mac-N-Cheese theme!

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-mac-and-cheese-day-july-14/

Now, it is time to start the Roundup. I am looking forward to visiting all the writers' blogs to read what is cooking on this summer night. 

"Springsations" is Finally Finished. You can view the lush gallery of artistic expressions that celebrates Spring here. 

If you go to the hashtag, #Springsations, on Twitter, you will find some of the offerings. Poets please upload your digitals to #Springsations so that the Twitter community can see your springtime tributes. 

There are 88 contributors to Springsations and many more digitals compositions. 26 contributors are Poetry Friday writers:

Adding in Mandy Robek

Life

At dusk, the world finds rest 

under the canopy of sunset.

Nature shares its evening colors.

On my way to Virginia, I was graced with the image of a sunset in progress. It was not a sunset that I have witnessed on Long Island by the beach or in my neighborhood. It was one that filled a mighty expanse with softness while a glaring sun shot its lights upon the water. I was lucky enough not only to witness the beauty of evening's call to commune with nature but to capture several photos while my husband drove. What I saw beyond the sunset was a river still and silent waiting for its story to unfold. Were it not for the sun glaring in the sky, I would not have noticed the tranquil scene.

I learned a lesson from witnessing this sunset. Life is not a steeplechase, rushing from one event to another, although many times it feels that way. I thought about the metaphor, life is like a river. Is it about meandering through life or is there more substance to the statement? Do I regularly notice the flow of life, feel its natural course or do I resist the patterns? Do I veer here and there? Do I recognize that in order to maneuver great distances, I must abide by the laws of nature, accept the challenges, and move past the rocks. I think I do but sometimes, I do not notice the sunsets. There needs to be a more consistent flow on my journey, like the river's flow. There needs to be more notice and wondering time for there is so much beauty in the natural world.

Listen to Life is Like a River

Meanwhile, Carol at Carol's Corner is hosting Poetry Friday here. She provides readers with a brief introduction to the new poet laureate, Tracy K. Smith.

My spring gallery, Springsations, is still under construction. Stay tuned for more details about the unveiling.

Turning of the Seasons

As one season turns into the next, subtle changes occur in nature. Winter turned to spring this year, and a flurry of poems were released. National Poetry Month saw the rise of poetry in classrooms and on social media. 

Laura Shovan's #10FoundWords project that began in winter on a closed FaceBook community site continued into spring. For the April challenge, Heather Meloche offered the prompt, Early Spring by Rainer Maria Rilke. I found myself responding late to the call to write but nonetheless was drawn to this poem that centered on the turning of the seasons. 

In order to complete the task, I needed to use the 10 words that were chosen from the original poem to create an a found poem. The words Heather chose for the challenge were: vanished, softness, meadow, rivulets, tendernesses, earth, subtle, risings, expression, and trees. 

************************************

Early Spring

Harshness vanished. A sudden softness

has replaced the meadows' wintry grey.

Little rivulets of water changed

their singing accents. Tendernesses,

hesitantly, reach toward the earth

from space, and country lanes are showing

these unexpected subtle risings

that find expression in the empty trees.

-Rainer Maria Rilke 

************************************

  

Hues of stark white vanished

in the gentle turning of earth.

Verdant green meadows replaced 

winter's colorless landscape as

earth rejoiced at the gentle awakening.

Subtleties of nature's handiwork

were evident in the tenderness of 

shoots rising, the calling of the birds

above rivulets, and the trees exploding

with colorful blossoms. Earth opened

its arms to nature's euphoric expressions

of jubilation-a springsation of the senses

unfolded before mankind's watchful eyes.

©CVarsalona, 2017

Now please turn to the Poetry Friday Roundup at Tara Smith's site, A Teaching Life. There you will find springtime delights. 

If you have an offering for my spring gallery of artistic expressions, #Springsations, please send me your work. 
Thank You.

Celebrating April

April found its stride this week as sunshine entered each day, a solitary cardinal made its way to my garden after a long winter, and life perked up. Nature reminded earth to celebrate with springtime renewal breath.

april's air stirs in

willow-leaves...a butterfly

floats and balances

-Basho Matsuo

This week balance was needed to restore my surroundings back to life. The mason rebuilt my  front entrance, the landscaper reenergized the front garden with a new blooming tree to replace the serpentine that lost many of its buds, and the meteorologist forecasted warming winds to replace the recent chilled dampness. Spirits were lifted by the start of the spring weather and Easter, the ultimate season of renewal. 

"We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."

-Pope John Paul II

nature brings new growth

new construction restores peace

springtime radiates

*******

Springtime renews hope in living.

Let's celebrate spring and the hope Easter brings!

The image poem above is part of my #poetrylisciouspoetry collection for National Poetry Month 2017.

I celebrate April as National Poetry Month.  Because poetry is a year-round endeavor of creative expression, I have invited all interested in creating their own poetryliscious poetry for my newest gallery, Springsations. You can access the invitation here and add your offerings at the hashtag, #Springsations. 

I share my celebration of April with Ruth Ayres and her Celebrate This Week community.