A November Conversation

This week, November's weather swung back and forth like a playground swing. Conversations arose: Chill in the air. 36 degrees to 70 degrees." Beyond human talk, there was a huge stir in the sky when my son and I were in the parking lot of Tyson's Corner Mall in Virginia. A mass of blackbirds swarmed the sky above the building. Dipping, diving, screeching they flew up and down. Loud conversations were heard as in the chasing scene in the movie, The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock. Immediately, my son shot the photo. We stood in awe of what we witnessed.

This week I thought about that stunning but eerie scene. When Anastasia Suen posted her #smallpoem challenge with the theme "Conversations", my mind started sparking ideas.

Photo by Derek Varsalona edited in FotoJet

Poem and digital artwork by CVarsalona

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November is the month to reflect on what we have learned over the past months. The holiday season begins and conversations are full of opportunities to listen and pause with hope, gladness, and appreciation. It is time to reset our journey with gratitude. 

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Thank you to Irene Latham, poet extraordinaire for hosting Poetry Friday and filling my thoughts with wonder. Today, she brings the gift of reflecting, pondering, and poetic goodness. 

Firework Magic

There is a magical effect to fireworks shooting into an indigo sky on a warm summer night. I imagine most people have witnessed this on the Fourth of July but let me relive my experience. A soft glow settles over the lake as it prepares for the festivities of an exploding night show. 

Pontoon boats and kayaks circle the lake as the night sky surrounds. With a gentle tug, party lanterns float into the air skyward prior to fireworks exploding with multicolored sensations.  

Excited hoots and applause from viewers follow with each burst of shooting light as a crescent moon nods with delight. Sparkling patterns burst into the darkness from one end of the lake to the other. The brilliance of multicolored patterns emerges.

As darkness covers the sky, sparkly lights go off with a boom, creating a dramatic contrast.

The star of the nighttime show debuts with a puff cloud of brilliant circles of billowy sparkles.

dazzling fireworks

dart into evening sky

pop, whizz, sizzle

like popcorn kernels bursting

showstopper entertainment

©CV, 2022

I hope everyone spent a relaxing day with family and friends on the Fourth of July as I did.

It's Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers and I am grateful for this international meeting of writing friends.

#OneWord2021: Creativity Bursts & Connections

In a world of shifting thoughts and temperaments, words play a significant role. They hold the power to create peace or disharmony, balance, or upheaval. At the beginning of a new year or new project, a single word becomes a focal point, intentionally centering our thoughts toward future growth. 

The one word phenomenon has influenced my life journey each year since 2014. It called to my muse and invited me to venture on a new path of living toward change. This year, my one word is begin. This simple word is the light shining my way to creativity bursts and creative connections with life. With begin as a guide, I will move to Virginia soon and write a new chapter in the story of life.

On January 14, 2021, Laura Grundler and Matt Grundler, moderators of #K12ArtChat asked me to guest host their Thursday night chat. Honored to work with these dynamic and creative educators again, I opened the discussion on one word for a new year with an invitation to gather in our creative space on Twitter and to reflect on our craft and practice. I created a series of questions that would assist the participants to create one word that would impact their personal and professional life.

When the chat ended, Matt Grundler posed a question for #SlowK12ArtChat that would run throughout the week. Reflaction (Reflection with Action) - What steps will you take to create a sanctuary of thought that blends art, technology, and literacy for yourself and others? Respondents began to share their thoughts using the hashtags #SlowK12ArtChat, @SchoolArts, and @AdobeForEdu. As promised, my reflaction blended art, technology, and poetry to create a collage of inspired words and art. Please join me at my One Word 2021 Sanctuary of Thought here. 

I invite anyone who has a one word 2021 to add your digital inspiration to the One Word Sanctuary of Thought padlet here.

"Creativity is contagious, pass it on!" -  Albert Einstein  

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"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. -Pablo Picasso

It's Slice of Life Tuesday.

I join the community of writers with gratitude to Two Writing Teachers for their sacred space.

Celebrating America

On a cold winter day, a new dawn of excitement began.

The country celebrated America!

The inauguration of our new president, Joe Biden, Jr., and vice president, Kamala Harris, took place on the same steps as that of an unexpected insurrection a week before.

The opening words of President Biden's Inaugural Address rang through the chill as a strong message of hope. From the beginning of the speech to the very end, inspiration flowed. Democracy and unity were key ideas delivered with heart and purposeful intent. 

This is democracy's day.

A day of history and hope.

Of renewal and resolve.

-President Joe Biden

This is America's day. This is democracy's day." - President Joe Biden

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Windswept flurries floated in

On a winter day.

A new dawn, alive with passion, 

Rose for America.

46 bells rang.

Words exchanged.

Oaths of trust promised.

Songs uplifted

The sweet sound of one word,

Democracy, filled the sky

As unity joined in.

 History was made.

"My soul is in this!"

Was heard around the globe-

A solemn and celebratory

Entrance for the 46th president.

A young voice spoke

of America, unity, and change.

"History has its eyes on us."

"The dawn is ours."

©https://abcn.ws/3p5LV4x

Fireworks exploded.

Hopefilled eyes lifted.

Democracy celebrated.

Breaths exhaled.

America begins to heal.

©CV, 2021

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"...Being American is more than a pride

we inherit.

It's the past we step into

and how we repair it.

-Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate, The Hill We Climb

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To keep the spotlight on the poetry of Inauguration Day, Laura Shovan, author, poet, and host of Poetry Friday this week, focuses on the words of Amanda Gorman.  

Teaching Tolerance offers a curriculum guide to teach The Hill We Climb and the 2021 Inauguration here.

Haunted House Poemtober Journey

Join me for a strange Poemtober journey enroute to Halloween. Just stay a short time for a poetic diversion into the bizarre world of seasonal decorations. 

All it takes is one ticket and a few moments to enter a world of bloodcurdling howling and ghoulish fright with a cast of strange characters.

welcome to my world's

cemetery of dread-

enter at your risk

©CV, 2020

how dare you wake me

from a peaceful resting place-

day shift starts now

©CV, 2020

creepy clown sightings

rise from haunted spaces-

free hugz for all

©CV, 2020

trading toad, werewolf

bones for carnevil horror-

weird farmers market

©CV, 2020

ready for today's

decapitated offerings-

no tricks just treats
©CV, 2020

bloodcurdling howl from 

age-old decompositions-

tale as old as time

©CV, 2020

time to journey on

dear child, dreaded darkness nears-

sweet dreams yet to come

©CV, 2020

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Listen to "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics

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monsters are out tonight

rushing from their tombs

bony bodies full of fright

crushing autumn blooms.

©CV, 2020

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Thank you for taking a haunted house tour through my neighborhood. 

Sleep well. Monsters are only figments of our imaginations. 

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Halloween 2020 may not take on the same outdoor fun of years past BUT

this virtual Haunted House Journey will provide a new normal experience.

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I'm off on my virtual broom to fly into the Poetry Friday Roundup at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Jama Rattigan, the ultimate hostess, always serves edible and non-edible treats of poetic goodness.