Nearing the End of NPM22

I am completely amazed at how fast this month passed. While recovering from my first cataract surgery. I learned to have a deeper appreciation of my one word, appreciate, the combination of medicine and faith. Perseverance stepped in during the journey and my muse visited often as I wrote poetry and read others' work. The healing process was long; I often fell asleep while growing new ideas and/or visiting poetry friends' blog sites. Responses to comments left at my blog or on other blogs were in a very slow mode but I made it through the month with these personal projects and more poetry:

• Proudly posted my Day 9 line in the Progressive Poem and passed the baton to my poet friend, Linda Baie.
• Introduced my NPM22 project, the creation of a Poetryliscious Gallery and a padlet to house a variety of artistic expressions, image poems, photographs, and inspired writing. Thank you to Poetry Friday friends, Linda Baie, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Molly Hogan, Denise Krebs, and Carol Labezztta for offering their work. Others, are in contact but have not placed their work on the padlet. You can see their nature photos and/or image poems on my Poetryliscious Gallery padlet. 
• Organized the artistic expressions offered for my Winter's Embrace Gallery that hopefully will be unveiled while winter still holds court in springtime.
• Wrote my annual Earth Day blog post with poetry and a digital graphic as my focus. 

Thank you, Laura Robb for tweeting the above quote sent to me via Twitter.

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This week in between naps, I wrote drafts of metaphor poems for Taylor Mali's Metaphor Dice Contest and anthology and the Poetry Sisters monthly challenge. I will share my samples, labeled #PoetryPals, as soon as I put the finishing touches on them. 

I, also, created an image poem for Margaret Simon's This Photo Wants To Be A Poem. 

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Thank you Jone Rush MacCulloch for providing a "gathering place for poets and lovers of poetry" this week at the Poetry Friday Round Up. Join me at Jone's blog to read about her good news where she shares works she created.

April Moments

Dear Readers,

It is time for April moments to hasten to their end. The month passed by quickly and I realize after reading the poem, April Moments, that the month is near its end. I pause in gratitude for the joy April brought, even with its "winterinspring" weather. Holy Week led to Easter Sunday and family gatherings. There were cherished moments to savor and poems to write during National Poetry Month but now April hastens to its end as Verne Bright wrote.

I decided to write a golden shovel poem to pause and be thankful for the month that passes on. Indulge me for a moment as I write.

April's Appreciated Moments

Why is it that life in spring seems glorious? Do the

Birds know their songs sound sweetest in April?

Shall we celebrate earth's quiet moments?

Stop our hurried steps! Savor springtime bliss? Let us hasten

To bask in the sunlight. Let warm breezes lead us to

Appreciate April moments, soon to approach their

Final, blissful hours of the month's end. 

©CVarsalona, 2022

In my Earth Day blog post, I share a beautiful video, Love Song to the Earth, and invite all to view the padlet containing Poetryliscious Poetry and image poems. I am anticipating more artistic expressions to be added this week. Perhaps, the padlet will entice more friends to add their blissful moments of springtime as a tribute to National Poetry Month. Thank you to slicers, Diane Anderson, Terje Akke, Bob Hamera, and Molly Hogan. If I have missed anyone else, please let me know. Thank you also to Poetry Friday friends, Linda Baie, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Carol Labuzzeta, and Jone Rush MacCulloch. 

Today is Slice of Life Tuesday so I am heading over to Two Writing Teachers

to celebrate another day of writing with a reflective community of writers.

Poetry Bliss

When the muse calls, word weaving follows and perhaps, if I am in the zone, a poem evolves. This is a euphoric experience for me. When this occurs, I am totally wrapped in a poetic moment that suspends time. I mindfully engage in the moment that leads to other gathering moments. 

What triggers this spurt of creativity? It can be a simple noticing, a sound that opens my day, or a text that I am reading. Whatever sends me into a write zone is a pleasurable experience. 

a sigh of bliss

a poetic kiss

fragrant grace

a happiness place

a beach kite
pure delight

euphoria

What else has afforded me poetic bliss this month?

- On April 9, 2018, I enthusiastically moderated the #NYEDChat / #WonderChat combo convo, "Poetry Is for Everyone," with John MacLeod from Wonderopolis and my friends/guest poet hosts, Irene Latham, Laura Purdie Salas, and Charles Waters. 

• The chat was an amazing roller coaster ride of poetry bliss and #poetrylove. I thanked everyone for their poetic hearts and conversations that floated into the Twittersphere. You can access the trending on Twitter conversation with resources gathered here.

-Yesterday on #EarthDay2018, I unveiled my Winter Wonderland Global Gallery of Artistic Expressions after a #winterinspring phenomenon occurred. 

• Please consider taking a gallery walk through an array of vivid nature photographs, image poems, and inspirational quotes while listening to two original compositions, one from Kevin Hodgson and the other from Kat Healy. 
• This gallery is a tribute to the majesty of Mother Earth during the winter season and the strength of poetic voice. Some of Two Writing Teachers slicers are showcased in the gallery that also features Poetry Friday writers; #stuvoice is clearly evident, as well as other voices from around the world. 
• You can enter the gallery here to enjoy a virtual gallery walk during National Poetry Month. 

Each Tuesday, Two Writing Teachers offers Slice of Life Tuesday. I will meet-up with other writers there. Join me. 

Celebrating the Earth

Each Earth Day, citizens gather together to find ways to protect our beautiful earth. Think Green is a popular mantra!

URGENT MESSAGE:
As residents of the earth, we need to take on the role of stewards, keep watch over the bountiful creation provided us, and teach students about the challenges of climate change and other local environmental concerns. Adults can model the slogan, Reduce-Recycle-Reuse, to take a small step forward in Earth Day efforts to save Mother Earth. 

Children can also help, as evidenced by the HBO documentary, Saving My Tomorrow, that aired last night at the close of Earth Day. You can view the clip below.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY:
Classrooms can promote "Earth Day Everyday" by planting trees, recycling, reading about Earth Day at Wonderopolis' Wonder of the Day 1675, How Can You Make Earth a Better Place, and reflecting. To broaden the after-reading experience, 4th to 6th grade students can engage in a writing activity focusing on 10 of the highlighted words in the Wonderopolis text, i.e., earth, public consciousness, future, protection, legislation, global, recycling, rally, action, conserve, plant, trash. Using these words as prompts, students work in pairs to create poems that either celebrate the beauty of Mother Earth or provide insight into ways to save the earth. Recitation of the pair-created poem with another pair enhances the oral reading experience. Asking for feedback allows students to refine their poem. Students create Illustrations, posters, or videos of the class poems to publicize a celebration event.

POETIC FORMAT:
The example I provide below is an adaptation of the Golden Shovel poetic format featured by Writer's Digest. While I enjoy creating this type of poem, I admit that it is challenging.

-Find a quote that appeals to you about your subject.

-Use each word in the quote as an end word in your poem.

-Keep the end words in order.

-Give credit to the person who wrote the quote.

QUOTE:

The earth is what we all have in common. 

- Wendell Berry

MY RESPONSE:

There is beauty in fragile flowers, the

turn of light upon the grass. The earth

wrapped in shades of vibrant hues is

resplendent in springtime, but what 

if we neglect our mighty land?  Will we

deplete earth of its riches or of all

it has bestowed on mankind. Have

we forgotten what is necessary in

our haste to have superfluous interests in common?
©Carol Varsalona, 2017

Yesterday was Earth Day 2017 

but 

EVERYDAY should be Earth Day! 

Let's band together to honor the earth through advocacy and simple steps to focus on becoming faithful stewards of the environment.

The image poem and inspirational message above are part of my #poetrylisciouspoetry collection for National Poetry Month 2017.

Thank you, Margaret Simon for suggesting the topic for #DigiLitSunday and creating the digital flyer below.

Thank you, Ruth Ayres for providing space each weekend to Celebrate This Week with fellow bloggers.

This post is also part of my Wonder Bundle of activities that I am creating for Wonderopolis as part of my commitment to being a Wonder Lead Ambassador. Do you often wonder how you can help protect the earth?

Love Song To Earth

Tomorrow’s in our hands,

Fragile earth,

Poetry’s perspective

Looking down from the universe.

Keep it safe,

You're no ordinary world-

Heaven's poetry to us!

Keep it safe 

Cause it's our world!

©CVarsalona, 2016

The above poem is a blackout poem 

created from the song below. 

Tomorrow is Earth Day but we should

celebrate the earth everyday!

Enjoy Jane Yolen's "Earth Day" poem

from the Three BearsHoliday Rhyme Book.

Visit Jama Rattigan's blog, Jama's Alphabet Soup, where Laura Shovan's first middle grade verse novel is featured, along with several supportive resources, and delicious chocolate recipes to spread the poetrylicious love.

Chocolate in My Garden

I fancy myself a lover of chocolate, all shapes, sizes, and tastes. It is my passion, my go to dessert, melting and swirling so easily in the mouth. It is my comfort at times and my forbidden fixation. Chocolate, rich in color and taste, is a treat to be savored so when I was introduced to chocolate in my garden by a landscaping adviser, I was immediately intrigued. 

Fischetti Landscaping

Preparing for spring renewal and the end of a bitter winter on Long Island, I followed my landscaper/gardener's advice and traveled to a local nursery to view various plantings for a fresh garden look. The day was sunny and bright, so my husband, friend, and I took advantage of the warm weather to enjoy a spring day. Being in the midst of healthy, lush green shrubs, flowering trees, standing tall or serpentined in shape, brought smiles to our faces and a feeling of exuberance for what spring could bring. It was like being in an arboretum with multiple rows of beautiful sights. Not only did I find the just right shrubbery and plants for my gardens but a rich chocolate brown mulch. I was so delighted with my finds that I immediately called my landscaper, Matthew, to work his magic and bring my weather-beaten property back to life. 

Happy Earth Day!

It was on Earth Day that Matt and his gardening crew came to revitalize my gardens, a symbolic gesture of renewal that not only revitalized my property but my spirits. The final product made me smile but better yet it beautified my corner property to make it visually appealing. The chocolate mulch added another layer of delight, just as chocolate icing would brighten a cake so did the mulch enhance my gardens. 

Celebrating Earth Day in such a festive fashion this year made me appreciate the beauty of nature and the gift of landscaping. The earth is a wondrous place. Looking at the several gardens on my property each day makes me grateful for springtime, plantings, and the landscaping-gardening crew who lovingly tend my gardens. 

Earth Day should be an Everyday Celebration!