Unveiling Embraceable Summer Gallery 2019

 "Nature's beauty is a constant and a reminder that life continues with hope for a better tomorrow." 

Inspired by Long Island's ocean shores, you are cordially invited to

stroll through the second segment of Embraceable Summer Gallery, an unfolding collection of glimmering sights, calming sounds, and wistful moments of summer 2019.  This collection is a seasonal gift showcasing the beauty of nature.  Linger awhile in the above digital inspiration where glistening sand lines a tranquil shoreline of northern Long Island.   Reflect on this past year how your life has been affected by the unforeseen pandemic and find peaceful moments in your end-of-summer days.  Please start your gallery walk with the introductory segment of Embraceable Summer Gallery that was unveiled on September 3, 2020. Click here for a playlist that accompanies the gallery.

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Looking Back to Summer Past

The Embraceable Summer Gallery is created in segments due to the vast array of artistic expressions spanning a two-year journey of summers around the globe. Messages of gratitude go out to a group of patient global contributors who crafted individual stories via digital platforms. I share snapshot moments of quiet inspiration from nature across the globe during Summer 2019.  Enjoy your gallery walk.

Summer of 2019 was

mind-freeing,

energy-lifting,

spiritually renewing,

and wrapped in sunshine

from dawn to sunset.

©CV, 2020

Tara Coulter, Vancouver Island, BC

Amanda Potts, Ottawa, Ontario

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summer freshness

gardens bright, lines of laundry -

daily enchantments

summer's allure

gift of rest, relaxation -

call to slow down

You can hear an audio version of Kiesha Shepard's poem here.

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Summer evenings blanket earth in 

 “bursts of gold on lavender melting into saffron.  

It’s the time of day when the sky looks like it has been spray-painted by a graffiti artist.” 

- Mia Kirshner

Laura Toledo, Southold, Long Island

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September brings

new routines for summer's end

notice the change

"When summer gathers up her robes of glory, And, like a dream, glides, away." 

-Sarah Helen Whitman

Northport, Long Island at day's end, ©CV, 2020

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When summer of 2019 neared its end, an autumnal equinox approached.

A Harvest Moon amazed earth!

"Harvest moon: around the pond I wander and the night is gone."

-Matsuo Basho

Friday the 13th, September 2019

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Parting Digital Inspirations

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Contributors to the 2nd Segment of #EmbraceableSummer Gallery:

#chazchaz via Al Dhalla

KumudAjmani

Terje Akke

Linda Baie

Lakshmi Bhat

Les Buchanan

Tara Coulter

Al Dhalla

Karen Eastlund

Matt Forrest Esenwine

Fred Harwood

Michelle Kogan

Anne LaBlanc

Rachel Murat

Sharon Norden

Amanda Potts

Joyce Ray

Kiesha Shepard

Donna Smith

Laura Toledo

Carol Varsalona

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I send this gallery across social media to celebrate the beauty of nature as a constant reminder of what we have to be grateful for as opposed to what we are missing. The first stop is Poetry Friday,  hosted by Texan teacher/poet, Kiesha Shepard. You can read Kiesha's poetic offering above.

NOTE: Continue to stop by for more unveilings of the Embraceable Summer Gallery. There are many more offerings from 2019 coming in future installments.

Enjoy your end-of-summer weekends.

Inspiration from Others

Drip drops landed on my family room roof outside my window.  Dark clouds hung low and stillness sat upon morning.  It was dreary but not the type of day that was meant for Hallmark movies and hot chocolate, although I was cold and could have used some quiet cuddle time.  There was work to do.  In between laundry and cleaning-out-a closet duty, I snuck a few minutes to read some Poetry Friday posts from last week that I missed.   As I  read posts, I hunkered down to savor words and being inspired to write. 

Writing I did, after I stopped at adolescent author Tanita S. Davis' blog.  Tanita shared Jane Tyson Clement's poem, Bach's Inventions.  I was impressed by the following line that I chose as my strike line for a golden shovel poem: if I could define my end 

Within the hustle of a day, if
life was simply organized and I 
as well, balance would follow. Could
order bring me to a place where I define
existence in this odd quarantine life and fill my
restless time with fruitful ponderings that never end?
©CV, 2020

Next, I gathered more Inspiration as I watched the last night of the Democratic National Convention tonight.  After accepting the invitation to become the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biiden delivered an optimistic and memorable speech.  I created a found poem of some of his compelling words.

"I will draw on the best of us, not the worst." -Joe Biden

Hope lives at the convention.

Become a united America,

Put politics aside, and find the light.

Life can be cruel but

Stay strong with purpose.

Let us save our democracy!
©CV, 2020

Joe Biden's called all to "overcome this season of darkness".  With hope and faith, this call to action has lifted my spirits enough to walk into the light and continue writing from the heart.

Tonight I join the Poetry Friday Roundup with my long-distance friend and grandma reading lover, Ramona Behnke.  She discusses her significant week with interesting links. Is your curiosity peaked?   Connect to find more poetry goodness.

Poetry Friday Friends:

With summer on beautiful Long Island estranged in many ways due to COVID-19, I am gathering my collection of image poems sent in for my Embraceable Summer Gallery.  If so inclined, please share a new image poem on the topic, Summer 2020 in the Midst of Quarantine Life,, at your blog for the September 4, 2020 Poetry Friday that I am hosting.  It will be a way to showcase the beauty of nature during trying times.   

Heated Summer Morning

This morning, I sat quietly listening to the sounds of summer. Birds high up in the trees tweeted to one another as cicadas sang their ritual summertime song. Hydrangeas huddled together sharing their space with Black-eyed Susans, looking bright and playful as if they were stretching and spreading toward the light. Nothing moved as the heat kept sizzling so I continued to sit on the porched watching nature unwrap its morning like a gift. Not to forget the hum and sights of the season, I brought the joy inside.

heated morning

unfolded in vibrance

earth watched in awe

©CV, 2020

Summer heat continued all day and into the night. Each time I walk past the flowers, I am reminded of the gift of summer joy nature brings. I send this bouquet to Two Writing Teachers for today is Slice of Life Tuesday.

News:

Recently, I was sent an email of distinction from Anuj Agarwal,  FEEDSPOT, #Feedspot Founder of Feedspot.com, a place to keep up with all your favorite blogs, news sites and rss feeds in one place.  

I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog, Beyond LiteracyLink has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 40 Children's Poetry Blogs on the web. 

 This link accompanied the email: https://blog.feedspot.com/childrens_poetry_blogs/.

Reflecting on Summer

A heatwave is upon us and it isn't even the dog days of August on Long Island.  I step outdoors each day moving from cool air conditioning to the warmth of the sun's rays. Summer's breath is intense.  My pansies on the patio cry out for a spritz of cooling water at noon.  I respond and reflect on summer's embrace.  

My thoughts revert to Salvador Dali 's beautiful, summer day painting on a summer day, Figure at the Window. This scene reminds me of the sublime beauty of Long Island in summer.

She waits.
Thoughts float on by
into restful waters.
Stillness fills empty space
as a gentle breeze sweeps in,
softening the air.
Life rests under
a blanket of
sweet summer's
breath.

©CV, 2020

If it were not for the pandemic, I could visualize me luxuriating in a mud bath of salt water at the shore. But groups of unmasked young people are caught on the news congregating too close together without masks. What I can do is imagine, reflect, and respond to this dreamy photo by art teacher/photographer, Jennifer Graycheck, found at Margaret Simon's blog, This Photo Wants to be a Poem.  

nature's cure

swirled swooshing sounds break at shore 
tranquility's hush
salted-sea mudpacks rise and
dreams floats in ocean's warmth
©CV, 2020

Continuing the urge to engage in peaceful thoughts while caught up in the midst of a next- -chapter-of-life move to Virginia, I found another restful sight. Twitter friend @lucky_budd photographed the Milky Way and I took the opportunity to comment poetically.

For those who want a respite from the news and noise of pandemic life take a jaunt over to Poetry Friday hosted by Margaret Simon. Delve into the essential question, What is Poetry? to unlock more poetic goodness for poetry lets us bathe in summer bliss without traveling to the shore.

News:

Recently, I was sent an email of distinction from Anuj Agarwal,  FEEDSPOT, #Feedspot Founder of Feedspot.com, a place to keep up with all your favorite blogs, news sites and rss feeds in one place.  

I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog, Beyond LiteracyLink has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 40 Children's Poetry Blogs on the web. 

 This link accompanied the email: https://blog.feedspot.com/childrens_poetry_blogs/.

Sunset Blessing

Evening settles on the lake-

shimmers and glows,

hovers,

rests.

Moments adjust

to hues

pressed

against the sky.

Night is

blessed. 

©CVarsalona, 2019

𝍂

When my poetry colleague, Margaret Simon, sent me her gorgeous sunset for my #EmbraceableSummer Gallery collection I challenged myself to write a zeno poem, a poetic format created by master poet, J. Patrick Lewis. This format is tricky because it not only follows a formula of a mathematical sequence of 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1  syllables per line but also adds rhyming to each 1 syllable line. After creating many drafts, I felt perplexed and decided to step away from the process for a while. When I returned to writing, I was determined to complete the poem. 

I would gladly accept any thoughts on this zeno that I finally wrote. 

You can listen to the poem at Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/364842604.

I am sharing these Tuesday thoughts, my slice of life, with Two Writing Teachers.

Happy Autumn!

The above photo and poem will grace the walls of my #Embraceable Summer Gallery collection found on Twitter. You can find other sunset photos and poetry from around the globe at: https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2019/10/summers-enduring-beauty.html and

https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2019/10/summers-enduring-beauty-part-2.html.

Nudges

Still feeling the positive effects of yoga, I lingered a bit in my car when I pulled into the driveway.  I was engrossed in the action in my garden. The day seemed like a cross between late summer and early autumn. A single bee hovered over one of my front garden plants until others came to the area but they did not disturb the first one. The new visitors were on a mission to independently collect food from other flowers. Then, fluttering in, a lemon-colored butterfly entered the scene opening its wings to announce its entrance.

"By all these lovely tokens September days are here, 

with summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer."  - Helen Hunt Jackson  

Seasons announce their transition.

nudging us to notice 

in good faith, in good time

for everything, there is a season.

Do we hear the gentle bend in the wind;

see the cascading leaf upon the pavement?

Seasons announce their transition.

Summer moments linger

under a heavenly sky.

Earth waits for nature to tip its hand-

waves goodbye to summer bees;

whispers hello to abundant autumn. 

©CV, 2019

"For everything, there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven."

- Ecclesiastes 3:1

(I lifted part of the scripture verse as an inspirational piece for the double cherita above.)

I need one last nudge to find my flow, make time for the creative spirit to flutter, and settle down to bring the best of summer's inspiration to fruition at the Embraceable Summer Gallery. With faith and patience, this will happen.

Thank you, Ramona Behnke, for hosting Spiritual Journey first Thursday at your blog, Pleasures from the Page, and nudging me to ponder your interesting theme.

Slowing Down Summer

Are you gearing up for the start of school with a positive attitude? Or are you like the 6th grader at the beach who is trying to read her required book for the first day of school - rushing in at the end to complete the task?

The summer is moving on at such a fast pace that I want to slow it down, savor the last days of summertime, and wind-up some projects I started. I feel a sigh of relief each time I finish something that has been on my mind. But then, there are the nagging thoughts surfacing. How do I capture the last days of summer?  I can't get enough of summer! Are you like that?

- It's time to continue to enjoy ocean walks, beautiful sunsets, and scenic trails. -

 

Enjoy your last summer days before Labor Day.

Capture them in photos.

I will continue to embrace the summer spirit and hope you do, too. 

 🏖

You can find more relaxing photos in my #EmbraceableSummer Gallery collection at Twitter.

The gallery will be unveiled in the near future. If interested, you can send me a digital of the way you are embracing the last summer days.

It's Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers.

The Traveler

Summer is the season for families to embrace the spirit of adventure as they travel to familiar and/or faraway places.  Travel allows all to relax, rejuvenate, and savor the beauty of the world.  Over one hundred years ago, poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."   I'd like to think that our journeys will allow us to savor all our life living moments.

On the road of life, we are the travelers.

The above photo, sent to me by Al Dhalla, invited me to write about peacefulness and the importance of being present.  The image poem is part of the #EmbraceableSummer Gallery collection. 

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In open spaces

of late summer,

sunrise quietly dawns.

Yogis solemnly salute nature's majesty.
as nature silently paints a fiery sky

above the shifting sands.

Tranquility settles in.

Quietude achieved.

©CVarsalona, 2019

May your day open with peace and end in love.

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Today is Tuesday Slice of Life at Two Writing Teachers.  Join me.