Rainy Days Pass On

I breathe in, breathe out, while the series of rain storms soak the neighborhood. Despite the darkness and dampness of several days of showers, a new day dawns with a blue sky overhead and the greenness of earth surrounding me. Red azaleas are blossoming after the latest storm saturated the bushes. This sign of life lifts my spirit and dresses the earth in color. As I sit watching the morning sunlight and the swaying of branches on my pear tree, I feel a quiet stream of words unfolding. Using the inspirational quote by Vivian Greene, I review the digital collage I designed and begin to write a golden shovel poem.

I breate in life,

washing away what isn't

anymore. I listen to birds singing about

the freshness of life waiting.

I breathe in springtime's air for

a revival of my heart beating in the

 sloshing, pounding storms

of fear hoping for calmness to

wipe away sorrows that will  pass.

What life offers is in the future; it's

spring shaping new buds, news about

humans understanding and learning

how to bring about a new era, to

not engage in animosity, but dance

with each other in

calmer times, breathing in the

peaceful sounds of gentle rain.

draft, CVarsalona, 2026

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It's the last day of the 2026 National Poetry Month, 30 days of trying to push away grief bursts, and find time to write. I am amazed at the commitment of our community to create a Progressive Poem that grew from one map and one line to a poem of 30 lines of outstanding verse. This poem not only is a magical adventure to the Land of Poetry. It ends with an inspirational mantra, 'Words transform and restore us!"  I am delighted to add the Progressive Poem with the its map to my Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet that you can find here.

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For those who are interested in adding an artistic expression to the Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet, please do so. I plan on showcasing the Padlet Gallery in mid-May. 

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The Poetry Roundup is hosted by a long-time poet friend, Rose Cappelli, at Imagine the Possibilities. Rose is sharing her tankas that are her 2026 National Poetry Month project.

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It is time to bid adieu to the 2026 National Poetry Month, but you can visit the projects at Jama Rattigan's Kidlithosphere Events Roundup.

National Poetry Month-Day 30/30

Holding the Sun

As usual for these winter days, the sun seems to be outshone by gray skies. While this weather pattern seems odd, it is a reality, something that I need to adjust to this season. As I walk the spiritual journey, I always seek shreds of wisdom. It just so happened that Irene  Latham shared her blog poem at Live Your Poem this past Friday. One line resonated with me, and so I kept it in my heart.

"Teach me how to hold the sun when the day is

anything but joyful." 

These lines will stay with me as a reminder to be optimistic in the face of challenges while maintaining hope.

I know how to teach,

but how do I teach me?

Is there a way to understand how?

Perhaps I should reach out  to

winter's doldrums - hold

all that the season offers in the

middle of my hand when the sun

does not shine. When

the sky provides the

the gift of light on a certain day

there is

an expectation that anything

can open my heart, but

only with the spirit of joyfulness.

draft CVarsalona, 2026

Slice of Life

February 24, 2026

Join me as I come into the light on a winter's day.

at

Two Writing Teachers

Getting The Blues

There is an art to summering during the summer season. It begins with a place animated by nature's hand and a feeling of ease. Sunshine warms hearts while clouds stretch across the sky watching below. A curtain of positivity swishes in the breeze. But there may be days when gray clouds push through the sunshine and thunder through trees.  Either way, bright sunshine or torrential rains, nature nurtures human beings in invisible ways. This I know since my family and I set out on a journey to celebrate my husband's life, as he wished. Summering was a treat since the weather was beautiful and the memories fond.

It is three weeks since we celebrated my husband's life. I carried home with me a spirit of peace but lately there have been difficulties sleeping. I wake with thoughts that I am overwhelmed. My dreams encourage this feeling although I cannot remember exactly what I dreamed. I turn to my writing to find a sense of balance but deep inside there is a void. 

I thank the Poetry Sisters, Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies}, Laura at Laura Purdie Salas, Tricia at The Miss Ruphius Effect, Sara at Read Write Believe, Mary Lee Hahn at Another Year of Reading, and Liz at Liz Garton Scanlon, who invite writers to join their August challenge. I am happy to do so because I need a distraction from reality. Their prompt states, "If poetry is a love letter to readers, this month, we're writing back. Using Nikki Giovanni's "Talk to Me, Poem, I Think I Got the Blues" as a mentor verse, we are writing poetry in conversation with a poem and adding the hashtag #PoetryPals to our posts and social media. 

My strike line for a Golden Shovel poem comes from  

Nikki Giovanni's mentor text/poem,

Talk to me, Poem, I Think I Got the Blues.

Dear Poem, I need to talk.

Each night, I wake up mid-sleep to 

stop worrying about me.

Are you listening, Poem?

Discombobulated, I

feel, so let's pause to think

before writing. I

need to stop waking up shaken. I got

an overwhelming amount of the

to-do-list blues.

(Poem, help me to feel renewed!)

draft © CVarsalona, 2025

It is time to offer this blog post to the Poetry Friday Roundup who is hosted by Karen Edmisten. Karen is sharing her poem for the Poetry Sisters' challenge. Click here.

Stay tuned. In the near future, I will share a mini-gallery of artistic expressions, The Art of Summering 2025.

Welcome to the Art of Summering 2025 Mini-Gallery

Understanding Grief

On July 2, 2025, Tabatha Yeatts (this week's Poetry Friday host) sent me an email about a Poetry Workshop at 7 pm that I might be interested in attending. One hour before the workshop began, I emailed Jena at Evermore and inquired about "The Mystery of Grief-Writing into the Loss" with Evermore Poet Laureate Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. I was happy to join the  Zoom event on short notice. Over 45 attendees were on the Zoom call. Each person experienced grief in different ways. Rosemerry, the poet presenter, was a caring poet with a genuine spirit who encouraged everyone to write for themselves. I heard the words, "Today, grief is settling in my heart". With this prompt, I knew I was in the right place.

During the two-hour workshop, there were poems to listen to, comments to be made on Zoom or in the chat box, writing time, and small group chats. Rosemerry led us through each step in her calm manner, encouraging everyone to use as many senses as we could when writing.  Prompts such as "Write directly to grief and about it.", and "What is your relationship to grief?" were shared. The small groups opened the door to deeper conversation. There was something solemn and safe about being with a community of people who experienced grief in their lives. Rosemerry let us know that she also felt the pangs of grief at an earlier time, but she continually smiled sharing her hopes with us. You can read about Rosemerry at her website. In her Daily Dose of Poetry section, there is one poem that really touched me.

It's the Forth of July Again July 3, 2025

And I didn't go buy fireworks today. Not yesterday, either. Nor will I buy them tomorrow because you will not be here to light them. I realize now what I loved about fireworks was how much you loved them, the way you brightened when the fuse was first lit, the way you glowed near incandescent as the sparks and colors fountained and flashed. And […].  -Rosemerry

During the 15-minute writing section of the workshop, I composed the following quick write prose poem based on Rosemerry's prompt suggestions:

All I know is grief comes with a sigh, caught between sorrow and acceptance. It floats on memories that settle in my heart. Grief tugs, flows, and drops words like acorns quietly falling from autumn trees. Grief knows no boundaries. It is heavy until the day it moves on. It never removes itself totally, at least not now in the raw stage that I am in. - CVarsalona, 7/2/2025

Post-Workshop Thoughts:

I have felt the pain of loss and overwhelming sadness about losing my husband so unexpectedly. Yet, tears don't flow as much now with help coming from faith. "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3 is comforting and allows me to hope that it will bring renewal. I thank Evermore and Rosemerry for The Mystery of Grief-Writing into the Loss workshop. It was a safe spot to speak to others who understand grief as an emotion that surrounds life during this new, raw period. Rosemerry's soft voice, story, and songs inspired me to pen the following poem a few days later.

Post-Workshop Inspirational Quote and a Golden Shovel Poem:

The faith that I love the best, says God is hope!

-Charles Peguy's The Portal of the Mystery of Hope

 I walk into the heat of the

Summer season with strong faith

Reliving past moments that

Belong to our summers. I

Feel the warmth of everlasting  love

Along with challenges during the

Years we shared our best

And worst times. Who says

We walk alone when God, 

Our protector  is

Sending hope. 

CVarsalona, July 2025

Join me at Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference for the POETRY FRIDAY Roundup. Each week, she has different types of poetic goodness, artwork, and interesting thoughts for the poetry community.

Navigating Reality in Springtime

Most people think of springtime's white, puffy clouds drifting across an azure sky, accompanied by a green vision of beauty and grace on earth. The element of light shines bright. Yet, there are many days of cooling breezes, glimpses of a darkened sky hiding behind the clouds, and puddled rain to chase away the gloomy grey. On these rainy days, I let my mind wander to springtime memories gone by.

HERALD of SPRING

looking back in time

March 30th

etched with snow-covered trees

one lone bird sings

waiting patiently for the frozen edge of winter

to join the chorus of spring

©CVarsalona, 2025, cherita

Mentor Poem, Spring by Julie Forglaro

Despite the forecast, live like it's spring! - Lilly Pulitzer

I decided that this quote would open the door for Golden Shovel poem. Even though the words are not from a poem, I decided I could make a poem from the inspirational thought.

Morning Thoughts

I am alone despite

my family being in the area. The

days of rain cause people to complain about the forecast

but not me because I know that I must live

in the here and now like

others but without you. It's

a sadness I carry around this spring.

Despite the fact that it is still spring.

The weather feels like a summer

forecast. Oh, how we loved summer

living. There were fireworks, barbecues, and enjoyment-

Like life found its relaxation mode.

It's difficult without your zest for summer but be assured

Spring will lead the way to your beach wishes, my dear.

©CVarsalona, 2025, Golden Shovel

Strike line from Lily Pulitzer's quote

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Ruth Hersey Is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup while in the United States. Usually we see her in Uganda. Ruth's theme today is fireflies. She shares two poems on the subject that you can read on her blog, There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.

Letter To Heaven

Dreams seem to flow in and out of my mind lately. They sweep across each night, but I rarely remember a complete dream. I try to keep parts of each dream lodged inside my memory, but I usually fall asleep, and then, the dream vanishes.  

Designed by CVarsalona using Fotojet

At the beginning of May, the Poetry Sisters, Liz Garton Scanlon, Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies}, Laura Purdie Salas, Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect, Sara at  Read Write Believe, and Mary Lee Hahn, invited writers to join their challenge. They have been in conversation with Elizabeth Bishop's "Letter to N.Y.", using the golden shovel format created by poet Terrance Hayes. As one of the #PoetryPals, I have constructed a draft of a poem entitled Letter To Heaven with bits and pieces of night dreams and two strike lines from Bishop's mentor text: 1. where everything seems to happen in waves, and  2. nevertheless, I'd like to know.

On this spring-scented May day, where

thoughts float through the clouds, everything

reminds me of our last goodbye. It seems

unreal without you here to

hold my hand and handle finances. What will happen

to your paperwork, stacked up in

piles that push forward as rapidly, ascending waves?

Life seems difficult now, nevertheless,

I must continue to move forward. I'd

be content wishing upon a star like

a child learning how to

enjoy life. For now, I need help being in the know.

©CVarsalona, 2025

It is time now for me to add my #PoetryPals themed poem to the Poetry Friday Roundup. The lovely poet/author Karen Edmisten is our host this week. Thank you, Karen, for supporting me through this difficult chapter of my life. I shall meet you at your blog site. For those interested in the Poetry Friday weekly roundup, please visit Karen's blog here. 19 writers besides Karen are sharing their work.

Love is...

"At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet." - Plato

Valentine's Day has passed but love continues to stir in the chilled winter air. I notice that the deer family no longer jaunts across the woods but I see dog owners walking their pets daily. There is no doubt that the deer family and dog owners show their love by their actions. Even in the depth of winter, "Love is the greatest refreshment in life." (Pablo Picsso) For hundreds of years, love has renewed and rejuvenated us. 

love is

an elixir of life

renewing and energizing us

as we witness delicate snowflakes

dancing in the whistling wind-

as we unfold our journey

love is a freshly-draped blanket

wrapping us in spaces of warmth

while bringing hearts together

in synchronization

draft © CVarsalona, 2025

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Love strikes a pose with 25 poems at my Heartnotes Padlet. May you enjoy the variety of poems and inspirational quotes that you many not have seen previously.

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Love is the guide for the Holiday Poetry Swap led by Jone Rush MacCulloch. I hope to share all the beautiful postcards sent by Poetry Friday friends.

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Love is a rainbow with poetic voice authored by Matt Forrest Esenwine (A Universe of Rainbows). It also features poems written by an amazing cast of poets. Matt's 2nd book that I will review is Tractor Dance.  My granddaughters enjoyed this board book and the signed autograph. I will add some of their thoughts to the review in the near future.

                       

I am late for the Poetry Friday Roundup because my husband was discharged from an 8-day stay in the hospital and I have to play nurse.

Golden Shovel Poem created for Day 20 on Laura Shovan's

13th Annual February Poetry Project

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Poetry Friday is hosted this week by the fun-loving children's poet, Laura Purdie Salas. Laura is debuting two new books she wrote. I will join her for poetic goodness and hope you do also.