Sea Scattering Remembrance

"To the waters and the wild-I leave you not in sorrow, but in love." 

Sea Scattering Remembrance

on a sunkissed day of memories

tiny feet mark morning sand

seawater sparkles in sunshine

little grandgirls quietly wait  

tiny feet mark morning sand

a tranquil ceremony begins

little grandgirls quietly wait 

gentle waters offer solace

a tranquil ceremony begins

seasparkles illuminate the ocean

gentle waters offer solace

our heavy hearts sigh

seasparkles illuminate the ocean

peaceful waters move closer to shore

our heavy hearts sigh

tiny hands watch and wait

peaceful waters move closer to shore

grandgirls tiptoe forward

tiny hands wait their turn

on this sea scattering morning

grandgirls tiptoe toward the tide

light sweeps across the ocean

on this sea scattering morning

we honor Grandpa's endearing love

light sweeps across the ocean

in tribute to what was

we honor Grandpa's endearing love

his story remains in our hearts

©CVarsalona, Summer 2026

"Let the gentle rocking of the ocean carry you away. You are loved, you are cherished, you are deeply missed."

Note: The above quote and the opening one are signed anonymously. AI states that the first quote "adapts phrasing from W. B. Yeats' poem, "The Stolen Child".

The Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Tanita S. Davis, who is enjoying the excitement of new publications and a reminder that the Poetry Sisters will open the door to a new challenge for next week. Click here to read her blog and many others in today's Poetry Friday. 

Navigating Reality - IF Poem

Life continues to be full of bumps in the road, creating an uncertain journey. Piles of paperwork sit in different rooms, waiting for me to add to the accomplished box. Beautiful sympathy cards with sentiments from family and friends lay in another box. I look through them often. They are reminders that support comes from family and friends. It is quiet in my home now. Loneliness floats through the rooms of our beautiful house, designed together.

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Puffy grey clouds circulating through the morning sky wash away streams of sorrow. Sunshine opens a new day, but the big IF haunts my thoughts. I look for ways to open my heart to the whispers of my soul. I remember the peace found at the beach so with pen in hand, I write a poem for my husband, Richard, centering on the word if.

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This month, 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, challenged poets to "write in conversation with a vintage photograph". Since I was preoccupied by the sudden, silent, cancerous disease that aggressively attacked my husband and led to his passing, I did not have enough time to plan out a poem that applies to one of my vintage photos. Instead, I kept thinking of my husband and our love of the Long Island beaches near our house. We made memories with family and friends at the South Shore beaches. The above photo shares our days of walking and sitting at the boardwalk. The poem is dedicated to Richard since our last conversation before his passing was short but memorable.

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Thank you to our poet-teacher, Heidi Mordhorst, who is hosting Poetry Friday today. She is honoring the last Friday of National Poetry Month, our community's Kidlit Progressive Poem, and all the poetic goodness that follows at the end of Heidi's blog. Please click here to relax while reading.

Inspired by Autumn Morning "Awe Walks"

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. - Aristotle

I hear the call of morning in the woods.

Autumn morning sweeps into daylight.

Breathes in crispcool freshness.

Dialogues whimsically with Nature.

Turns to awaken a weary world.

At ocean's edge, baby gulls test their skills,

Fly into a watchful October sky

And dip into glistening waters

Of diamondsparkle seafoam.

A lone tree bedecked in russet

Lays a blanket of crunchable leaves.

Waiting for schoolyard childrens'

giant leap into autumn majesty.

I wander through Autumn mornings connected in silence with nature. Awestruck with earth's goldleaf colors, I feel the warmth of September-in-November-joy.

©CV, 2020, Long Island, NY

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Intrigued by the appeal of an aubade, a poetic format that appeared on Linda Mitchell's blog as a challenge for her fellow Sunday Swaggers. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary explains this form as a song or poem greeting dawn; a morning love song; a song or poem of lovers parting at dawn. I chose to write my first aubade as a morning love song.

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Lord Bryon sums up an intense love of nature in his poem:

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,

There is a rapture on the lonely shore,

There is society where none intrudes,

By the sea and music in its roar:

I love not man less, but nature more.

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Lately, I have spent many days taking awe walks, soaking in the intensity of autumn while trying to make sense of a pandemic upside-down life. Awe walks are simple antidotes for stress. They allow me to shift my attention outward instead of inward leading to a feeling of well-being. Another way for me to achieve a sense of balance (my one word) is to join the Poetry Friday Roundup each week. This week, Robyn Hood Black is hosting, at her website, Life on the Deckle Edge. Robyn's post is full of poetic goodness. As one of the stops on the HOP TO IT Blog Tour of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong's new poetry anthology, Robyn shares her enthusiasm for the book and her own children's poem published in the anthology. Robyn also provides congratulary remarks for fellow poets' new books .

Summer's End Note

When day ends and hope survives do you long for peace, the quiet of a summer's night, or the fresh breath of sea salt skies?   If so, join me on a virtual evening stroll of a historic Long Island site, Jones Beach. 

 

It was the end of a Long Island, August dog-day when the family decided to take a walk on one of Long Island's beaches.  We were longing for the calm of the night sky along the ocean since we're moving to a beautiful new build in Virginia soon.  Saying goodby to summer is always a bittersweet event but now more so than ever.  Luckily, the weather obliged and a ride to the historic Jones Beach boardwalk afforded us the opportunity to take a peaceful evening stroll.  Upon entering the parking lot, we noted the new normal rules of parking (cones marking spaces one car away from each other) and joined masked beachgoers in an exodus-style line of walkers. As we strolled, the sky opened wide with changing colors from muted, hazy ones to glowing, vibrant sun streaks of reddish-orange.  There was the low hum of beach family conversation and activity from zip liners in the massive new structure facing the beach.  It was a night to remember so a digitally-created memory was a must.

chasing serenity

eventide at the beach

sea, sand, and sky intersect

©CV, 2020

It's Slice of Life Tuesday so I will share my virtual walk

with the Two Writing Teachers community of writers.

Note:

With summer around the globe estranged in many ways due to COVID-19, I am gathering a collection of image poems for my #EmbraceableSummer Gallery Collection.  If so inclined, join in the fun of creating image poems on the topic, Summer 2020 in the Midst of Quarantine Life. I am hosting Poetry Friday at my blog on September 4, 2020 where I will share creative work to showcase the beauty of summer even during trying times.   

Summer's Sweltering Heat

I have been watching the weather forecast and sweltering under the rising heat index just like many of my fellow Long Islanders.  Each day, morning greets daylight with steamy heat. A sit on my front porch or patio to listen to the sounds of summer and watch the flowers with their blossoming colors but only for a few moments due to the blistering heat. 

For the past month, I have thought of creating an etheree on summer but not until this week did I put pen to paper or stylus to digital notebook.  The Poetry Sisters/Princesses invited everyone to create an etheree with the theme foresight or summer or both for this week's Poetry Friday edition.  Poet Tricia Stohr Hunt, wrote a blog post on the poetic form and Poetry Sister Liz Ganlon created a video.  My friend/author/poet Laura Purdie Salas, another Poetry Sister, sent me the blurb to join in the fun.  I have never written a etheree so the outcome of my labors is a first.  While sending it out for review and using the #poetrypals hashtag, I know that I need more practice in etheree writing. 

Summer's Steaming Embrace

News:

heatwave

continues!

Steamstorm swelters.

Flowers yearn for rain.

People move at slow pace

under a still, sticky sky

and sharks inch closer to south shores.

Long Island beaches lose their allure.

during steamy times, embrace summer days!

©CVarsalona, 2020, Long Island South Shore Beach

As a #poeticdiversion (hashtag compliments of

I transferred my etheree into a video poem using Lumen 5.

Did you know that sharks like shallow water where swimmers are?  My plan is to stay safe indoors with air conditioning.   I have no desire to see the sharks of summer at my favorite beach site plus, I have the foresight to know how to stay safe at the beach, especially during COVID-19.

Now, I turn my attention to the Poetry Friday Roundup hosted by Catherine Flynn who is sharing an original poem based on a picture from the book, The Imaginaries. 

Recently, I was sent an email of distinction from Anuj Agarwal, #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/.

Poems of Presence

The practice of writing poetry is an exercise in mindfulness. To be open to the universe of words and to put them down on a page is nothing short of a miracle. - Margaret Simon

At the start of May, there is always an urgency for me to explore what nature has to offer. This year, quarantine life left Long Islanders longing for the joy of a sunny day, the exploration of sandy beaches, and the call of the gulls. When newspaper headlines stated, "LIers flock to state beaches, parks amid warm weather," my husband decided to hop in the car with his mask and head to the beach. Wanting to be present with the sea once again, my son and I joined him. As we traveled to Jones Beach State Park, I noticed the clear waterway sparkling like diamonds. It was uplifting but as we turned into the park entrance, I was alarmed by the number of cars gathering. We did not stay there because social distancing appeared not to be regarded. Instead, we traveled to the next beach town. Along the way, we saw at least 40 people on a line waiting (six feet away from each other) for the ice cream store to open. Our short stay at the next beach in Long Beach, allowed me to briefly satisfy my urge to be present in a moment of joy. On that sandy beach, I felt the sunshine, listened to the roaring waves and watched seagulls dive and swoop as scavengers of life. I communed with nature, the ever-present healer, and gave thanks for a few moments of relaxation during my quarantine life.

This past week, some poet friends were writing epistolary poems or letter poems so I decided to write one also.

On May 1, 2020, at Today's Little Ditty, Michelle H. Barnes spotlighted Margaret Simon. Michelle asked Margaret to choose the month of May's Ditty of the Month challenge. She chose poems of presence with this prompt: write a mindful poem about the present moment and add it to the DMC padlet. I am offering the above poems, hoping for feedback. These poems will be added to my #NatureNurtures 2020 Gallery.

I am also joining Two Writing Teachers today for their Slice of Life Tuesday.  

Paddleboard Power

This week, a human interest story on paddle patrols was highlighted in Newsday, Long Island's newspaper. It caught my eye as a unique effort to keep the beautiful Long Island waters pristine for residents and future Long Islanders.

rise and shine boarders

once the sun is up explore
local waterways

mission to clean up
canals, creeks, local waters
weather permitting

paddleboard power
help collect garbage, debris-
rid the floating trash

Long Island reward
feels good to do something good
for environment

©Carol Varsalona, 2019

Long Island paddleboarders help collect garbage.

-Newsday, Paddle power by Nicole Allegrezza Fuentes, July 26, 2019
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I am sliding into Michelle H. Barnes' July Wrap-up Celebration at Today's Little Ditty with my found haiku poem series inspired by the article listed above.  At the beginning of the month in the Reader Spotlight of Today's Little Ditty, my friend from Virginia, Linda Mitchell, asked that we create a found haiku. 

Find an interesting article on a topic that fascinates you. As you read the article highlight phrases with the right syllable counts for traditional haiku (5-7-5). It’s true that haiku is not strictly 5-7-5. However, for this exercise, keep to the “rule.” Once you have found several phrases, place them into the form of a haiku. I’ve shared several of these on my blog, A Word Edgewise. (See examples here, here, and here.)

#IFeelTheHappiestWhen

#Hashtags pop up all the time on Twitter but Monday's trending hashtag, #IFeelTheHappiestWhen,  made me smile.  In the summertime, living is easy; it's the time to catch happiness vibes in nature's playground. Come along with me to take a peek at a Long Island summer day.   Find out what makes me happy.

This weekend was one of those times to explore the art of relaxation, despite the heatwave that swept over Long Island.  Sweltering heat, temperatures climbing past 100 degrees, and blazing sunshine created a combination that called for constant hydration, air conditioning, and finding balance.  A walk along the shore filled with sounds of the ocean, gulls swooning, and cool waves splashing is usually appealing but getting to the shore means crossing the sizzling sand. This plan was not an option on such a hot day so I needed to come up with another idea to find the sweet summer life at the Long Island shore.

Plan B evolved. A short jaunt to the beach late in the day when the wall of heat was bearable became a plausible alternative.  My husband, son, and I drove to the beach mass at Malibu Beach.  To our surprise traffic was light and the local priest laughingly announced that he would skip the homily until September.  That was a good plan considering the heat quotient. 

Once mass was over, we were on the quest was to find a restaurant by the water with a slight breeze.  We were pleased to find an open table at one of our favorite restaurants, Pop's.  All we needed to do was wait for a half-hour to be seated.

This was a delightful option since the tropical-like outdoor area with a sandy beach overlooking a quiet canal was not crowded. As we sat in the Adirondack chairs watching the boats pass by I realized that our summer afternoon outing would become a memorable event.

Animated digital postcard created at Buncee 

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#IFeelHappiestWhen I commune with nature and family

while enjoying the beauty of sweet summer life.

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Today is Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers. I am looking forward to seeing how how my writing colleagues will respond to the prompt, #IFeelTheHappiestWhen...

Self-Care & Happiness

It's Sunday morning. For the first time in a week, sunshine covers the sky with softened wisps of cotton puffs. Beachgoers flock to Long Beach Boardwalk to stroll alongside the Atlantic Ocean shore. One of my favorite south shore happiness spots comes alive with springtime joy. 

What makes this place special? Rising surf rushes to shore in rhythmic patterns as sea gulls silently swoop up and down. Life slows down beachside, below the busy boardwalk. People share their zen-like routines and rituals. Meditative practices are seen everyone from dozing babies and senior citizens on boardwalk benches and in strollers to a lone fisherman basking in the sun. A solitary yogi bows in respect for sun salutations. Serenity is found. 

Atlantic Ocean beaches are one of my go-to happiness spots. What's yours?

The above poster was shared by Happiness Coach, Kim Strobel, on #NYEDChat last night. The conversation revolved around the topic, The Science of Happiness. You can access the transcript here.

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It's Tuesday so I am now joining  Two Writing Teachers with this slice of life. 

Dog Day Afternoon

It seems like the summer is passing by at warp speed. August 1st is here and typically it is dog day weather. As a child, I always wondered why people used that term. As I grew older, I realized that dog days refers to hot, sultry, weather. If you want to read more about this I suggest you read Wonder of the Day #285, "When Are the Dog Days of Summer?, at Wonderopolis. 

Lately, I have been thinking back on childhood days. They were filled with imaginative play outdoors in the sunshine. Some days were filled with entrepreneurial pursuits as lemonade makers. Other days revolved around teaching with chalk boards, lessons, and stairs and steps as classroom benches. Stone Teacher was a popular game in the neighborhood. Younger children were always encouraged to become the students as several of us longed to be the teachers. One of the biggest treats on hot August days was a walk to the corner store to purchase penny candy or if we were really lucky popsicles. That treat cooled us down which was often needed because there were no nearby pools or beaches in my neighborhood.

To honor the memory of my childhood dog days, I'm off to the Point Lookout Beach on the southern shore of Long Island. Would you like to join me on my sun-kissed summer venture? 

The entrance to the beach has a summery appeal with its sand and rocks.

Some families prepare for their trek across the hot sand 

with suntan lotion and water sips.

Solitary beach goers sit far away from the ocean to enjoy 

reading their current book.

Others head straight for the shore.

A set of toddlers twins frolic

in their pink and blue inflatable pools.

I start missing my six-week old granddaughter.

Lifeguards take the canoe out for a practice emergency run.

It presents a great visual against the shoreline. 

I digitized the above original photographs with the app, Waterlogue, to give the look of watercolor paintings. These will be added to my upcoming gallery of artistic expressions, Sunkissed Summer. Why not take part in the gallery by sending me your sunkissed moment as a photo or an image poem?

I hope you enjoy the dog days of August as much as I do. Don't forget to check out Wonderopolis' Wonder of the Day #285, "When Are the Dog Days of Summer?" 

Note: 

As a Wonder Lead Ambassador, I just posted an integrated ELA/art/nature lesson for grades 2-4 at Wonderopolis' Wonder Ground. You can find it by clicking the link here. 

This post is being added to Ruth Ayres' CelebrateThis Week post-weekend since I spent last week enjoying the company of my six-week old granddaughter who lights up my life with joy. 

March Musings 10: On Long Island

On Long Island, Walt Whitman is revered as a beloved poet. There is a shopping center, road, and high school named after him. The Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site and Interpretive Center is located here also. I have always said that I would visit but never have. Perhaps, this summer will be a good time to see what the site has to offer.

In February, I participated in Laura Shovan's #10FoundWords project and created a poem based on the NY Times article, In a Walt Whitman Novel, Lost for 165 Years, Clues to ‘Leaves of Grass’. As per the guidelines, the following words were to be used to create a poem: tale, lost, transformed, discover, simmering, bright, chanting, complete, magical, bonus word: poet.

Below is my humble offering, a Whitman-like poem that is based on summer in Long Island:

Ah, what can be more magical to a chanting poet than Long Island's south shore?
Sand imprinted footsteps and fluid, rolling tides?
Willowy reeds swaying against cloud-patterned skies?
Baby gulls waddling in a single row,
dodging rollicky waves with mother in tow?
Sand-castle art with muddy moats
brightening the beach until tides take afloat?
Seagulls swerving, sweeping up lunch,
hopping along with a swift, fierce crunch?
Tales of lost flip flops and goggles galore
from simmering bodies at the sandy shore?
The magic of morning's brilliant bright sights
transforming evening to sunset's dusky light?
Ah, what can ever be more lovely to me than Long Island in summer?
©Carol Varsalona, 2017


Fire Island in summer

This post is the tenth in a series titled March Musings 

for Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Challenge.

Venture over to Today's Little Ditty where Michelle Heidenrich Barnes is hosting the Poetry Friday Round-up. She is showcasing the work of a gentle woman, Lily Yeh, and her Barefoot Artists, Inc. project that "brings the transformative power of art to impoverished communities around the world."