Time To Be Thankful

Yesterday, I walked out into a darker-than-usual sky. Fresh leaves were strewn across the lawn and tucked away in the corners of my car. I quickly dashed for the inside of my car as the rain continued to flow and an unusual coolness was felt. I paused to enjoy a slow-down moment not because it is National Gratitude Month but because it is uplifting to be one with nature and the beauty of the Earth. Ralph Waldo Emerson offered a touch of uplifting gratitude.

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude."

With Thanksgiving almost here, the cookies baked for this weekend's Friendsgiving, and my little grandgirls visiting on Sunday, I feel blessed beyond measure. My house is ready to give thanks as is nature.

Mary Lee Hahn invited poets to write a #haikuforhealing. Since our mixed-up world, needs healing on many fronts I decided to join in. My thoughts begin with autumn sharing its last breath.

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Now it is time for me to join Poetry Friday with our host, Karen Edmisten, who sends us a poem that we all need and this thought: "Hug each other, stand for what is right and good, and keep creating and embracing beauty."

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. 

Gratitude for Our Veterans

 "The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude." - Jeff Miller

November is #GratitudeMonth, the time to share thanksgiving for the large and small moments of life. On this Veteran's Day, I look back to thank those who fought for our country and freedom, especially my Uncle Johnny, World War II veteran who passed on at 94 years this spring.

Remembrance

a single flag

silenced by time

rests in tribute

©CVarsalona, 2023 #smallpoem

Thank you to Anastasia Suen for her Veteran's Day #smallpoem challenge.

November's Slow Down Time

Last week, I woke to the sight of my thriving basil plants limp from the overnight frost. While this was upsetting, I reminded myself that November is coming to the end of its trail. Darkness creeps in earlier. Winds whisper in the night and leaves swoosh across the sidewalks. Nature readies herself for a transition. During this time of change, articles and self-help guides are plentiful. November becomes the time to slow down, let go or rest. I turn to F. Scott Fitzgerald's quote, Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. Autumn is a time for renewal.

As I reset my clock, I decide to pause and reset my self-care goals.: Find ease and peace on a daily level. Indulge in ample amounts of sleep during November's slow-down. Read and write often to unwind. Cherish small moments and find positivity.

In searching for a short poem on November, I found November Night, written by a late 19th-early 20th American poet, Adelaide Crapsey. Below is an example of an American cinquain poem that she created.

Listen.

With faint dry sound,

Like steps of passing ghosts,

The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees

And fall. 

-Adelaide Crapsey

Intrigued by Crapsey's  word choice and imagery, I penned an American cinquain poem.

Listen.

November winds

chase crunchy, fallen leaves

dancing a quickstep across trails.

Tune in.

©CVarsalona, Fall 2023

While walking the nature trail this week with my little grandgirls, we listened for sounds in the woods, stopped to pick just right leaves for a collage, and made small observations. On the way home, my 6-year-old grandchild, Sierra, began piecing together a draft of a poem about our November walk in the woods. I captured some of her thoughts and merged them into a children's poem with a photo of the two little girls marching in the woods.

What will you do during November's slow down period of of letting go and renewal?

You can find me soaking in nature.

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Since today is Poetry Friday, I am going to soak in the poetic goodness lining up at our host, Karen Edmisten's blog site. Karen is bringing me back to the wonders of Autumn in New York. Join me there.

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November Autumn

This week, fall weather reminds me of November days when I was a child in upstate New York State. Winter usually visited around Thanksgiving and continued her journey up to Easter. The weather was always the center of conversation; now, Winter's nip in the air again interrupts Autumn. Instead of crispness in the air, the shock of blowing cold air leads me to wear triple layers of clothing in the early morning even though the sun shines brightly. Leaves are crinkly and create interesting sounds as they scatter underfoot. There are no birds soaring and chirping this week. Perhaps, they realize it is time to head south. The local meteorologist predicts a long week of cold weather and snow in some areas. Luckily, the heating system keeps it warm inside the house. The beauty of the season keeps floating back into my mind

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit and resign yourself to the influence of the earth."  - Henry David Thoreau

For me, Nature Nurtures the Soul!

Each Wednesday, Margaret Simon posts an invitation to write alongside her at This Photo Wants to be a Poem. Yesterday, she posted a photo of a cardinal that reminded me of a winter day several years ago. A cardinal perched on my picket fence and let me approach so I could take a photograph. Below is my response to Margaret's photo, Cardinal in the Cold.

Cardinal Ponders

May you enjoy the upcoming season of joy.

For now, stroll over to Jama Rattigan's blog,  Jama's Alphabet Soup, to enjoy the Poetry Friday Roundup and Jama's beautiful spread of Thanksgiving art, desserts, and a poem that is a parody of Thanksgiving. 

November Gratitude

November continues to celebrate National Gratitude Month. I indulge into morning reading. Karen Eastlund's post for Spiritual Journey Thursday catches my attention with the addition of a Mary Oliver poem, Mindful. Gratitude flows throughout the poem. 

A couple of Mary Oliver's lines

to lose myself

inside this soft world

©Mary Oliver, Mindful

 lead me to write a Day 8 gratitude poem

daylight saving time

offers a slowing-down pace

evening peace flows

©CVarsalona, 2021

I pen a gratiku above and a golden shovel poem below.

each day becomes shorter for a to-

do list of endless tasks. I need to lose

"supposed musts" and find time for myself.

 ©CVarsalona, 2021

At eveningtide, earth rests.

Sky shares its painted wonder.

A crescent moon shifts its glance -

Masterpiece of peace!
©CVarsalona, 2021

-Dodoitsu Poem-

After a long day of crossing off items on my to-do list, I once again fall asleep while writing. It's time to visit Two Writing Teachers to share my gratitude for Days 8 and 9. Good night moon!

November's Gratitude Gifts

This November morning, fresh with its frosty dew, marks the onset of autumn's transition time. Will the cinnamon and brown sugar landscape turn into gifts of gratitude? Yes it will if you seek gratitude each day to "welcome November, the season of senses..." (Gregory F. Lenz) 

Within the realm of everyday living, observing the ordinary is a slow-down, be-in-the-moment activity that heightens awareness of life. 

Creating digital art and gratitude poems this November is one way to 

appreciate life.

Aurora at Buckland Farm Market

One of Autumn's Memorable Days

I send out my gratitude in the form of a #gratiku to Linda Baie for gifting me with two poetry books and a poem, 24 Things to Always Remember...and One Thing Never -Anonymous just because she is full of kindness. 

act of kindness

sent across miles of friendship

poetry fills voids

©CV, 2021

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."  -William Arthur Ward

You can read other gratikus and gratitude poems at my previous blog post,  

Gratitude Month at Spiritual Journey Thursday.

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REMINDER

You are invited to join my newest online, 

Global Gallery of Artistic Expressions

-Bedecked in Autumn!-

Share your image poems, gratikus, inspirational quotes, artwork, digital designs, and music

on or before November 19th at Poetry Friday when I host.

Send your offering to my Twitter feed, Facebook page, email: cvarsalona at gmail.com, or add to  the Sneak Preview that will be shared at the Poetry Friday Roundup

During the month of November, fill your heart with gratitude and poetic goodness and send it forward into the crisp, cool wind. For now, join Mary Lee Hahn, the host of the Poetry Friday Roundup at her blog, A(nother) Year of Reading, Savor her beautifully descriptive poem of autumn at its best during her road trip adventure. 

Gratitude Month at Spiritual Journey Thursday

November is here, wrapped in morning frost and universal thoughts on the importance of gratitude in our lives. National Gratitude Month with its mission of "encouraging us to embrace the power of gratitude" pops up on my screen. An email from Denise Krebs who resides in Bahrain pings. As the host of Spiritual Journey Thursday, Denise chooses gratitude as our monthly topic, shares her original small poems of gratitude, and encourages the community writers to write #gratikus and #gratitudepoems throughout the month.

I start with an inspirational quote that opens my month of writing with a positive touch.

November's shifting winds inspire me to create digital art and write a blackjack poem.

I turn to scripture to find a verse on thanks: 

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"  -2 Corinthians 9:15

and YouTube for an uplifting song of thanks:

I add my gratiku (gratitude + haiku) for each day of November 2021

during Gratitude Month.

 motherly love

memories of kitchen sweets

pass the cinnamon

©CV, 2021

(grateful for my Nonnie who taught my mother to bake who taught me to bake

and now, I teach my 4-year-old granddaughter

who also bakes at home with her mother, my daughter)

During the month of November, fill your heart with gratitude each day and send it forward into the crisp, cool wind. For now, join the Spiritual Journey Thursday community at Denise Krebs' blog as we fill the universe with gratitude and poetic goodness. 

November Peace

November graciously enters autumn with a bit of October's vibrance until winds of change toss leaves about. Days grow shorter. Earth becomes quieter and tree branches expose their limbs gracefully against a darkening sky. Within this unembellished world, many turn their eyes away not seeing the beauty that lies within nature's arms. 

November holds mysteries heard in whispering winds or in piles of crunchable leaves if we listen. Do you see the beauty beyond the chilled breath of sweatherweather afternoons before the onset of dusk? Step into my digital artwork to discover November peace.

 

One chilled, windy day last week, I walked through my neighborhood feeling a reverent silence for the stillness of the approaching night. I captured this scene and subsequently digitized it and wrote a cherita, "a linked poetry form of one-, two-, and three-line stanzas that tells a story. A cherita depends on conciseness and suggestion for its effect." 

It is my hope that you will honor the slowed-down pace of November in gratitude for its blessings, even when it is difficult to see through the darkening clouds and storms of life.

in november

listen in silence to earth

gratitude whispers

©CV, 2020

I join Two Writing Teachers for the Tuesday Slice of Life to share a small moment of a November day.

October's Transition

Because nature has brought a sense of peace to troubled times this season, I am grateful. October, the high point of autumn, paves the golden path for November to usher in a slower pace with thankful thoughts. For this transition, I have created my first pantoum.

A pantoum is a poem of any length, composed of four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve as the first and third lines of the next stanza. The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first. 

October's Transition

October ends its stay with slipsliding stride.

Crunching rustling leaves.

Spreading multicolored layers thin.

Preparing a way for more crispcool times.

Crunching rustling leaves,

October's evening blush dims,

Spreading multicolored layers thin

as enchanted evening dreams begin

October's evening blush dims

into a speckled indigo sky.

As enchanted evening dreams begin,

nature golddusts earth with thankful sighs.

Into a speckled indigo sky

November sweeps through like a feather duster

as enchanted evening dreams begin

flowing through crispclean air.

November sweeps through like a feather duster

refreshing late autumn's terrain.

Flowing through crispclean air,

October ends its stay with slipsliding stride.

©CV, 2020

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turns into November thanks

Autumn walks in beauty on days

of lustrous hues, muted skies, and

earth bedecked in dazzling jewels.

©CV, 2020

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To add a more gratitude for a season of grandeur, I honor the work of fellow slicers who write alongside me for my Abundant Autumn Global Gallery of Artistic Expressions.

Pandemic Getaway

Fall

reflects

pensively

on pandemic

woes as it invites

travelers to peaceful

shores filled with wishwells of joy.

Pause to bask in nature's grandeur

during getaways that provide rest

from the stresses of a compromised world. 

©CV, 2020, etheree

May October's beauty transition joyfully

into November's crispcool settling time.

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I am sending this Slice of Life to Two Writing Teachers.

#SOL20

Thank you to the following slicers for offering your artistic expressions on the Abundant Autumn Gallery of Artistic Expressions, Slicers' Edition.

Terje Akke

Ramona Behnke

Fran Haley

Bob Hamera

Kevin Hodgson

Molly Hogan

Margaret Simon