#PoetryPals Challenge & More Poetry Fun

Another surprise marks the near end of the summer season. For last week's Poetry Friday, I wrote about Sweet Surprises. One of the surprises was a meet-up with my poetry friend, Linda Mitchell, who lives about 15 minutes away. While writing that post, I did forget that it was the end of the month and that the Poetry Sisters/#PoetryPals invited all to take a plunge into their August challenge, WHAT THE ________KNOWS poems. The idea was to write in the style of Jane Yolen's eight-line, rhyming poem, What the Bear Knows. This challenge was in honor of Jane Yolen's 400th book.

I wrote two drafts of different poems earlier during the month of August with the topic "What Does Baby Know?" Because we have been Grandma and Grandpa sitting on and off during August, I chose to write about our twenty-month granddaughter whom we just stopped calling baby. My first poem below is slightly different than the suggested form but I wanted to add an additional stanza. 

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What does the baby know? 

To be curious about all things

To find joy in life's flow

To figure out how to throw

What does the baby know? 

Be determined to share her sweet grin

To busy herself while having fun

Until each splendid day is done. 

©CVarsalona, Summer 2021 

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In addition to the poems and digitized images above, I created a haiku to accompany my slice of life about the first birthday celebration we had for my son. This can be found at my blog post, A Rain-Drenched Gift. Earlier tonight, our Spiritual Journey Thursday group under the leadership of Karen Eastlund wrote to the topic, virtue. While I struggled to get started, I decided to write a goal-setting poem on the virtues I would like to work on the rest of this year. That can be found at my blog under SJT Virtue.

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As the stroke of midnight approaches, I turn my thoughts to Poetry Friday. The amazing activitist poet-author-teacher, Heidi Mordhorst, is hosting this week at her blog, my juicy little universe. Heidi has an amazing array of thoughts, poems, and challenges for us to peruse at her poetrypalooza. Join me there.

I am gathering poetic and artistic expressions in the form of image poems, inspirational quotes, digital inspirations, music, artwork, and any other option for my upcoming Nurturing Our Summer Souls Gallery. If interested contact me or send in your offerings related to the topic. I have a Twitter hashtag, #NurturingOurSummerSouls, set up for incoming digital. Please send it to @cvarsalona also. 

Summer Bursts with Color and Creativity

Summer 2021 bursts with sizzling temperatures, brilliant sunset colors, and fierce storms. In between all of those nature-made events, creativity has flowed.  Summer Poem Swap #3 took me by storm (so to speak). A small package arrived filled with the flaming colors of summer. Inside I found a stack of custom card stock, water-colored cards created by Mary Lee Hahn that were tied with a turquoise ribbon. A letter was penned on a similar water-colored paper that was oversized. Included was a sentiment that touched me: "This is a custom haiku (or dodoitsu) oracle deck, made with phrases found in your poems". Mary Lee designed a workable and reusable deck of cards for me to enjoy and create different haiku or dodoitsu poems. Not only was the swap gift unique, but it was also a learning tool since I never heard of a dodoitsu.

Haiku (5-7-5) by Mary Lee

find open spaces

mix wonder and childhood dreams

be glad for blessings

Here is a photo I found in Mary Lee's blog post, Missing Mom dated 12/20/2017 that I thought would pair nicely with the above Haiku.

 

Dodoitsu (7-7-7-5) by Mary Lee

gratitude floats through the air

the sweetness of goodness found

in robes of golden sunrise

          great expanse of life.

          ©CV, 2021

I thought this Google Image was wll-suited for the above dodoitsu.

Mary Lee ended with a wish for me. "Have fun mixing and matching to create new poems with your very own words!" Since she requested that I not share my deck until mid-August, today I feature the sizzling, colorful, and creative poem swap. Grateful for this gift and the opportunity to write, I started to create immediately. 

 My thank you dodoitsu to Mary Lee:

gratitude floats through the air

blossoms like a bud of spring

in robes of golden sunrise

         how charming you are

         ©CV, 2021

I had fun playing with the deck. 

The above image poem was created using the FotoJet app. It is one of the many photos I have from the wooded trail along the creek in our community. It will be added to my Nurturing Our Summer Souls Gallery collection.

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Last week was one of the firsts in our family! My daughter competed in her first triathlon and my son saved a life at work! Because these were proud moments in our family's journey, I wanted to share the events with all. Unfortunately, after I published the post, the revised copy disappeared along with the cheritas I wrote to commemorate each event. Now, I am in the process of recreating the poems since the originals were lost. 

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Thank you, Carol Labuzzetta, for hosting Poetry Friday for the first time. Carol shares her experience teaching a summer enrichment program. She provides a serene photo to prompt our own imaginations. 

Sweet Beach Memories

Sweet beach memories float on by. It has been months since I walked across a beach feeling the sand massaging my toes.  I pause to recall the morning sun offering warmth, gulls swooping across the ocean, and frolicking sounds of children swooshing in ebullient waves. Summer brings its own magic to the shore-nature's handpainted seascape. Mother Nature blends muted shades rising above a cream sand layer. To replicate the look, artists reach into their palettes mixing jetty gray with blue sky. Blending my love of photography with digital art, I create memories of my seaside times of gratitude.  

sunkissed shoreline

the sweetness of goodness found

golden moments

©cv, 2021

great expanse of sea

serenity floats in surf

gather nature's gifts

©cv, 2021

art of summering

listening to ocean's roar

tranquil calmness

©cv, 2021

Finding life's balance is easier at water's edge so next week

I am off to Cape May, NJ for a mini-vacation where I plan to create new memories.

😎😎😎

For now, I travel to the blog of Poetry Friday's host Aussie poet/Kidlit author, Kathryn Apel. Join me to read through her #petpicpoem at the Poetry Friday Roundup. You will find many other poets who provide their own poetic goodness there. Thanks for sharing some beachside memories with me.