Silence's Sacred Space

blazing artwork

silently layers the sky

nature's gift of gold

©CVarsalona, 2025

For this month's Spiritual Journey Thursday, our creative poet, artist, librarian host, Jone Rush MacCulloch, offers a quote from Thomas Merton, "The world of men has forgotten the joys of silence, the peace of solitude, which is necessary to some extent, for the fullness of human living!". Following that, Jone poses a question, "What are you doing to promote periods of silence each day?" 

The world is saturated with chatter that encourages loud noise regarding political, environmental, financial, family concerns, etc. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the news and humanity's lack of kindness across the world. Often, I slip and stumble when grief sweeps over me. Internal noises lead to sadness. Yet, I know that "For God alone my soul waits in silence" (Psalm 62.1) Nature brings the essence of love from the Creator. With thanks, I lean into the beauty of the land, the flight of birds, and glorious garden grounds wondering if is this enough for me to remain present in still moments pondering what life will bring on my spiritual journey. Some days seem dark. Restlessness sets in and shuts out stillness. I reach out to nature to nurture my soul so I can find silence's the sacred space where I can contemplate in peace. 

I sit here now listening to the sounds of silence, feeling the rise of breath and the exhale of what does not belong. This sacred space refreshes me and lets me contemplate about reaching the fullness of human living. I realize that I need to embrace silence more and revere it as a sacred space for inner growth.

In the book, "Healing After Loss, daily meditations for working through grief" by Martha W. Hickman, December 4ths' meditation speaks of silence. The ending thought brought clarity. "In the flurry of the next couple of weeks, I will try to spend a few moments each day in prayerful silence-my own particular stay against the emotional and physical tumult of these days." I thank Jama Rattigan  for sending me this book that helps me slowly move beyond loss and friends that have walked this journey before me. 

My Closing Thought on Silent Meditation: 

• I will continue to write and provide time to ponder on how to remain calm in the midst of disquiet. 
• I will quietly await for peace to settle in my soul.

 

The image above is a magical scene I

photographed before we moved to Virginia. 

It has an ethereal quality reminding me.

Thank you Jone, for the creative, amazing Holiday Poem Swap she sent me. Thanks to Tabatha Yeatts for organizing the Holiday Poem Swap.

More will be shared in the future.

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

I am also offering this blog post for the Poetry Friday Roundup hosted by a talented poet, author, and cellist, Irene Latham.  You can find Irene's blog at Live Your Poem where she is sharing information on her Open Call submission, a Barbara Crooker poem, and offers her new poem, "ArtSpeak Picasso.

autumn leaves

flitter-flutter in silence

winter's coming

©CVarsalona, 2025

Dreams

I wake pondering where time went. My laptop is on my lap just where I left it last night. I don't remember not finishing my Poetry Friday post. Night must have shifted into morning like the speed of lightning. I rise surprised. What happened? 

All I remember is being exhausted by the events of yesterday. A visit to the eye specialist left me numb. Shocked by the news of a possible retina tear on top of the husband's condition. The word, CANCER, dug deeper into my thoughts. My reaction was to find a way to handle both issues, my eye and his disease. Thoughts rattled in my mind. 

Breathe in-Breathe out-Meditate! These are ways to reduce the stress that blackens the room. I found a quote from someone who understood the challenges of life. 

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two breaths, or turning inwards in prayer for five short minutes.

- Etty Hillesum, Dutch Jewish author who was murdered in  Auschwitz during WW II

DREAMS

jagged edges

of night dreams

haunt me

back and forth

they sway

slipping away

into reality

f e a r

may find its nooks

But h o p e

becomes IMPLANTED in my HEART!

©CVarsalona, February, 2025

The above poem was originally written during Laura Shovan's Annual February Poetry Project and refined this morning. I was to write about a dream, positive, negative, or just strange - about a moment in this year's political history?

My first thought was world tensions mount. Illness adds to sleepless nights.

Did you know that politics are keeping American up at night? Nearly 60% of adults struggle to fall asleep due to political worries. - 50AASM

After reading about Etty Hillesum caught in the midst of the Holocaust, I want to learn more about her writings.

 

A new day begins. I will remember to breathe and meditate on my spiritual journey to wholeness (My Spiritual Journey post on Wholeness is here. Thank you, slicer/poet, Denise Krebs for adding my blog post for the group to read.)

Thank you Margaret Simon, host of Poetry Friday,

for the support you have provided the past two months.

I am very late for the Poetry Friday Roundup but

I am off the mark lately. I will make the rounds this weekend.

For now, I am headed to an retina specialist.

The above Poetry Firday umage was created by Margaret Simon.

Day 8 of the March SOLSC #SOL25

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for the space to write 

with a worldwide group of educators.

Poetry Friday Roundup Is Here!

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Let's gather to honor "love as the poetry of the senses"!

(Honore de Balzac)

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To honor Valentine's Day, a love note to the rest of the year (Jo Lightfoot), I offer you my heartnotes to savor. I also invite you to create heartnotes / love notes to add to my Heartnotes Padlet for public viewing.

🩷

lift up your heart

residing within the soul

wrap it in love

©CVarsalona, 2025

This heartnote is a Love's Message postcard from 1912. There is no message on the back, just an address. I created the haiku based on an inspirational thought: Love in all its complexity, is the ethereal beauty that resides within the human soul.

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The above image poem/ekphrastic poem came from nature's surprise as I walked out the door. Voltaire wrote, Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination. The photo is a heartnote to winter on a FotoJet canvas. My imagination allowed me to meld the photo and word choices into another love message.

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"Love is the greatest refreshment in life." - Pablo Picasso

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May everyone enjoy the A Gift of Love postcard sent in 1911.

Love is magical

Gift of one heart to another

souls unveiled

©CVarsalona, 2025

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Please add your link below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Welcome to the Pre-Valentine Poetry Friday Roundup

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Welcome to the Poetry Friday Roundup

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As your host today, I invite you to pause and share the poetic goodness of the Poetry Friday community whose poets are always in harmony with one another. During these pre-Valentine days, let's remind ourselves to follow our hearts. 

"It (the heart) knows the way. Run in that direction." -Rumi 

This winter, many beautiful New Year Poetry Postcards have been sent by poet friends thanks to the endeavors of Jone Rush MacCulloch. Each time a postcard was delivered, my day was brightened. 

Patricia Franz, Linda Baie, Tabatha Yeatts, Gail Aldous 

Mary Lee Hahn, Joyce Uglow, Carol Labuzzetta, Linda Mitchell

Michelle Kogan, Molly Hogan, Marcie Flinchum Atkins, Margaret Simon (sticker)

Denise Krebs

💗 Exhale only love. - Rumi 💗

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pause and observe

breathe in nature's fragrance

breathe out love

©CVarsalona, 2024

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For those interested in sharing a Valentine, add your heartnote to your blog post.

Poetry Friday poets, writers, and bloggers, please add the link to your blog post below. May your Valentine's Day be filled with sweet thoughts and treats.

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Farewell Summer 2022

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Roundup!

Join me as I pause for a  brief poetic tribute to Summer 2022.

Under a painted sky,

Ornamental grass sways in the breeze.

Summer enrobes in vivid florals

And night noises rise.

Nature celebrates halcyon days

In a tapestry of dewdrops and shifting sands.

Summer waits for its seasonal transition.

Farewell, Sweet Summer!

©CVarsalona, Summer 2022

For you listening pleasure:

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Below is a cento (or collage poem) that is composed entirely of lines from other poems by other poets.

Summer has clothed the earth.

The still air stirred at touch of the faint breeze. 

I see it as it looked one afternoon.

Gently, I stir a white feather fan.

Shine on, O moon of summer.

Wanderer moon smiling (as)

The frail white stars moved slowly over the sky.

With day-break and the morning hills behind,

A summer sound repeated in summer without end

And I should like so much to play.

©CV, 2022, cento poem

Credit to the Following Poets:

Line 1: Paul Laurence Dunbar, In Summer

Line 2:     Paul McKay Summer, Morn in New Hampshire 

Line 3:     Emma Lazarus, Long Island Sound

Line 4:    Li Po, In the Mountains on a Summer Day

Line 5:     Carl Sandburg, Riverside

Line 6:    William Carlos Williams, Summer Song

Line 7:     Sara Teasdale, Summer Night, Riverside 

Line 8:     Siegfried Sassoon, Idyll

Line 9:     Wallace Stevens, The Idea of Order at Key West

Line 10:   Robert Louis Stevenson, Bed in Summer

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Summer Digital Art

A Child Wonders As She Meets Pearl, the Mermaid

©CV, 2022, photo digitized using Graphite App
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"The poetry of earth is never dead." -John Keats
Please feel free to add your artistic expressions and poems at the end of my brief blog post and also post your image poems to my Poetryliscious Gallery for the public to see. The link is here. 
Please read through the following Poetry Friday posts by writers who added their poetic goodness to this week's Roundup.