"Bless The Earth" - Each and Everyday

Are you a concerned citizen of our planet Earth? Many people gather together each year to find ways to protect our Earth. Elementary school children also honor Earth each April on Earth Day. In reality, we should celebrate our beautiful yet fragile Earth daily.  A new children's anthology, Bless The Earth, edited by June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling blends poetry with beautiful illustrations in a fabulous new collection of poetry to celebrate and care for our world. The illustrator, Keum Jin Song, also shares beautiful artwork that children and adults will appreciate. Join me as I review this amazing book of praise from the initial two-page spread on Bless The Earth to the last page about the editors.

This amazing book is written for children, who are the future stewards of our planet. It should be a treasured part of classrooms and libraries where children can read the collected praise poems and inspirational quotes and use the book as a mentor text.  As June and Nancy say in their introductory note, "This anthology knits together humanity, the environment, and spirituality in an engaging way." 

With love for our planet, June and Nancy gathered a collection of poems from different poetic voices to focus on themed sections: dreams and prayers for the world, elements of our planet, all creatures, and seasons. The last section of the book focuses on caring for our Earth. It reads as a call to action for young environmentalists. 

The poetry collection starts with a rhymed praise poem to Earth by Nancy Tupper Ling. Nancy paints a beautiful picture of the gifts nature gives to the world.

Many poets contributed to the anthology. I especially thank Matt Forrest Esenwine for sending me news of Bless The Earth. Matt and other poet friends, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Charles Ghinga, and Irene Latham, have poems published within the collection. Each poet's voice becomes a poem of wonder and gratitude. See both Matt Forrest Esenwine's and Charles Ghinga's poems below.

As an extra bonus, one child's voice is featured among the adult poets in the collection. I am impressed by Jillian Pappan, age 10, from the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. Her reflective and imaginative poem,  "If I Could See the Sky", is full of wonder and purpose in life. The title could be a writing prompt for intermediate to middle-school-age children who are dreamers, nature lovers, and artists. 

There are at least 60 poems with varied formats included in this anthology. Children will enjoy reading and writing poems using the mentor texts provided in the collection. Teachers will find the book a wealth of ideas for new lessons, especially since environmental and ecological issues are in the news these days.  This summer is an ideal time for children and teachers to dig into this anthology that praises Earth. Perhaps, thoughts on becoming future stewards of our planet will evolve after reading this book.

Below you will find a song, Love Song to the World, that pairs well with Bless The Earth. For some musically inclined children, this song may be an incentive to write lyrics that flow like poetry for the opening of school. 

As a person who enjoys nature and thinks about keeping the Earth pristine for future generations, I highly recommend this book with its ties to humanity, the environment, and spirituality. 

May summertime be filled with thoughts of gratitude for our beautiful planet Earth. Thank you, June Cotner, Nancy Tupper Ling, and Keum Jin Song for a wonder-filled anthology that my little grandgirls will read throughout the years as will many other children.

@CVarsalona, 2017, Long Island, NY

Note: This book review will be featured on my Poetry Parade Padlet here.

Now, I am off to Poetry Friday where a poet-friend on the side of the United States is hosting the Roundup. Thank you, Denise Krebs for opening your space for the Poetry Friday poets and sharing your thoughts on the sacred seven poem format and poetry ops. 

Spring Blossoms

This morning, sunlight streamed into my bedroom. I felt the need to stretch before waking so I started to move with flow, as we do in yoga class. I reflected on my baby grandgirl's adorable manner of pandiculation when she wakes from slumber. I thought of birds stretching their wings to dive into my neighbor's feeder. Nature awakened the earth.

As I opened the door, I smelled the freshness of a spring day. Tiny purple petals on my tree surprised me and white buds on my bush squeezed forward in little pockets of joy. No matter where I looked there were signs of spring's rebirth. I soaked in the efflorescence of my flowering trees and welcomed nature's springtime celebration.

Nature Celebrates Springtime

efforescence blooms
sprout open
adorning a quiet community of nestled homes 
flowering trees sing praise to nature's palette
sky blue 
marshmallowed clouds
awaken earth
©CVarsalona, 2024

Digital art photo + Trinet poem format = Image Poem
for the Poetry Parade Padlet - Click here to view the padlet.

Please consider offering one image poem of 

for my 2024 National Poetry Month Project

⤵

Padlet and Gallery of Artistic Expressions

like Diane Anderson did this week.

It is now time to join the environmentalist poet, Heidi Mordhorst for Poetry Friday at her blog, my juicy little universe. Thank you for hosting Heidi and bringing the topic of diversity, unity wonder, and belief to us this week.

Invitation to Write Breathings of Your Heart

It is National Poetry Month and I, like many friends, am writing poetry from the heart. Renowned poet, William Wordsworth stated: "Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart," reminding me to let my mind and spirit fill the page with heart-felt thoughts. 

This month's annual Poetry Friday community project, the Progressive Poem, organized by slicer Margaret Simon, is centered around a no-choice-need-to-escape from a child's perspective. Are you intrigued?  In this story poem, you will see examples of writers breathing life into their couplets. Each set of couplets is written by a different writer. It is filled with imagery, emotion, and hope so far. When writing Day 14's couple, I reflected on my experience as a reading specialist and districtwide administrator who listened to poignant stories from children. The narratives were full of struggles, hardships, and in many cases flight from their homelands. The children told their stories in person and/or on paper. The Progressive Poem is filled with imagery, emotion, and hope from the eyes of a child. You can read the story unfolding here and continue to read new lines each day until the end of the month.

I enjoy creating galleries of artistic expressions and showcasing the writing of others along with mine. Please accept my invitation as slicers arjeha and Denise Krebs have done. Their work is on the Poetry Parad Padlet. Click here.

INVITATION

Please consider offering one image poem (see arjeha's below)

FOR

I'm off to join Two Writing Teachers Tuesday Slice of Life, a reflective community of worldwide writers. 

Traveling Progressive Poem

The Progressive Poem has traveled for 13 days this month. It is my turn to add lines to the community poem that is a journey of courage. Reading through Days 1 through 13, I am reminded of a poignant story told by one of my elementary students years ago. Amid civil unrest in El Salvador, the child and his siblings left their homeland to move to Long Island. 

Join me as I integrate the student's story into my lines for Day 14. I also added the art of Juan Lopez-Bautista's Border Stories presented at the Sella-Granata Art Gallery, Woods Hall, UA campus (October-November 2021). Be sure to click here and here to view the full exhibition that touched my heart. 

cradled in stars, our planet sleeps,
clinging to tender dreams of peace
sister moon watches from afar,
 singing lunar lullabies of hope.

almost dawn, I walk with others,
keeping close, my little brother.
hand in hand, we carry courage
escaping closer to the border.

My feet are lightning;
My heart is thunder.
Our pace draws us closer
to a new land of wonder.

I hum my own little song
like ripples in a stream
Humming Mami's lullaby 
reminds me I have her letter

My fingers linger on well-worn creases,
shielding an address, a name, a promise-
Sister Moon will find always us
surrounding us with beams of kindness

But last night, as we rested in the dusty field,
worries crept in about matters back home.

Day 14
I huddled close to my brother. Tears revealed
the no-choice need to escape. I feel grown. 

s

Juan Baptiste Lopez from "Border Stores"

at the Sella-Granata Art Gallery

I pass on the torch of writing to Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities.

The Kidlithosphere Progressive Poem was started in 2012 by Irene Latham as a way to celebrate National Poetry Month as a community of writers. In 2020, Margaret Simon became the organizer of the Progressive Poem. Margaret created the above gorgeous graphic for the 2024 Progressive Poem .

Meet the writing team creators of the community Progressive Poem 2024. 

April 1 Patricia Franz at Reverie
April 2 JJone MacCulloch
April 3 Janice Scully at Salt City Vers
April 4 Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
April 5 Irene at Live Your Poem
April 6 Margaret at Reflections on the Techee
April 7 Marcie Atkins
April 8 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a God Forsaken Town
April 9 Karen Eastlund
April 10 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 11 Buffy Silverman
April 12 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
April 13 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
April 14 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
April 15 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
April 16 Sarah Grace Tuttle
April 17 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
April 18 Tabatha at Opposite of Indifference
April 19 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
April 20 Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 21 Janet, hosted here at Reflections on the Teche
April 22 Mary Lee Hahn at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 23 Tanita Davis at (fiction, instead of lies)
April 24 Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone
April 25 Joanne Emery at Word Dancer
April 26 Karin Fisher-Golton at Still in Awe
April 27 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 28 Dave at Leap of Dave
April 29 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 30 Michelle Kogan at More Art for All

INVITATION

I hope more of my poetry friends, plus writers, bloggers, artists, photographers, and friends join in the Poetry Parade. The Poetry Parade Padlet is available for your artistic expressions. Laura Purdie Salas and Denise Krebs added their image poems to the gallery.

Solar Eclipse 2024

Parts of North America silently waited for nature's moments of totality. on April 8, 2024. News stations aired programs. Libraries distributed solar eyeglasses. People huddled in parks, yards, and special event areas to watch a spectacular sight, the moon passing between Earth and the sun. News stations captured the event minute by minute as the moon blocked the view of the sun. We watched ABC News coverage. Each area from Mexico to Maine shared their 4 minutes of totality as the sun darkened the sky followed by sunlight. 

My son, husband, and I moved between the news and our backyard as we waited for the event. Then, the sky clouded. What would we see? My son asked Siri, "What time will the eclipse occur here in Northern Virginia? Much to his surprise, we would only see a partial eclipse. Regardless, I decided to capture the event even without solar glasses. How did I do this? I cleverly moved my iPhone toward the sky but did not face the sky. I started clicking my iPhone camera. Click! Then, I remembered the Pink Floyd song, Total Eclipse of the Sun, that my husband likes. You can listen to it below and then read my trinet poem introduced to me by the Australian poet, Alan J. Wright during a Poetry Friday Roundup. This poem has seven lines and lines three and four have six words in each line. All the other lines have two words per line. The trinet has no restrictions for rhyme, subject, or syllable. 

Total Eclipse of the Sun

The above photo was captured while watching the sky, shapeshift. Can you see the yellow light around a black object in the middle of the photo? Shortly after I took the photo, the sky became more gray in color and the weather became cooler. What a surprise! I came inside to watch ABC's coverage of the awesome totality moments-solar eclipse in New York State. I can imagine how fabulous it was to be there. 

INVITATION

Please consider offering one image poem of

⤵

for my 2024 National Poetry Month Project

⤵

See more information on my new Gallery of Artistic Expressions and take a peek at my Poetry Parade Padlet. which will showcase my poems and other artistic expressions by writers, poets, and others.

I offer this Slice of Life to Two Writing Teachers. with gratitude for accepting my slice late.