Winter: Time for Home

 🌲 “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food, and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” – Edith Sitwell🌲

In the cold of winter, warmth is a common thought. Blankets of snow warm the landscape while inside the fireplace warms the little girls. We watch the day pass by. The flank of windows brings us closer to nature and its daily changes. Green patches pop forward with snow as borders. One deer jumped from one small patch of woods into another across from our house. It was a spectacular sight. We waited silently for the rest of the deer family but they did not come. I've heard the coo of two birds as they soared across the community but birds don't nestle in the backyard during the chill. Perhaps, the tiny one that fell frozen on our front porch tried to fly south. The fox jumped back and forth from the woods near a neighbor's house. Some animals frolic in the winter chill, while others seek refuge. We watch the antics and the sorrow within the warmth of our house, knowing that winter is a time for home.

winter's scenic sights

delight snuggling children

from inside out

©cvarsalona, 2025

haibun draft

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Since our winter days have dipped below freezing, I thought of adding some color to the photo of the scene outside my front porch. The two older grandgirls are inside lounging by the warm fireplace with furry throws wrapped around them. Warm cocoa, peppermint, and a warm shower bring the comfort of winter right into the home.

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is hosted this week by

professor/poet Tricia Stohr-Hunt who is sharing an interesting poem about the typewriter. As part of the Poetry Sister's, Tricia invites all to this month's writing challenge. 

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I also have an invitation: Loveuary Heartnotes

I am hosting Poetry Friday on February 7th at my Beyond LiteracyLink blog.

HeartNotes

I invite all to create a love note, valentine, poem, digital artwork, etc.

 I will create a padlet, titled HeartNotes for interested writers. Join me as I honor Valentine's Day, a love-note to the rest of the year. (Jo Lightfoot)

Celebrate Life-Seeking Wabi-Sabi

As I transfer from a hospital-bound stage to recovery mode, I write this blog as a celebration of life. I look back at the beginning of May when I started writing short pieces that were threads of a worry journal. I thought this would help me chase away the anxieties swelling inside.

As isolated days continued, my brain was consistently on speed dial. Health worries spilled over into stressful moments. I started realizing that anxiety limited my ability to enjoy the moments of life that lay in front of me. 

After I read Tricia Stohr-Hunt's Poetry Friday blog post on wabi-sabi, I researched the topic and found a meaningful quote to inspire me. Beth Kempton, a Japanologist and author of  Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life, writes:

Be grateful for even the tiniest of miracles because they add up to this thing called life. 

Tricia Stohr-Hunt along with her Poetry Sisters invited Poetry Friends (hashtag #PoetryPals) to join their June writing challenge with the topic of wabi-sabi. I was impressed by the array of poems flowing with different formats and content. I wrote my first tritina poem, a modern poetic form with three tercets, three end-words in an ABC, CAB, BCA, and a single final line, envoi, with all three end words.

Seeking Wabi-Sabi

turquoise waters soothe restless thoughts
waves gently meet a school of fish searching for their space
uninterrupted by thick seaweed-two sides of beauty

landscapes unfold to share moments of grace and beauty
color-coded clouds shift across a sky of prepared thoughts
I pause to view nature's perspective and ponder her ideas for each space 
 
instantly nature shifts her weather from a calm to a temperamental space
thunder, lightning and torrential rain encourage people to find beauty
in imperfections and appreciate the transience of nature's thoughts

Will humans see the value of a celebrating each moment in nature's space of revolving thoughts and beauty?
@CVarsalona, 2024, draft

Happy Poetry Friday!

Stay tuned for a a couple more book reviews and a peek inside the
Poetry Parade Gallery of Artistic Expressions at my padlet for now..

Poetry Peeps Challenge as March Marches On!

A few years ago, I was invited to view my first hummingbird. It looked like a little fairy as it flitted around my friends' upper deck. I tried to take a photo but it popped up and down playing peek-a-boo with me. Hence, no photo was captured, but I was delighted ans inspired by the tiny bird's sight.

The above creative invitation is from the Poetry Sisters.

Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly.

Pantoum poems are marvelous nuggets of repetitive lines.

You can read more about this poetic form here.

Hummingbird's Flight

a small fairylike bird hummed

while moving through the windless sky

with no care in the world, it shunned

my camera as if it were shy

while moving through the windless sky

playing peekaboo it avoided

my camera as if it were truly shy

then flitted away - beak pointed

playing peekaboo it avoided

photos though fancily dressed

then flitted away - beak pointed

flying backward toward the west

©CVarsalona, 2024

I also penned a pantoum to two seasons, winter and spring  

You can read my "Seasons Transition" blog post with the pantoum here.

Exciting News!

Laura Purdie Salas' new kidlit book, Oskar's Voyage, arrived. 

Stay tuned for my book review of this amazing story.

 is hosted this week by

 one of the talented Poetry Sisters, Tricia Stohr-Hunt,

 at The Miss Rrumphius Effect blog. 

Enjoy the Poetry Friday Roundup!

I also offer this Slice of Life to Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge.

Day 28 with thanks for their month-long writing challenge.

Love Never Fails

Another month is passing by. Wrapped in layers most of the time, I gingerly take down my Valentine decorations. One last piece remains, a sentiment of love that spans a decade.

Love is the essence of life. It is the glue that binds families together through happiness, challenges, and sorrow. "Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. (Song of Solomon 8:7) Love embraces life while withstanding shifting sands. Reminded of life's enduring love this morning, I collect a tapestry of thoughts to create a poem, Love Never Fails. 

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I thank the following poets, Linda Baie, Mary Lee Hahn, Michelle Kogan, Kay Jernigan McGriff, Heidi Mordhorst, and Donnna Smith, who are unaware of my mystery poem. I lifted one line from each of their poems created for yesterday's challenge in Laura Shovan's 10th Annual February Poetry Project. The following penned poem is a designed for the Poetry Sisters' February Challenge, an Exquisite Corpse poem.

Linda: blew a kiss and whispered  -  Mary Lee: knowledge was  -   Michelle: Words will turn actions around  -  Kay: it is somewhere between  -  Heidi: thick and warm as woolen coats  -  Donna: And how it all begins again

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Thank you, Poetry Sisters, for inviting the Poetry Friday community to play in your sandbox each month. I did take the opportunity to indulge in quite a bit of wiggle room when creating an Exquisite Corpse poem.  While I did not speak directly to the colleagues listed above, we do communicate daily when working on Laura Shovan's daily poetry writing challenge. I'm signing off with the hashtag, #PoetryPals that will be seen on social media.

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It's time to join the Poetry Friday Roundup with Tricia Stohr-Hunt as hostess. Tricia shares more about an Exquisite Corpse poem and how she fashioned her poem from Poetry Sisters' lines and an online conversation. I look forward to reading all the other Poetry Sisters' poems (you can also see the links at Tricia's blog). It is amazing to read through all the poetic goodness posts offered this week.

Welcome Autumn's Precious Gifts

Because autumn is an unparalleled season of grandeur, it deserves praise as it opens its season.

I spent the better part of this week creating several scenes inside and outside my new home to give praise and thanksgiving for autumn. Join me as I welcome through the lens of digital art and poetry one of my favorite seasons. 

Autumn's arrival-

season goes viral.

Nature

has no denial-

Autumn's an idol.

Painter

of earth's revival.

Picturesque idyll-

Savor!

©CV, 2021 

The above poem is a laie, a French poetic form consiting of nine-lines that use and "a" and "b" rhyme in the following pattern: aabaabaab. The "a" rhyme iens are 5 syllable in length while the "b" rhyme lines are 2 syllable. I have looked at this format since Tricia Stohr-Hunt shared it at her May 21, 2021 blog Post.  

 

Gather autumn's precious gifts

in robes of golden sunrise.

Be glad for nature's blessings.

Gratitude abounds!

©CV, 2021 

The above poem is a dodoitsu poem created from the haiku oracle deck designed as a summer poetry swap gift from Mary Lee Hahn. It consists of four lines with a 7-7-7-5 syllable count. 

The digital photo above of my granddaughter and daughter in an apple orchard reminds me of the following quote from Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon: "It was a beautiful, bright autumn day, with air like cider and a sky so blue you could drown in it."

Gratitude Floats Through the Air

sweet smells of cider

bountiful trees of apples-

blessings of nature

©CV, 2021 

The Poetry Sisters offer a tanka challenge for September:  write a tanka, a five-line, 5/7/5/7/7 in response to an original poem from any of the Poetry Friday writers. After that, share it at Poetry Friday and add the tag #PoetryPals on social media.  Below is my response to Tanita Davis' tanks, Ode to the Pink Lady, from November 5, 2018. I chose this poem because it fits in beautifully with the digital artwork of my original picture at the apple orchard (above). 

Ode to the Pink Lady 

who needs pumpkin spice?
apples don’t – no camouflage
is necessary
even caramel* apples
are no match for fresh and crisp

Autumn's Morsels

seasonal delight

the succulence of apples

oven-fresh surprise

caramel, chocolate chips

tasty, little bites of fall

©CV, 2021 

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Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. – F. Scott Fitzgerald

As I begin this season, I pause in thanks as I notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature." (Friedrich Nietzsche) For the soul-filling days ahead, I feel the peace of autumn days and excited to explore new regions in Virginia with my little granddaughters and family. May autumn soothe your soul! Here is a peek at autumn around the globe. Nature photos are from Terje Akke in Estonia and Jackie Yun in Hawaii. 

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Thank you to my friend, poet Laura Purdie Salas for hosting Poetry Friday this month. She has been busy with her new move, writing a new book, and penning tankas for this month's Poetry Princess challenge.

Hearts Recollect 9/11

On September 11th the world will stop to remember one of the saddest days in history. As a former member of the Rockville Centre community on Long  Island, I shall never forget the horror of devastation that rocked our small village. Forty-five members perished in the event on an ordinary day. A child lost her mother during the attack and a group of high school seniors grieved this loss during a candlelight ceremony. The town wept as did the state and nation for their losses during the horrific event. 

Last night while watching the ABC News Special 20/20 show, Women of 9/11:Twenty Years Later, with Robyn Roberts, I felt all over again the sting of sorrow, the disbelief of the happening, and the sadness that still exists. I turned to my blog posts regarding 9/11 and created a blackout poem prompted by this haunting photo.

 Women of 9/11:Twenty Years Later, ABC

So Many Stories, So Many Hearts Broken: A 9/11 Recollection

Nation remembers:

People perished,

New York City suffered.

Incredible sadness

Blasted air.

Tears touched the community.

Heavy hearts mourned

In solidarity.

Anguish witnessed attack.

Disbelief, despair

Rose from ashes.

Charcoaled faces,

Chaos, grief grew

In wake of disaster. 

9/11, harsh reality,

a retold journey.

©CVarsalona, 2021

Yesterday, the nation paused to remember a horrific event in its history. On September 11, 2001, a never-to-be-forgotten date, 3000 people perished in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Of that number, Rockville Centre, a small suburb of New York City, suffered considerable losses. 48 of my townspeople people died as a result of the "largest attack on US soil" on that fateful day.  

I shall never forget theincredincredible feeling of sadness mixed with panic as colleagues and I heard the news the morning of September 11, 2001. As the media blasted the air with news, it was very difficult to continue the day of elementary school as usual. Colleagues tried to connect with loved ones who went to work in New York City; worrisome looks multiplied; phone calls were interrupted; tears shed. When I arrived home, news of the attacks were haunting the neighborhoods of Rockville Centre.  A small group of concerned South Side high school students, my daughter being one of them, were touched by the events of the day that deeply affected one of their classmates.  The concerned peers formed a bond and brought the school community together in support of their friend whose mother was killed in the World Trade Building terrorist attack while her father was out of the country on business. 

That night, students, heavy in heart, led a vigil march through the neighborhoods. The sky, lit up by hundreds of candles held in the hands of mourners and supporters, marched in solidarity, bringing a town together during a time of deep anguish. Many people were not among the group, my husband being one of them. Although safe, he was forced to stay in New Jersey that night. Entrance back to Long Island was closed. After hours of no contact, he did bring us news of what he witnessed. As traffic slowed on  road from NYC to New Jersey, he, along with many motorists, saw the second plane attack the World Trade Center. During a night of disbelief and despair his story as well as many others rose from the ashes Wof a grim fate. There was the friend who led the NYC Bomb Squad searches; the first responder who traveled from Suffolk County to NYC to support the ravagedorld Trade Center; other friends who walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to come home from the havoc that ensued on Wall Street. There was the brave fireman from our next town who lost his life at the site and dozens of Rockville Centre neighbors who never came home from work that night. There were the charcoaled faces, broken dreams, and voices that could not speak of the horrors witnessed. But in all the chaos and grief, the town bonded and grew strength from each other. Ceremonies, monuments, memorial parks all created during the weeks that followed allowed a town to heal in the wake of disaster. 

The remembrance of 9/11 is a heavy one that never leaves one's heart. In our neighborhood, and across Long Island to New York City children were forced to deal with a harsh reality that life is fragile and dreams can be broken. Paralleling that message was the belief that hope can exist in a town despite devastating losses. Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray, summarized this feeling during his memorial speech on Sunday, September 8, 2013. "No community suffered more than Rockville Centre...but we did not just survive this tragedy, we prevailed." 

Stories have been told, repeated, and retold over the past twelve years. Hearts have been mended, but Rockville Centre community members never forgot the losses. September 11, 2001 marked the day for a town to be brought to its knees. Subsequent years have marked the evolution of 9/11 stories into messages of courage, survival and new learnings about life's fragile journey.

WE REMEMBER

as the bell tolls,
names are read,

flags unbound, waving proudly,

and heartbreaking headlines shared.

There's Still a Sadness in Hearts on 9/11.

So Many Stories, So Many Hearts Broken!

Remembering 911 Fallen Heroes,

numbered in the sky,

is our town's tradition.

Village Green is ready.

We shall remember

and wait for a 
Rainbow of Possibilities.

©CVarsalona, 2019, Rockville Centre, NY

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It's time to join the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Tricia Stohr-Hunt, our host this week, offers a Barbara Crooker poem on grief.

From Newborn to 3-Years-Old

The years have passed quickly between newborn wonder and three-years of age.  When I saw photos of my little granddaughter rock climbing (one of her favorite outings) with the T-shirt label, Young, Wild, & Three, I knew that line captured her spirit. So, inspired by these photos and a T-shirt, I took my digital pen in hand and created an after-birthday poem. 

With purple being Sierra's favorite color and lilacs a flower that brings me back to my own childhood, I created a golden shovel poem using poet Amy Lowell's poem, Lilacs, and the strike line, "You are the smell of all Summers."  If you read downward from the first line end word, you will see the strike line emerge. 

I see you

as you are

laughing in the

 woods, whiffing the smell

of pine, searching for wonders of

delight. There is a warm touch of love in all

your smiles and hugs. I long for our endless summers.

©CVarsalona, 2020

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It's the Poetry Friday Roundup at Tricia Stohr Hunt's Miss Rumphius Effect  blog,

so join me as I share my tribute to Sierra there.

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Note to Kathryn Apel, poet:

While I initially chose Amy Lowell's poem for your #PoetryPepUp Day 5 Challenge, I struggled to create a golden shovel poem from one of her beautiful but challenging lines.  It is still in the apple polishing phase. When I reread the poem and found the strike line above and paired them with the Google Photos in Sierra's album, I was energized to create a photo collage poem.)