Building an Autumn Nestling

Imagine a brisk, sunny spring day with a bit of wind. I search for the osprey nest at the nearby Marine Nature Study Area. It can be seen from far away because it's built on top of a huge pole in the preserve. A lone guardian pensively stands by the huge bird-crafted nest of twigs. While I have never seen the birth of the baby ospreys, I know that their nest is visited often and photographed by many. 

Last Thursday, as I reviewed Irene Latham's new book, This Poem Is A Nest, on Stop #8 of the Blog Tour, my thoughts returned to the osprey nest I saw during spring. Irene's poetry book takes the reader through the building of a nest (poem) in spring and its development up to the winter season. Using Irene's source poem, Autumn, I am on a hunt to find nestlings, small poems, within the original nest poem. With the help of Buncee, I captured what I saw at the nature preserve but added a touch of autumn to bring an imaginative flair to the scene. 

    With faith, ospreys fly solo in autumn.

I follow their wordless flight to build my own nestling.

- Irene Latham, 2020, "This Poem Is A Nest"

Autumn:

 crispcool air leaves clouds still,

time another wordless flight,

whisperweight faith tucked beneath memory

©CV, 2020

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Thank you, Irene Latham, for your unique new book, Poem Is A Nest, that sparked my imagination and allowed me to create my own nestling from your source poem. Not only was I able write a poem but design a Buncee with a creative background.

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And now for a Special Announcement that I saved for the end of the holiday weekend:

Winner of This Poem Is A Nest Raffle Is

Jayne Hartnett from New Jersey

Boyds Mills and Kane, publisher of Irene Latham's book, will send Jayne a copy of This Poem Is A Nest. Congratulations! I know that this teacher and her middle school students will not only enjoy reading  Irene's book but will have fun creating their own nestling poems.

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Coming up is Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers. Join me there.

Nighttime Magic

There's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away." - Sarah Kay

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Mesmerized by the sight and sound of the ocean inching its way to shore, I stood on my hotel balcony in awe. The ocean danced and momentarily kissed the sand only to retreat into its vast waters. How many times have I seen the Atlantic Ocean at the Long Island shore engage in the same movement? How many times have I reflected on the ocean's journey or wondered about its vastness? 

Now, I was 1,289.5 miles away listening to the Atlantic Ocean on the Florida shore sing its soulful, nighttime tune as it journeyed onward. All was peaceful and quiet except for the sounds that lulled me into a sense of dreamy wonder and calm. It was a fitting end to an exciting day at the National Center for Families Learning 2018 Conference. The Wonderopolis Wonder Team of which I am a member had delivered a presentation, "Get Your Wonder On" and here I was wondering about the ocean as it stretched under a black sky while the full moon above shot its rays into the darkness. The ocean glistened like diamonds and the moon's rays added a spotlight effect to the scene. Tiny stars poked out from a dark sky to nod good-night to the moon. It was a just-right moment to capture a photo but I wondered if I could do justice to this scene. 

I recalled the many times that I have said I would live in the moment but on that night last week that I did. As I reviewed the photos I took, I knew that this moon was a special one, shining brightly as a beacon of goodwill and peace for all mankind. 

There was a magical quality about this night that my iPhone captured. I shall not forget the feeling and so I wrote a tribute to the moon and the ocean as they joined hands on this one special night. 

While preparing the last pieces of "The Art of Summering Global Gallery of Artistic Expressions", I decided to add this haiku before the night ends. May this Slice of Life be my reminder that inspiration is all around us if we just stop momentarily to look and listen. Stay tuned for the unveiling of the gallery where you will find inspiring photos, artwork, image poems, digital art, and a special playlist of songs. 

Now, I am off to join the Two Writing Teachers weekly Slice of Life writing.