Nature As a Balm

The poetry of nature is a balm for stormy times. - Friends of the Everglades

Stormy times are certainly happening in the world. Climate change and political unrest continue to cause issues while personal problems taunt us.  Humanity needs slow-down moments to breathe in new life. Allow nature's rhythms to recharge and bring quietude into troubled spaces. 

Poetic Peace

There's nothing left

to call this a home.

Doorknobs found

amongst the debris

paint a new canvas.

Storms may destroy

years you lived here.

Life goes on.

Forests planted by you

need replanting

in today's world.

There may be nothing left except

for what's left of your light

so find a simple way to be.

Let slow-down moments

spark the light within

with the gift of grace.

Let's find hope

for this land in

moments of joy.

©CV, 2023

The above is a found poem based on Carol Labuzzetta's image poem, Debris, and words from yesterday's blog poem posted here and my haibun at Autumn Arrives blog. {Italicized lines are from Carol Labuzzetta's poem.}

Nature as a balm thought is reflected in the awesome poem swap package Carol Labuzzetta sent to me. It is such a joy to have Carol, the amazing environmentalist, nature photographer, poet, and jewelry maker, create something especially significant to me.

Endearing Poem

Nature Photo Greeting Cards

Handmade Bookmark with Color Changing Beads

Carol and I are in tune with one another with our love of nature, photography, crafting, and poetry. I am eager to see color changes in the leather cord bookmark when I place it between the pages of a book to mark my spot. I have just the right book for this, A Field Guide to the Heart - Poems of Love, Comfort, & Hope by Georgia Heard & Rebecca Kai Dotlich.

Special Note: Carol Labuzzetta is inviting interested poets and writers to submit ekphrastic poems for her upcoming children's book, Nature Poetry in Pictures Anthology. The submission window is August 1, 2023-November 1, 2023. You can find the Anthology Guidelines on her blog, The Apples In My Orchard. Click here. I captured nature in photos last weekend and hope to draft some poems soon. I hope you join in also.

In closing, I leave you with a beautiful thought about nature from Anne Frank.

I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.

🦋 🦋 🦋

Now, I am ready to join Poetry Friday Roundup at poet and children's book author, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's blog, The Poem Farm. She is giving some (writing?) advice so check out her post and all the poetic goodness that comes from the Poetry Friday writers.

It is serendipitous that Magination Press sent me a box of books to review and share with teachers and inside was The Sound of Kindness by Amy. I can't wait to read the book and enjoy the illustrations by Teres Martinez.

Turn and Reflect In August

The last day of the month of July turned into a forty-seventh-anniversary celebration even after weeks of a lingering cough. While we could not travel to a pre-determined destination site in Virginia, I made the most of the anniversary weekend by turning my attention to family and spiritual thoughts. 

Yesterday, Linda Mitchell, this month's host of Spiritual Journey Thursday, shared her topic for the SJT community. She offered a single word, TURNING, for us to reflect upon this month. 

During COVID I missed attending church in person. While the virtual experience provided an opportunity for my family to bond together, I missed the community mingling, friends gathering, and the spiritual presence of the Lord. Lately, we have attended Mass in several churches. Upon entering the church, I felt once again the power of a spiritual place filled with peace. This past Sunday of our anniversary weekend, we traveled to a beautiful church where my two grandchildren were baptized. Unbeknown to me, my daughter planned on attending with her newborn baby girl. I was so surprised to see them joining us in our pew. With a smile, I held the baby in my arms and prayed with a thankful heart for family and the peace surrounding us. When I turned to all during the sign of peace, I knew that I was in a sacred place.

Upon reminiscing about the baby in church with the family, the Byrds song, Turn! Turn! Turn!, popped into my mind. It is one of my favorite songs with such beautiful lines as an opener.

To everything, turn, turn, turn.

There is a season turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under Heaven. 

It is my turn to pause and reflect. Thoughts become a vivid whirlwind. I feel a calmness. I turn away from circumstances and problems that do not provide solace and peace. I accept the open-door invitation to rest and be. I look forward to the family vacation in Cape May, New Jersey at the shore. I honor the spaces that bring joy and contentment to me. In the silence of the night, I turn to read an article, The Spirit of a Place by Bahram Akradi (ExperienceLife.com). I take a pen in hand and list in order words and phrases from the article that inspires me. From this exercise, a found poem evolves. Its words speak to me; I refine thoughts that will become a turning point this summer, bringing me to peace.  

The spirit of a place

Welcomes a necessary shift in life,

Allows us to reflect on time, and 

Recognize the value of place.

The spirit of a place adds

Meaning and value to 

the process of nurturing our lives.

We can discover who we are

and feel the energy in each space

That has a soul. 

Be still; Identify those places.

Be present in the quietude.

Choose sacred places;

Find possibilities.

Become the best version

of self.

©CVarsalona, 2023 

I sit and ponder a Bible scripture, "Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor dressed like one of these." -Luke 12:27  Wildflowers stand tall in nature's meadows and pathways. They bask in the beauty of their sacred place while turning toward the sun, soaking in its brilliance. I find peace in this thought knowing that turning heavenward brings a measure of serenity. The spirit of places like nature's landscapes, insides of homes, and churches connect me to concepts such as warmth, love, and tranquility. These places lift me up and inspire me. I choose to find possibilities in life in the spirit of a place. Join me to find your best version of yourself in a sacred place of joy. If inclined, share a photo or image poem of your favorite summer place that brings you contentment. 

Now I join Linda Mitchel and the Spiritual Journey Thursday Community here.

Spiritual Journey Thursday

Photo by Linda Mitchell

IN ADDITION:

Today is a double dose of inspiration and poetic goodness.

I also join the Poetry Friday Roundup hosted by teacher, author, poet, and embroiderer, Mary Lee Hahn. Below is an inspiring sample of her work.

POETRY FRIDAY

******

POETRY POSTCARD

Sent from Marcie Flinchum Atkins

Little does Marcie know that this card cheered me up since I have been under the weather for 2 1/2 weeks now.

Hetk-a moment in time (found poem)

During the month of March, Two Writing Teachers offers the Slice of Life Story Challenge. Educators around the globe gather to write small narratives, Slices of Lfe. My colleague in Estonia, Terje Akke, and I have been reading each other's slices for many years. Terje is an accomplished educator leader/teacher, writer, multicultural blogger, and photographer. On February, March 3, 2023, Terje wrote a descriptive piece that flowed like a prose poem. I was moved by her title, hetk- a moment, and decided to write a found poem. Below you will find the paragraph I chose to create a poem with her words about a moment in winter.

Today is the last day of my winter holidays. My husband is at work and daughter in choir practice. I sit in the morning silence on the living room sofa I love this warm and soft nest where I enjoy texts that others have written and collect my life slices and thoughts. The clouds rush along the blue sky and the world is full of hurrying people. Even though the clock is ticking away in seconds, I sense that here and now the time has stopped and allows me to breathe in peace and contentment. The sun peeks through the clouds, tickles my cheek, inviting me to play outside. Maybe later. Let me stay in this light moment of being. -©Terje Akke, 2023

Winter Moment

winter at work

practicing silence.

a warm nest

collects thoughts.

clouds rush.

hurrying people

sense time stopped.

breathe in contentment.

sun clouds invite play.

stay in this moment.

Be!

©CVarsalona, 2023 (Found Poem)_Terje Akke, 2023, (Photo of Estonia)

Stop for a moment to watch the video, "Science of Silence - Hetk.

Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge

Day 11

March Musings: Dazzling Winter Greetings, Day 4

Did you know that I am a delitologist?  I collect postcards from the turn of the 20th Century  when "postcard collecting caught the national eye." I enjoy the feel and look of postcards from the past. Some of mine are ornate and embossed without the year that the postcard was sent. Many have inspirational thoughts and lovely illustrations. All of my postcards are sent by women to their families in different towns. The wording is short and usually, a greeting or a short note.  All allow me to reflect on the lifestyle of the early 20th century. 

Recently, I added current poetry postcards sent by poet friends to my collection of paper ephemera. Please see below my new poetry postcards that will decorate my house during future winter seasons. Thank you, Gail Aldous. Linda Baie, Robyn Hood Black, Carol Labuzzetta, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Linda Mitchell, Sarah Grace Tuttle, and Tabatha Yeatts for your inspirational postcards for 2022, the Year of the Tyger. Thanks also go out to Jone Rush MacCulloch for continuing the Victorian practice of exchanging postcards.  

Within the postcards sent to me, I found poetic lines that spoke to me. I delicately lifted lines and combined them with a few additions to create a new poem.

(Found lines from poetry friends are underlined below.)

Here's To Poetry Running Wild (Robyn) in 2022!

 Alive with wonder, (Jone)

Keenly see the future. (Carol L)

Blue skies smile at you. (Linda B)

Stillness deepens (Linda M),

indulging life layers. (Tabatha & Gail)

Arise, heart! (Tabatha)

Threads of moonlight glitter (Gail)

Soothe the frantic world. (Sarah)

Open wide. (Tabatha)

Aim for the sky.(Linda Bfrom Chandra Kochbar)

Summon your songs.(Tabatha)

Then, rest in the (Sarah)

purple shadows of night. (Sarah)

©CV, 2022, found poem

👇

I join two writing communities today:

Poetry Friday hosted by Australian poet/author, Kat Apel.

Two Writing Teachers 

A  Meeting Place for A World of Reflective Writers

An Abundant Dose of Gratitude-SJT

October's grandeur ushered in November's crispcool breezes and multicolored leafcovers this week. I step onto a blanketed earth with burgeoning feelings of gratitude. Despite life's stressors, I start the search for gratitude moments that will change my outlook and bring back a positive spirit. 

With the election as a key topic in the world, I feel unbalanced as do many others. The above photo shot by my daughter reminds me to be grateful for the beauty of nature this year while the following inspirational quotes are quick gratitude snaps that bring peace and harmony into focus. I hope these thoughts allow us all to find common ground and grow into wise individuals who do not grieve for things we do not have but rejoice for things we have in front of us (paraphrased from Epictetus, the Greek Stoic philosopher).

• "I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault
• “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. - Maya Angelou

From the above quotes, I created a found poem to lift my thoughts:

morning thanksgiving

for little things,

gratitude, and

faith to 

welcome

good

©CV, 2020

With internal thoughts comes quiet time and reflection. The following psalm I found holds a positive action step. I thank my friend, Ramona Behnke from the state of Washington, for her gorgeous nature photo that she offered for my Abundant Autumn Gallery. It has a tremendous calming effect.

Today is the day to take my anxiety down and change my perspective. I have been on a long journey of building a new house in Virginia, selling my home on Long Island, dealing with disability paperwork for my son, along with coping with #QuarantineLife during a pandemic. Stress levels are high so peace and resolve are needed to continue the next leg of the journey. 

An "awe walk" (a stroll in which you intentionally shift your attention outward instead of inward) will help me lessen anxiety down and boost my outlook. Life does not pause for our stressors. It moves on and so I look to the psalm for guidance and family and friends for support.

I send autumn thanks to this month's Spiritual Journey Thursday host, Ruth Hersey from Haiti, for suggesting the topic of gratitude and to my SJT community of friends for supporting my long journey. In thanksgiving, I created a Buncee Gratitude Snap for my faithful and supportive friends.

Inspiration from Others

Drip drops landed on my family room roof outside my window.  Dark clouds hung low and stillness sat upon morning.  It was dreary but not the type of day that was meant for Hallmark movies and hot chocolate, although I was cold and could have used some quiet cuddle time.  There was work to do.  In between laundry and cleaning-out-a closet duty, I snuck a few minutes to read some Poetry Friday posts from last week that I missed.   As I  read posts, I hunkered down to savor words and being inspired to write. 

Writing I did, after I stopped at adolescent author Tanita S. Davis' blog.  Tanita shared Jane Tyson Clement's poem, Bach's Inventions.  I was impressed by the following line that I chose as my strike line for a golden shovel poem: if I could define my end 

Within the hustle of a day, if
life was simply organized and I 
as well, balance would follow. Could
order bring me to a place where I define
existence in this odd quarantine life and fill my
restless time with fruitful ponderings that never end?
©CV, 2020

Next, I gathered more Inspiration as I watched the last night of the Democratic National Convention tonight.  After accepting the invitation to become the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biiden delivered an optimistic and memorable speech.  I created a found poem of some of his compelling words.

"I will draw on the best of us, not the worst." -Joe Biden

Hope lives at the convention.

Become a united America,

Put politics aside, and find the light.

Life can be cruel but

Stay strong with purpose.

Let us save our democracy!
©CV, 2020

Joe Biden's called all to "overcome this season of darkness".  With hope and faith, this call to action has lifted my spirits enough to walk into the light and continue writing from the heart.

Tonight I join the Poetry Friday Roundup with my long-distance friend and grandma reading lover, Ramona Behnke.  She discusses her significant week with interesting links. Is your curiosity peaked?   Connect to find more poetry goodness.

Poetry Friday Friends:

With summer on beautiful Long Island estranged in many ways due to COVID-19, I am gathering my collection of image poems sent in for my Embraceable Summer Gallery.  If so inclined, please share a new image poem on the topic, Summer 2020 in the Midst of Quarantine Life,, at your blog for the September 4, 2020 Poetry Friday that I am hosting.  It will be a way to showcase the beauty of nature during trying times.   

Honoring Nikki Grimes, Poet

You can see the animated version of the card above at Buncee.

I recall one NCTE a few years ago when Poetry Friday friends were seated around a table enjoying the camaraderie of friends. Nikki Grimes was part of that group. We chatted about poetry and life. I was one of Nikki's fans so I listened carefully. Following this evening event, I was lucky to spot her at an author's signing for her new novel in verse, Garvey's Choice that won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. 

To prepare for Day 3 of my graduate school summer institute for teachers, I reread Garvey's Choice. I knew that it would be an appropriate book to be included in a text-set for a mini-unit on adolescent bullying, self-identity, and/or family and friend relationships. As I read through the book, I grew to care about Garvey as a person and student. He, like many middle year and early high school teens, is perplexed by internal conflict emanating from his relationships with his family and lack of friends.  This book is beautifully-crafted and seamlessly written in the tanka form of poetry. Nikki Grimes shares sensitivity toward her main character and visibly illustrates the growth of Garvey's identity from a boy taunted for years about his weight to one who takes pride in whom he is. You can see the Garvey's growth of self-confidence in the found poem I created with selected lines from Nikki's book.

Fill in the puzzle of me.

Fear is the flip-flop in my belly.

I take a breath. 

I'm suddenly feeling brave.

Now "fat boy" insults glide

right off like raindrops.

I'm a balloon of song,

reaching the edges of space.

Somehow, music makes me full.

Listen to my dreams.

I choose what words to let in.

Set to face a new morning,

I stand Taller.

The perfect size is happy.

Designed by ©CVarsalona, 2020

with lines from Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes

💖

I listened to Nikki read "Jabari Unmasked" from One Last Word, which she says is one of her favorite books. You can listen to her video here.  I look to Nikki's work as a model for my own Golden Shovel poem writing. Below is my poem using Nikki's line, ."..still, the world needs the dreams we offer," as both the title and strike line for my poem.

Thank you Irene Latham for suggesting that we honor Nikki Grimes and her work this week at the Poetry Friday Roundup. I am heading over to the celebration at Irene's blog, Live Your Poem, where she is hosting today. I am bringing my Buncee card, this post, and grilled peaches cake because it is a Poetry Friday party for Nikki Grimes.

Poetry Friday Roundup Celebration

Note: I still have a draft of a Golden Shovel poem for Day 5 of Kat Apel's #PoetryPepUp challenge but it is still not ready for sharing. I will post the Golden Shovel poem/image poem I created above on social media noting Kat's engaging challenge last week. 

Coping During the Crisis

Unprecedented times. Weather switches from a dull gray to slivers of color. I look out my window, noticing some movement. A mother takes her child for a bike ride. Walkers cautiously walk apart from each other. Feral cats cuddle together on top of my outdoor bench.  Spring has arrived  Evening news brings grim reports for New York State. An invisible virus strikes out like a venomous snake spewing its toxin. Families cope in different ways. Mine paused last week on March 27, 2020, when Pope Francis addressed the world from St. Peter's Basilica. He offered hope for all to navigate the COVID19 crisis. 

From his calming words, I created a poem. 

Lift your days in
prayer and quiet service-
these are your 

victorious weapons.

Know that
faith begins when we 
are in need of salvation.

Pause, recognizing 
we need the Lord 
like ancient navigators
needed the stars.
God's strength
reawakens solidarity
and hope, giving 
strength to these hours.

He is the guide

through the storm.

©CV, 2020

Hush, silence stirs our hearts as the velvet darkness envelops us each night. It is the pause time when we give gratitude for family life and all the heroes who lift others each day with their quiet service. With faith, I cope during this crisis, hoping for renewal that Easter will bring shortly.

Thank you, poet friend, Donna Smith, for hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday this month who is looking forward to reading some "Joyful Stuff in Trying Times".