Loveuary's Emotional Ties

As one of the #PoetryPals, I'm joining the Poetry Sisters, Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, and Kelly, for their February challenge.

This month the Poetry Sisters invited all writers to create epistolary poetry in the form of a love poem. Epistolary poems are, quite literally, poems that read as letters. As poems of direct address, they can be intimate and colloquial or formal and measured (Academy of American Poets). I decided to create a small bank of heartnotes (aka valentines) that tugged at my heartstrings and led me in different directions. 

I see love through my family as they share precious life moments, smiles, laughter, and joy. Ordinary moments bring us together to discover what love is. 

💘❤💘

Love's Emotional Ties

This poem is dedicated to my 2nd grandgirl who has a bright smile. 

Childlove is the beginning of lasting friendships!

small poem

It is my hope that this little 4-year-old miss will grow in love to bring

continuous sunshine to those around her.

💘❤💘

The poem below shares the love of little sisters who happen to be my grandgirls.

childlove 

priceless treasure

like glistening shells

swishing in ocean waves

keepsakes 

©CVarsalona, January 2024

Elfchen poem

💘❤💘

Dear Me,

There have been six and a half years of being

a Grandma like my mother and Nonnie.

What have you learned?

There is a special love 

seated deep inside a heart.

It is a thumping, wondrous love

that offers more 

sweetness than chocolate and

warmth on cold winter days.

It is an intangible love

that melts hearts,

mends broken wings,

and floats in imaginative minds.

It is the purring of a gentle kitten,

the whoosh of baby's sleeptoy,

and the softness of a furry blanket.

It is the God-given gift

to Grandmothers who

cherish family life.

Love, Me

©CVarsalona, January 2024

epistolary poem, #PoetryPals

💘❤💘

💖

⇣

Grandma Love Is...

gracefilled

a gift

of enduring love

fountain of perpetual devotion

forever 

©CVarsalona, January 2024

Elfchen poem

💘❤💘

Look, at me!

I love this french fry,

Mommy gave me.

Yummy in my tummy!

Do you love food

As much as I do!

Meme Poem, Created by Grandma,

©CVarsalona, January 2024

💘❤💘

May love surround you and your family.

💘❤💘

Is at

Tabatha Yeatts blog,

"The Opposite of Indifference" where she is

 "Open for Poetry Business".

Tabatha has a wonderful story poem about Scheherazade. Check it out.

💘❤💘

Grandma Love Is...

I am blessed to follow in the line of grandmothers whose devotion to their grandchildren was essential to each grandma's well-being. My grandmother, Nonnie, was my guide, opening my eyes to the beauty of gardens, the love of baking, the secret to making pasta sauce, and a desire to be a lifelong reader. My mother, Grandma Kay, was not only the grandma to my children but to the neighborhood children. She was generous, hardworking, and devoted to her grandchildren from birth to their college years. My family moved to Virginia because we wanted to be closer to our grandgirls. It has been a whirlwind, a few years trying to settle in and be filled with the spirit of familial love. I pause today after a long day of Grandmasitting for a sick baby yesterday. There were cuddles, hugs, drying of tears, playtime, eating with fingers, and lots of love to make yesterday a last memory.

Baby #3 feels better at the end of the day.

Today, I return to the grandchildren's house. It is a special day of pride and thanksgiving. My oldest grandgirl invited me to her class' Poetry Cafe. We have talked and written toddler poems throughout her six years but today she will be recognized as a 1st-grade young poet. She announced yesterday that one of her topics is video games. I eagerly await the recitation.

Holiday Happiness, 2023

• "It is as grandmothers that our mothers come into the fullness of their grace." – Christopher Morley

Grandma Love Is...

gracefilled

a gift

of enduring love

fountain of perpetual devotion

forever 

©CVarsalona, January 2024

Elfchen poem

This blog post is a follow-up post on Love Is...
You can read my first post with poem written for Spiritual Journey Thursday here.

I also wrote a humorous piece for Baby #2 here.

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Mary Lee Hahn is our Poetry Friday Roundup host today and she and her Inklings group are ready to whisper secrets to us. Shhh! It is going to be a poetic goodness treat today so check in here.

Loveuary Special Note

I follow Mary Lee as Host of the Poetry Friday Roundup next week.

Since I have been thrilled with the Poetry Postcards I have received, I'd like to continue with a Pre-Valentine Roundup. If you choose to do so, please add your Valentine wish/poem/card to your post next week. 

💗💗💗💗💗

Snow Baby

She takes baby steps along the trail, carefully gliding forward, one foot at a time. Without fear, she inhales winter's crispclean air and strives to keep her balance. That was then. Now , at 3 1/2- years-old, she finds her stride on pristine, snow white slopes, determined to cross each area with ease. Inhaling and exhaling, she explores the wonders of winter life with delight. 

She breathes in

Winter's crispclean air.

Awaiting a world of

Possibilities.

©CV, 2021

🎿

I turn my Slice of Life thoughts over to Two Writing Teachers

in gratitude for the sacred space they have established

for a caring community of writers.

March Musings '19: Grandma Wishes

I linger in love

as a grandma today

thinking of Sierra 

in a special way.

Sierra loves playgrounds. She is a bundle of energy. The Prisma app, introduced to me by fellow slicer, Jennifer Sniadecki, was used to capture Sierra's constant motion.

It's hard to leave my grandbaby because she brings such joy to our lives. My husband and son feel the same way. I wrote about this in yesterday's slice. Today, I started my morning off watching a short video of one of Sierra's favorite books, Grandma Wishes by Julia Lobo. You can listen to the story in song form below. 

My thoughts return to each of the three nights that I put Sierra to bed. The first night, I dipped my hand into Sierra's nighttime book basket and pulled out Grandma Wishes. We sat in the white rocking chair, got cuddly, and began to read in the quiet of a darkened room. My iPhone's flashlight app lit the pages of the book while we read. After reading, we cuddled and snuggled some more, sang a little bedtime tune, and gave thanks for a lovely day before carrying Sierra to her crib where she sleeps on top of and with her babies. Before sitting back down on the rocker, I rubbed her back, and let her settle in. I was immersed in peace. I am happy that I was able to share bedtime rituals with Sierra.

(This weekend, Sierra surprised me by saying, "Hi, Gramma".  My son-in-law heard it also. We were so surprised and I was so touched.)

Day 27 of 31 days of writing

March Slice of Life Story Challenge
Two Writing Teachers