On one specific night when a torrential rainstorm arrived, my landscape lamps froze and stopped shining. The darkness was overwhelming, not just in its reality but in the emotion that I felt. Grief rushed in as rain poured from the darkened sky. I sat inside writing, remembering the stillness of sunlit afternoons and the beauty of nature glowing against the light. The darkness was haunting. The discomfort of grief created a dark moment. I needed faith to calm my soul. One Bible verse from John 1:5 offered solace. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." With this thought, I leaned on faith, remembering that God's light has led me through many darkened paths, providing hope.
This blog post is an extension of last week's Poetry Friday blog,Light Unto My Path, based on Kim Johnson's prompt.Due to the hectic weekend, my post with two poems ended being shared on Saturday morning. Below you will find my digital art pantoum poem with a sunrise photo captured by my son from my blog.
This week, Jill Dailey, our host of Poetry Friday is inviting us to her creative Summer Camp. I enjoyed watching Jill's video on how to create a zine. Since I never worked with paper to make one, I am eager to do so.
April showers bring May flowers. I have heard this quote since I was a child. When visiting my Nonnie Rose, I often found myself dancing in the multiple gardens with excitement. Nonnie's gardens were graced with the love of her gentle hands, which turned the soil into glorious, colorful flowers. Today, I understand the hope-filled goals she had for her grandchildren. I am honored to continue her dreams for the family.
While I am not the gardener with the green thumb that my Nonnie was, I love watching my blossoms open their petals after rainstorms. Unfortunately, my herb garden was overrun by fresh mint last summer. The gardeners pulled all the mint, but this April, the mint stubbornly decided to intermingle with my flowers. Now I need to wait for the gardener to redo the bed. I shall pick the mint before the current area is created into a new bed. I hope new growth will restore the garden's beauty. This time, the herbs will grow with grace in their rectangular outdoor pot while new flowers find companions other than mint.
One of my beds
Magnolia buds open
“Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers.”—May Sarton
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” – May Sarton, poet/novelist
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Today, I am celebrating the birthday of my youngest grandgirl, Lila. Time moves on quickly. She turned 3 today!
As you can see, I finished my Poetry Friday blog after the party. I plan on visiting Poetry Friday poets blog posts over the long weekend.
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Take a virtual ride on the Ferris Wheel at Carol Labuzzetta's Poetry Friday blog post. Click here to read about Carol's new plans and read other poets' blog posts.
I Invite Slicers, Poets, Writers, Artists, Photographers, and Students
Join me during National Poetry Month. Offer your creativity to embellish my Spring Seeds Grace April Gallery. Add an original spring poem, nature photo, inspirational quote, or artwork to my new padlet. Click here. For a sample of one of my spring galleries, click here to see my 2016 Spring Seeds Gallery of Artistic Expressions. You may find one of your poems there.
I hope this calling card will inspire you to create an artistic expression for my newest gallery and padlet. I would like to showcase the work of slicers and other writers.
While I did not know what my National Poetry Month Project would be, the power of patience and the wonder of nature helped me find my connection. Last year's journey felt like a continuous rollercoaster ride. My emotions still roar with fear and the anxiety of a wild ride. The onset of April and the glory of Easter Sunday blended together, offering me a golden key to a quiet renewal of life and an awakening of my soul and senses. I embrace April as a gentle month of hope, rejuvenation, and a soft reset to life.
I Invite Friends, Poets, Writers, Artists, Photographers, and Students
Join me during National Poetry Month. Offer your creativity to embellish my Spring Seeds Grace April Gallery. Add an original spring poem, nature photo, inspirational quote, or artwork to my new padlet. Click here. For a sample of one of my spring galleries, click here to see my 2016 Spring Seeds Gallery of Artistic Expressions. You may find one of your poems there.
Thank you to our Poetry Friday host, Jone Rush MacCulloch, who shares her new book, "Tilt", midterm videos from her TWU students, and her original poem, "How to Write a Poem". In addition, Jone is hosting a Pop-Up Poetry Salon tomorrow and shares the beginnings of the poetry community's Progressive Poem. Stop by to enjoy her bounty of gifts and read what other Poetry Friday poets are offering.
Let your imagination take you on a journey throughout the 2026 National Poetry Month.
As winter turns to spring, I feel time fleeting by. I remember persevering during the winter months, as difficult as that was. Each day, I found one small way to unwrap twisted yarns. With bereavement counseling and support from my therapist, I walked away from each session with a spirit of hope.
Time is fleeting. It floats through peaks and valleys. Nature moves backwards, then forwards. The sunshine of spring turns to pounding rain today. Somehow, it is therapeutic as it roars and then subsides into the darkness of morning. Nature nurtures my soul. Winter turns to spring. In its magical space of sunshine covered over by the grey of rain, I find hope floating in the air. Grief comes and goes like fleeting time.
I ponder how I can poetically explain grief as it pours itself over me on dark days that transform into spring's warmth. I lean on spiritual faith and the power of nature to nurture and restore my grieving soul.
This month's Poetry Sisters challenge seems to be an overwhelming project for me. As I write, feelings flash in my heart. Yet, I try to make sense of my ravelled thoughts to create an Ovillejos poem that asks us to write tight little bundles of poetry. Tanita S. Davis explains the format. I thank her for the #PoetryPals invitation and the lovely graphic she added above.
"This Spanish poem bundles ten lines, made up of 3 rhyming couplets interspersed with three verrry short lines, and a quatrain. The last line is a redondilla, a little round that collects all three short lines and casts off the poem, as it were."
FLEETING TIME (Format List)
1. How does time slip away each day? (8syllables)
2..It finds a way. (short answer)
3. Does time have power over me? (8 syllables) 4. Love lasts. (short answer) 5. Is there a balm for every soul? (8 syllables) 6. To make us whole. (short answer)
So "winter always turns to spring" is a phrase I shall remember. The words of Nichiren Daishonin remind me that difficult times, such as this winter, reminds me to persevere because there will always be days that lead to better, brighter moments. On the positive side of time, I add this quote by Sophia Dembling from Psychology Today's Personal Perspective, "Grief and the Passage of Time".
"Time is our friend in that it is the only thing that can dull the sharp edge of grief, although it can't end our grief, which is forever."
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The Poetry Friday Roundup is a wonder of challenges today. Besides it being the end of the month Poetry Sisters' Challenge, our Poetry Friday host, Marcie Flinchum Atkins is celebrating twilight. Her newest book, When Twilight Comes, is coming out on March 31st. Teachers and librarians can find activity copies for the book at her blog site.
Marcie also invited readers to send a favorite photo of twilight and/or write a poem to celebrate twilight with her.
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I am also celebrating the opening of springtime with the Two Writing Teachers, a meeting place for a world of reflective teachers.
St. Patrick's Day is an event that my family has enjoyed as long as I can remember. Even though we are not Irish, we appreciate St. Patrick's Day each year. I remember the parades, wonderful food, and the enjoyment of being with family and friends. This year, my sister and I hosted a special dinner and game time to make a special night for my little grandgirls. Hopefully, they will remember this time we spent together on St. Paddy's Day.
Below are two quotes in my baking area. They remind me that blessings come even when a day starts out gray.
"May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door."
Three little Grandgirls are dressed for St. Patrick's Day.
Each child presented me with three different thoughts.
6-year-old: "Grandma, I made a Leprechaun trap with my 5th Grade Buddy at school today. It's in the car." Off she went to get her trap. It was an interesting device with a quick drop. I was impressed.
2-year-old (almost 3): "My dress fell in the toilet when I went to the potty today at pre-school." I wasn't expecting that comment but we all had a good laugh.
8-year-old: "I'm ready to begin the scavenger hunt. Do I have to find real shamrocks?" After finishing her scavenger hunt paper, she said.↴
"Grandma, I wrote a poem aboutFour Leaf Clovers:
Clovers are good luck
but they are not much.
4-leaf clovers are hard to find.
Maybe you can find them in a mine.
☘by Sierra, age 8 ☘
The poem was a surprise, even though I had asked Sierra to add one to end her scavenger hunt. Sierra was pleased with her poem, and I was happy that each child had a good time. Of course, there were small treats and candy for each little girl who finished her scavenger hunt.
There have been many times when my life has felt fragile and uncertain. Since last year at this time, I have walked an uneasy spiritual journey filled with bumps along the way.
This Slice of Life month of daily messages will be dedicated to my one word, restore. Restoring my soul and renewing my heart will be my goal through writing prose and poetry.
Bear with me as I find support and calmness along the way.
On Day 21 of Laura Shovan's February Poetry Project, Marilyn R. Garcia invited writers to explore the mystery between sadness and joy in their lives or the world around them. She challenged writers to write a poem about a time or period of life where the coexistence of sadness and joy was strong for you.
It is difficult to believe that it has been 10 months since my husband passed away suddenly. I found the above digital artwork that I created years ago. My journey since then has been one of unbelief, to anxiety, to grief. But it has also been a time of discovery. I tackle questions, such as who am I and where am I going.
My goal is to restore my soul, mind, and body. Plus, I realize that it takes many miles of walking on my spiritual journey to find peace. With sunlight not making regular trips this winter, grey clouds seem to agitate my mind. Recently, I wrote a blog post about holding the sun close to my heart. As the song, Restore My Soul, states, "revive my heart" is what I need.
I started this blog post with a proposed prompt to write a poem about a time or period of life where the coexistence of sadness and joy was strong for me. During the winter season, I have felt the sadness of loss and grey skies along with the joy of being with family, especially my three little grandgirls. The prompt by Marilyn R. Garcia asks us to take the lyrics from one of the Beatles' mysterious songs and make them make sense.
Keeping in line with the sorrow and joy of winter without continual sun is a mystery to me. Winter doldrums have brought unrest. The ending line of my blackout poem is what I would like to bring an optimistic point of view during this bereavement time.
Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles
Here comes the sun , doo-doo-doo
Here comes the sun
And I I say, "It's all right"
Little darlin'
It's been a long, cold onely , l winter
Little darlin'
It feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun , doo-doo-do
Here comes the sun
And I say, "It's all right"
Little darlin'
The smiles return ng to the faces
CVarsalona, 2026
A simple prompt helped me realize that sorrow and joy can coexist. If I hold on to hope and faith, my journey may not be as bumpy as it has been. I look forward to a smile opening each day.
Writing grounds me!
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I thank Irene Latham for her recent blog post with an inspiring ending line to her poem "Watermelon, you"-:"Teach me how to hold the sun when the day is anything buy joyful".
winter's sun offers
both darkness and light with love
mystery of weather
CVarsalona, 2026
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In addition, I am adding my draft poem for today's Poetry Sisters' February Challenge with Sara, Tanita, Tricia, Mary Lee, and Laura. I choose to use the 25th Poet Laureate of the USA, Aurthur Sze's First Snow poem as my mentor text. I offer a Golden Shovel draft poem with the strike line: the world of being is like this gravel.
dreams melt like the
falling snow in our swishing world
that holds the challenges of
of my swirling life - being
part of continual uncertainty is
unmeasurably worrisome - like
rabbits jumping from here to there this
journey reminds me of winter's icy gravel
(trying to melt what is in my way)
draft-CVarsalona, 2026
The companion photo will be created at a later time.
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I join the Poetry Friday Roundup with our host, Margaret Simon, educator, author, poet, and friend. Margaret is offering us three lovely poems she penned for the Ethical ELA Open Write.
This week, Jill Dailey, our host of Poetry Friday is inviting us to her creative Summer Camp. I enjoyed watching Jill's video on how to create a zine. Since I never worked with paper to make one, I am eager to do so.
