Filling My Rising to My Rest

our sun rising through cotton candy sky

dew drops glistening along blades of grass

birds announcing the arrival of a new day

- Oh the beauty of an earthen morn!

white puffs peppering the cerulean sky

sunflowers heads seeking the light 

bees dancing their way from bloom to bloom

- Oh the beauty of an earthen noon!

sunset masterpiece fading to periwinkle

wind whispering a lullaby

rabbits grabbing grass mouthful by mouthful

-Oh the beauty of an earthen twilight!

blackness glittering with infinite stars

fireflies decorating with yellow bursts of light

rest filling the moments with silence

-Oh, the beauty of an earthen night!

Filling my rising to my rest with your beauty, 

thank you Earth.

This poem was written to a prompt from Solace and Connection by Leigh Anne Eck, http://adayinthelifeof19b.blogspot.com/2023/04/solace-connection-4.html to write a poem about the beauty of the earth. I tried to capture the small bits of beauty that fill my days. I am so grateful that moments of beauty exist all day long. 

 

Progressive Poem 2023 Continues... Day 20

 

                                                        Photo credit: Margaret Simon, Reflections on the Teche.

The Progressive Poem tradition was started by author Irene Latham. It is now under the inspired helm of Margaret Simon who has organized the event during the last few years. A poem is passed from blog to blog each day in April. Each line is contributed by a different author. The only stipulation is that it is written for children. By the end of the month, a poem completed by thirty individuals awaits us all. Thank you, Irene and Margaret, for your inspiration to create the Progressive Poem and continue its tradition during National Poetry Month. This is my first year participating and am honored to add my line to the poem. I have so enjoyed watching its creation day by day.

The poem thus far:

Suddenly everything fell into place
like raindrops hitting soil and sinking in.
 
When morning first poked me, I’d wished it away
my mind in the mist, muddled, confused.
 
Was this a dream or reality, rousing my response?
The sun surged, urging me to join in its rising,
 
Rising like a crystal ball reflecting on morning dew.
I jumped out of bed, ready to explore the day.
 
My feet pull me outside and into the garden
Where lilies and bees weave…but wait! What’s that?
 
A bevy of bunnies jart and dart and play in the clover. 
A dog barks and flash, the bunderstorm is over.
 
I breathe-brave, quiet. Like a seed,
as the day, foretold in my dream, ventured upon me. 
 
Sunbeams guided me to the gate overgrown with wisteria
where I spotted the note tied to the gate.                                                                                                

As I reached the gnarled gate, pollen floated like fairy dust into my face. Aaah Choo! 

Enter, if you must. We’ve been waiting for you.

Not giving the curious note a thought, I pushed the gate open and ran through. 

Stopped in my tracks, eyes wide in awe- can this really be true? (my line)

Process: Carol Labuzzetta added the excitement of bursting through the gate. I thought about the idea of revealing who was waiting but felt it was a bit to early to answer that. Nothing was popping into my mind as to who or what would be waiting so instead I decided to write about how it felt at the first moment of seeing it. 

This poem continues tomorrow with Sarah Grace Tuttle at  https://www.sarahgracetuttle.com/blog.

Progressive Poem Schedule

April 1 Mary Lee Hahn, Another Year of Reading
April 2 Heidi Mordhorst, My Juicy Little Universe
April 3 Tabatha, The Opposite of Indifference
April 4 Buffy Silverman
April 5 Rose Cappelli, Imagine the Possibilities
April 6 Donna Smith, Mainely Write
April 7 Margaret Simon, Reflections on the Teche
April 8 Leigh Anne, A Day in the Life
April 9 Linda Mitchell, A Word Edgewise
April 10 Denise Krebs, Dare to Care
April 11 Emma Roller, Penguins and Poems
April 12 Dave Roller, Leap Of Dave 
April 13 Irene Latham Live You Poem 
April 14 Janice Scully, Salt City Verse
April 15 Jone Rush MacCulloch
April 16 Linda Baie TeacherDance
April 17 Carol Varsalona, Beyond Literacy Link
April 18 Marcie Atkins
April 19 Carol Labuzzetta at The Apples in My Orchard 
April 20 Cathy Hutter, Poeturescapes
April 21 Sarah Grace Tuttle at Sarah Grace Tuttle’s Blog, 
April 22 Marilyn Garcia
April 23 Catherine at Reading to the Core
April 24 Janet Fagal, hosted by Tabatha, The Opposite of Indifference
April 25 Ruth, There is no Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town
April 26 Patricia J. Franz, Reverie
April 27 Theresa Gaughan, Theresa’s Teaching Tidbits
April 28 Karin Fisher-Golton, Still in Awe Blog
April 29 Karen Eastlund, Karen’s Got a Blog
April 30 Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, and Writing

 

 

Waiting to Unfold

Pale pink petals waiting to unfold

playing hide-n-seek in a grove of trees 

with blossoms of magenta bold

Pale pink petals waiting to unfold

the Springtime magic they behold

their beauty and fragrance sure do please

Pale pink petals waiting to unfold

playing hide-n-seek in a copse of trees.

Last weekend was absolute perfection in my area. It was sunny and 80! So my husband had I had a lovely picnic at the park under gorgeous blooming trees. The scent of magnolias filled the air. It felt like fairies had cast their Springtime magic on the world. The air had a buzz of energy about it.

The photos I took to capture this Spring beauty fueled the Triolet poem above. A triolet is an 8 line poem. It is small and powerful.

Here is the format:

1: original line

2: original line

3: original line – end word rhymes with line 1 end word

4: repeat line 1

5: original line – end word rhymes with line 1 end word

6: original line – end word rhymes with line 2 end word

7: repeat line 1

8: repeat line 2

The Mourning to Their Joy

Constant twittering fills the air

glorifying this summerlike day of Spring,

a soprano aria floats over the top

twining through the rays of warmth

as a slow, low coo- coo-coo weaves reality

through the counted days of bliss-

the mourning to their joy.

#VerseLove Day 14- Free Writing

So just went with the flow, flow, flow. I was relaxing in my backyard after work listening to the birds chirp away and soaking up some sun. This is a summer-like 80 degree day with pure sunshine. This is extraordinary for April in my part of New York. Then a Mourning Dove started cooing and the line " mourning to their joy" popped into my head. It made me think that even though the weather is joyous right now, it will not be in 2 days- much colder. We will all be mourning the loss of this.

Photo by Marvin Filmaker: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-close-up-shot-of-a-mourning-dove-15269075/

Nature Wrote It's Own Poem

 

This is a photo poem, just like there can be a photo essay. Leigh Anne Eck, http://adayinthelifeof19b.blogspot.com/, put out her weekly Solace and Connection prompt. This week's nature inspired prompt was to pay attention. It was inspired by this quote- "Poetry is the act of paying attention." by Clint Smith.  So I decided to pay close attention to one specific daffodil plant. With the warm weather and days of pure sunlight, this plant changed incredibly this week. I took a photo each day until full bloom. I wasn't intending to do a photo poem but I believe nature wrote its own poem this week. I was just able to capture it. 

Oh Yes, Mother Nature, I Enjoyed Your Sample Spring!

Gray slab of boulder - - wonderful perch to take in the view.

Cool wind whimpering my clothes -- branches dancing in Spring celebration.

Sunshine warming my back -- surfing across the tops of waves.

A woosh-swoosh- pause water song -- waves meeting the curvy C's of shore.

Multi-colored nature litter -- crushed shells and pebble debris.

Naked, smooth tree branch -- shipwrecked on the beach

Lone seagull rollercoastering -- rising, diving between sea and sky.

Gray, then royal blue, then deep navy --- lake colors from shore to horizon baby blue sky.

Location: Lake Ontario

Date: April 1st

Time: 1:30

Season: Spring

Mother Nature sure played an April Fool's joke in my neck of the woods. We had about 4 hours of loveliness- 70 degrees, sunshine and clear blue sky before the winds of change brought winter back to our door. It was 25 the next day. I made sure to get out and enjoy those hours. These observations were made while sitting on a boulder looking out over Lake Ontario in response to the "Begin Where You Are" prompt from Solace and Connection. 

Psithurism

 

Psithurism

def: the sound of wind in the trees

A secret rustle
gently rolls leaves to and fro
comfort on the breeze

Long exhaled whooshes
sway treetops in unison
gaining momentum

Continuous groans
as branches shake, rattle and roll
change is a coming

Howling, shrieking force
splintering arms from core
will the damage heal

What melody will your symphony compose today?
The musicians are at the mercy of the mercurial mistral.

This poem is for Day 3 of the #VerseLove Poetry Challenge. The prompt today was to choose a word that resonates with you and then create a Haiku Sonnet. This form of poetry has 4 haikus and then 2 lines at the end to make 14 lines like a sonnet.