It’s Poetry Friday! Irene has the roundup today at Live Your Poem where she uses a lovely poem from one of my favorites, Barbara Crooker, as inspiration for her ArtSpeak poem. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.
This week I’m catching up with my writing. Thanksgiving was a wonderfully hectic time with cooking, baking, decorating, and grandchildren. But right after everyone left, I left, too, to attend the Keystone State Literacy’s annual conference in the Pocono Mountains.
The theme of the conference was Beyond the Page: Fostering a Love of Reading for Lifelong Learners. Highlights included meeting and speaking with several well-loved authors like Lesa Cline-Ransom, Alison Green Myers, Gary Schmidt, Trinka Hakes Noble, and more. I pulled out a few nuggets from my notebook, looked for patterns in what was said, and came up with this poem:
Beyond the Page
Tell your story with passion,
with courage
because it’s easier to forget
than it is to remember.
Know that there’s strength
in a shared purpose.
One book,
one idea,
one step forward
can provide the mirror
to change a life forever.
Draft, 2025Rose Cappelli
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Today I’m also offering a poem I wrote a few years ago that is fitting for the week after Thanksgiving.
A Caravan of Trees
After Thanksgiving I start to see
a caravan of Christmas trees.
Perfectly picked or freshly cut,
secured on car roofs,
bundled with care.
Will they don lights
or strands of gold?
Perhaps be topped
with a shining star?
A season of peace and hope begins
with a caravan of trees.
Draft, RoseCappelli2021
Thanks for reading!
Imagine the Possibilities 
Your conference and presentation sound wonderful and fulfilling, like the poem you garnered. Good advice to someone like me. Thanksgiving was a whirlwind for me and I am enjoying a few calm mornings in the cold dark of December. Something so peaceful about them.
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I also find peace and calm in the dark December mornings. There’s something about watching the light grow to start the day.
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Rose, I love the book/writing lessons you crafted from your conference notes! I’m always happy for anyone who gets to learn from Gary Schmidt!! While we cannot guarantee our words will change others, I know I am constantly being changed by/through/because of my writing life. Thanks also for your caravan of trees! So true! xo
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Thank your for the poetic encouragement to keep putting pencil to paper!
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You’re so right, Rose– art changes lives! And hooray for lifelong learning!
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Enjoyed both your poems! Love the final stanza of Beyond the Page. Pretty much sums up why we’re all here, right? 🙂
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Rose, love both your poems!!!! “…easier to forget/than it is to remember” resonates so deeply and encouragingly in my writer’s heart. Thank you!
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Thanks Mona. That was a pretty much a direct quote from Lesa Cline-Ransom.
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I give away a lot of books, hoping they will bring joy to others, especially children, but some are very hard to give, years pass, & they still bring me joy. I love your “Beyond the Page”, Rose, a tribute to books, and to those who write them! And, yesterday, saw my first “caravan” on the way to work at the bookstore! Love that you wrote about them!
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I love the theme of ‘Beyond the Page.’ It’s beautiful…as is your draft. It really is easier to forget. I love the idea of the effort it takes to remember and tell with passion. Wonderful!
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Thanks, Linda. That particular line came from Lesa Cline-Ransom in her breakfast talk. She was talking about her books that deal with the great migration, Harriet Tubman, and other great African American leaders.
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What a great title and theme: Beyond the Page. I also love the caravan of trees which I have seen a lot this week. Thank you.
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I may need to borrow your first two stanzas as inspiration for our memoir writing group. And I love your Caravan of Trees. They’ve been everywhere.
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No problem! The line about being easier to forget than to remember is from Lesa Cline-Ransom. I thought it rang so true.
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I love “there is strength in shared purpose,” Rose. It makes me think of the Nevermores and writing together. Hope yours was one of those caravans of trees!
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