Imagine the Possibilities

Last week I had the privilege of attending a special exhibit of Mary Cassatt’s work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Some of the paintings were accompanied by early sketches so that viewers could see the study and revision work that were part of Cassatt’s process. Of course I couldn’t help thinking about revision in writing. I found so many parallels to writing in addition to revision – research, attention to detail, close study. Many of the works portrayed women reading newspapers and books, engaging in intellectual and political matters that were not popular during that period.

Mary Cassatt was constantly redefining herself and pushing herself to go beyond. She was an activist who worked in the suffrage movement and sought to portray the caregiving and creative activities of women as important work. The experience was truly inspirational.

I wrote a short poem in response to the painting “Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marley” (1880). I wondered what Lydia might be thinking. Perhaps she was planning ways to express creativity not just in her beautiful handwork, but also in her words, thoughts, and actions.

Lydia Crocheting

alone with her thoughts
gloved fingers loop the hook
mind and body transform
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Heidi has the roundup today at my juicy little universe. Be sure to stop by for a collaborative poem filled with imagination and lots more poetry goodness.

In my own version of The Sealey Challenge, I’m rereading or completing books of poetry I never quite finished. I’m ending the month with Billy Collins’ Aimless Love. Yesterday I read:

The Chairs That No One Sits In
by Billy Collins

You see them on porches and on lawns
down by the lakeside,
usually arranged in pairs implying a couple

who might sit there and look out
at the water or the big shade trees.
The trouble is you never see anyone

sitting in these forlorn chairs
though at one time it must have seemed   
a good place to stop and do nothing for a while.

You can read the rest here.

We have two chairs like that in our backyard where we sometimes sit if it’s not too hot. Lately, though, it has been hot, and the chairs have not gotten much use. But I started thinking about the night visitors to the garden that sometimes feast on flowers or plants. I wondered if perhaps they used the chairs to relax, too. As ridiculous as it sounds, I couldn’t get the image out of my head.

Two Blue Chairs

two blue chairs sit
side by side
under the shady maple

sometimes we sit
side by side
sipping cocktails
in the cool of the evening,
until heat overwhelms

giving way for deer and possum to sit
side by side
enjoying honeysuckle wine
under a midnight moon
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Susan at Chicken Spaghetti has the roundup today where she features a very clever poem by the late David Moody. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.

I’m excited to be hosting Poetry Friday this week. If you don’t know what Poetry Friday is, check out this post from Renee LaTulippe.

Even though there are signs of fall in the air, I’m still basking in the warmth of summer sun, especially now that the temperatures are a bit cooler and the humidity is down. One of my favorite activities at the beach is getting up early to catch the first rays of sunshine. On my last morning, I was a bit late, but the sun was hiding, so I was able to catch it coming through the clouds. I started a poem, but it definitely needed more attention. I found some help from my poetry group, the Nevermores. We are studying line breaks, and Marcie suggested a revision exercise from Maggie Smith called “Make it and Break it.” (It appears in the book The Practicing Poet: Writing Beyond the Basics edited by Diane Lockward). The idea is to shift to prose to focus on the music of the poem, then when you are satisfied with how it sounds, returning to line breaks to decide how the poem will move. I did this and came up with a few different versions. Here’s one:

Catching the Sun in the Grey Fog of Morning

In the not-quite light
I stride to the edge of the sea
where tide meets moon-cooled sand.

Morning mist casts a shroud of uncertainty
over possibility
in a blue-grey sky above a hidden horizon.

Sand pipers and gulls
go about their business, undeterred.
It’s there, but where?

A pause to breathe, to set intentions,
to rekindle what we know to be true
before the ribbon of light rips through…

rising,
rising,
rising to begin.
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

I know I used this picture in a previous post, but it’s from this experience.

Hope you will join us today. You can leave your link with Mister Linky.

Today is Poetry Friday and it snuck up on me! I wasn’t sure I would have anything to post, but then I thought about how I often get inspiration from other poets – a word or line can sometimes spark an idea.

I just finished rereading Lace and Pyrite by Ross Gay and Aimee Nezhukumatathil as part of my personal Sealy Challenge. It’s a series of epistolary poems the two poets exchanged about their gardens during the course of a year and is filled with delicious phrases. One in particular, “…the mysterious visitors arriving at night” reminded me of the curiosity I feel about the night visitors to my garden. One night last week when I ventured out to see if I could catch a shooting star, I wondered if I might encounter any mysterious visitors, and if so, just what would I do? So I borrowed Aimee’s line and got to work.

Hoping

to catch sight of a shooting star
darting through the midnight sky,
I step cautiously to the center of the yard,
past the three maples steadfastly standing guard
and the nest of sleeping finches.

I wonder if
the mysterious visitors arriving at night
will leap over,
scurry under,
wiggle through
to keep watch with me.

What a sight that would be­­­—
all of us, eyes toward the inky sky…

hoping
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Janice has the roundup today at Salt Verse City. Be sure to stop by for a wonderful review of A Walk in the Woods by Nikki Grimes and Jerry and Brian Pinkney, as well as lots more poetry goodness.

It’s Poetry Friday and I’m happy to be participating this week, back from a week of vacation at the beach with my family.

“Summer Snapshot” was the theme of the free verse poetry contest over at Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab. First of all, congratulations to Poetry Friday regulars Heidi Mordhorst on her third-place win and Linda Mitchell for her honorable mention. You can read their poems here.

I carried that theme around with me all summer and used it to capture a few snapshots in words while I was away. The ones I’m sharing all have to do with place and landscape. This month I’m finishing up several poetry books I started but didn’t complete, my own version of the Sealy Challenge. I just finished You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World edited by Ada Limón. So everything seems to be fitting together well.

Snapshots from the Beach

i
seagull swoops
plucks treasure from the tide
early morning forager

ii
seaweed surprises
roll across the sandy shore
like tumbling tumbleweeds

iii
shades of blue
fade into aquamarine
sea-sky slow dance

Molly has the roundup today at Nix the Comfort Zone. Be sure to stop by and feel all the JOY she is spreading.