Imagine the Possibilities

It’s Poetry Friday!

Thank you to all the friends who sent New Year postcards. I’m continually amazed at the creativity on display in this group. Each poem, card, photo, drawing has brought me joy which will continue through the year.

In a previous post I talked about keeping a weekly journal of thoughts in Leaf, Cloud, Crow by Margaret Renkl. This week’s prompt was to list beautiful things you can find in the natural world, add to it each day, then think about how pausing for beauty changes the way you feel.

Because of the cold I haven’t been walking outside as often, but this week was a bit warmer so I ventured out to a few new spots. I found a spider egg sac in a pine tree, a purple-golden sunset, stopped to listen to a wren’s song, watched hawks circling and two young doe gingerly stepping through snow searching for seed. I wanted to try the new-to-me poetry form, the Landay, that Amy Ludwig VanDerwater introduced in her post last week. The Landay has only two lines. The first line has nine syllables and the second has thirteen.

On a Winter Afternoon

hawks circle a cerulean sky
over a forest green tree with treasures deep inside
Draft, RoseCappelli2025

I hope you find lots of beauty in the world this week. Jan has the roundup today at Bookseedstudio. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness and a musical treat.

Welcome to Poetry Friday!

I was ready to skip posting today, until Billy Collins came to the rescue.

I’ve been under the weather for a few days, lacking energy and stamina. This morning I felt better, and in the darkness of the early morning, the moon welcomed me back. I’ve been reading Water, Water by Billy Collins (highly recommend). I wrote in response to his poem “The Cardinal.”

Welcome Back

Finally free of fever fog,
a ribbon of light spreads across the desk,
a glad-you’re-back welcome
from the waning gibbous moon.

Even from my second story vantage point
through the thin layer of snow,
I knew the feeders were filled.

When my husband wakes
I’ll relay thanks from the birds,
how they now love him, too,
how the moon welcomed me back.
Draft, RoseCappelli2025

Tricia has the roundup today at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Stop by for some typewriter nostalgia and lots more poetry goodness.

It’s Poetry Friday! Kat has the roundup today here. Be sure to stop by, especially if you’re a cat (or dog) person, for a delightful tribute to the pets in her life. And, as always, lots more poetry goodness.

Last week on Poetry Friday I read how Heidi Mordhorst and her family celebrate Yuletide. For twelve days, from December 21 (Winter Solstice) to January 1, they light candles to commemorate a gift of the human spirit. You can read more here and here and how Heidi has used the ritual as poetry prompts.

I was drawn to this practice especially because it recognizes our gifts as light, my OLW for 2025. So, I decided to use Heidi’s poetry prompts to mark the year, one for each month. For January, I’m celebrating “the light of the sun and stars and the light that glows in every human soul.”

Morning Star

In the deep of December
I woke to clouds
shadowing,
swirling,
sweeping
the after-storm sky,
and one bright star
peeking through the turmoil.

There it was –
hope in the darkness,
a light to guide me
through the day –

so I made a wish.
Draft, RoseCappelli2025

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Happy New Year and welcome to Poetry Friday!

Mary Lee has the roundup today at A(nother) Year of Reading where she shares wisdom from the Land of Grammar and lots more poetry goodness.

If you’re familiar with The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkle, then you probably know the importance of a first bird sighting in the new year.

            According to birding tradition, the first bird you see on the first day
of the new year sets the tone for your next twelve months. (p. 5)

The book is divided into seasons with an entry for each week. I bought the book in the spring, so that’s where I jumped in, devouring each luscious word and idea week to week. But I also read what I missed and am now rereading the whole book in order. I’ll admit, I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning with the anticipation of my first bird sighting on January 1^st. I see fewer birds this time of year, but there are cardinals, finches, woodpeckers, wrens, and sparrows that visit regularly. Imagine my joy when the first bird I saw was a female bluebird, soon joined by her partner.

I researched all the symbolic and spiritual meanings connected with bluebirds, and there are many – happiness, renewal, harmony, hope. Bluebirds can also be a reminder to stay positive and live authentically. That’s what I want to focus on and use along with my OLW for 2025 – light.

First Bird: A Cherita for the New Year

I raised the binoculars, heart aflutter

a small miracle
perched on the birdhouse roof

a bluebird to guide me through the year
with harmony and hope
joy and light
Draft, RoseCappelli2025

My daughter gave me Renkle’s companion journal Leaf, Cloud, Crow for Christmas. I’m looking forward to filling it with small poems and thoughts. So maybe you’ll hear more about my bluebird. By the way, I named her Evie, and the pair returned today.

Mary Lee has the roundup today at A(nother) Year of Reading where she shares wisdom from the Land of Grammar and lots more poetry goodness.

Happy Poetry Friday!

On Wednesday I completed a series of three small online writing workshops with poets extraordinaire Georgia Heard and Ralph Fletcher. They were offered through Georgia’s Poet’s Studio. Titled “Write Bites,” the sessions were just 45-50 minutes in length. For each session, Georgia and Ralph offered a prompt, then gave us time to write and share. Some of the poets in the community (Jen, Moe, and fellow Poetry Friday contributor Jone) I knew, but many of us were meeting for the first time. Still, we all bonded quickly in the supportive environment created by Georgia and Ralph. I was in awe of the heartfelt and beautiful writing produced by my fellow classmates.

On the last night, Ralph’s prompt came from a photo of a tree he had taken while in New Zealand. He called it “The Lonely Tree.” I’m sorry I don’t have a copy of it, but imagine a lone tree, bending over the water surrounding it, with mountains and clouds in the background. It was the kind of photograph that can mean something different to just about everyone who sees it. I was surprised at where the photo took me, but when I started writing, this is where my thoughts wandered.

Yes

Sometimes life catches us off guard.
We’re surrounded by sustenance,
beauty,
warmth,
but can’t quite touch it,
can’t quite hold its essence.

I bend low—
almost,
almost there.

To find the right words,
to feel them flow like blood in my veins,
to be caught off guard with acceptance
would sustain me
for always.
Draft, RoseCappelli2024

Georgia and Ralph are offering Write Bites 2.0 beginning in late January. You can find more information about it and lots of other writing opportunities with Georgia at The Poet’s Studio.

Linda Mitchell has the roundup today at her blog A Word Edgewise where she is playing with centos. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness!