Imagine the Possibilities

It’s Poetry Friday and I’m happy to be hosting today. Please add your link at the end of the post.

This past Christmas, one of my presents was a bird feeder with a camera feed. We finally got around to installing it last week and it’s provided tons of bird watching fun. My first visitor was a tufted titmouse I named Captain. He was soon joined by a pair of bluebirds (Fred and Ginger), Redboy and Queenie (cardinals), chickadees, cowbirds, sparrows, and a host of finches. I name many of my birds, especially the ones I know make daily visits. Eventually I had to turn off the notifications because it got too distracting, but everything is recorded so I can see who visited.

I wasn’t able to embed any of the videos here, but I found a poem (a double ehtheree) about bird visitors I wrote a while back.

I’m expecting that Fred and Ginger will soon be starting a family. Here’s a poem for them.

The birds remind me that even though temperatures are chilly, spring is here. Please click below and add your link. I’m looking forward to reading all the poetry goodness! Thanks for stopping by and for your supportive comments each week.

It’s Poetry Friday and almost time to welcome spring. Of course with spring comes Daylight Saving Time. I enjoy the light lingering longer in the evening, but it’s still dark when I wake, at least for a few more weeks.

I was thinking of the time change this week as I reread some poems in The Wonder of Small Things: Poems of Peace and Renewal edited by James Crews, looking for a line or image that might spark an idea. In “Listen Back” by Brooke McNamara I found the lines:
“How many mornings have I woken like this, early
and called to listen
at the window of the unknown?”

Then, very serendipitously, Margaret Simon posted a photo of sunrise through fog by Marshall Ramsey in This Photo Wants To Be a Poem.

Margaret also included this quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery:
“For behind all seen things lies something vaster; everything is but a path, a portal, or a window opening on something more than itself.”

All of those things gave me the inspiration for today’s poem.

Early Morning
I’m called to the dark
beyond the window

called to witness
the gradual unfurling of morning

only when the highest branches of the maples are visible
will the wren announce the sun

and the sky will lighten, slowly
as if a blanket were being pulled from its eyes

what does the day hold?
the answer lies in the light within
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Tanita has the roundup today at {fiction, instead of lies} Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.

It’s Poetry Friday!

I wasn’t sure I would post today since I am at a writing retreat at The Highlights Foundation with fellow writers from Inked Voices.

But when my preordered copy of Oskar’s Voyage arrived this week, I knew I had to celebrate, especially because Laura Purdie Salas is our host today. Oskar’s Voyage is a delightful story by Laura and illustrator Kayla Harren about an endearing chipmunk whose love of tomatoes causes him to become a stowaway on a Great Lakes freighter. It is full of fun, facts, and lots of emotion. And what better way to celebrate than with a poetryaction. A poetryaction is a poem written in reaction to a book, and Laura has lots of examples on her website. I borrowed one of Laura’s lines “takes a giant flying leap” for mine.

Adventure

if you’re curious
take a giant flying leap
into adventure

discover new things
in a mysterious land
then fly back home

to dream again
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Be sure to check out today’s roundup here where Laura gives us a peek into her process of creating Oskar’s Voyage, as well as lots more poetry goodness.

Welcome to Poetry Friday!

Today I’m celebrating the release of Issue 7 from Little Thoughts Press, Fabulous Facts. I am grateful to have a poem included in this publication and to have the opportunity to share it with all of you.

When my grandson was much smaller, he greeted every day exuberantly. Rain, wind, snow, sun – it didn’t matter. To him, every day was a beautiful day. My poem started out as an idea for a picture book with information about each animal mentioned. I never quite finished it. So, when the opportunity to submit to Little Thoughts Press occurred, I rewrote some of the stanzas and shortened the back matter information to read as a fun fact about each animal. Here is the poem as it appears in Fabulous Facts minus the fun facts which are included as a Did You Know? box in the publication.

It’s a Beautiful Day!
by Rose Cappelli

When days are warm and the sun is high,
When earth lies under a cloudless sky
Let’s run and climb and picnic and play—
It’s a beautiful day!

When clouds turn grey growing fatter and fatter,
When raindrops on houses and hills pitter-patter
Don’t worry just scurry your way down the road—
It’s a beautiful day…for a toad.

When water is vapor that stays in the air,
When everything’s damp from your skin to your hair
While not the best day for dining al fresco—
It’s a beautiful day…for a gecko.

When soil starts to crack and grasses feel dusty,
When rivers and creek beds are crusty and musty
Find a cool pool and go with the flow—
It’s a beautiful day…for a rhino.

When geese are gone and chilly winds blow,
When the sun stays low and sleet turns to snow
When you’re buried in bed like a big brown bear—
It’s a beautiful day…for a snowshoe hare.

When wind turns your cheeks from pink to red
When gusts steal your hat right off your head
When play is now inside since outside is null—
It’s a beautiful day…for a seagull.

Some days are sunny, some breezy, some wet,
Some days are those we just wish to forget.
But no matter the weather you see on display
There is something for which…
It’s a beautiful day!
©2024RoseCappelli

To read more from this publication, you can download a pdf of the entire issue or order a print copy here.

Linda has the roundup today at Teacher Dance where she contemplates choice and change. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness. And thanks for stopping by.

It’s Poetry Friday, and I’m sending you a Valentine!

The prompt for the Nevermores this week was to write an acrostic using a word related to love or Valentine’s Day. Acrostics can be tricky and not as easy as they appear. I chose the word “cherish” and wrote a few, then wrote this one specifically for you – all my Poetry Friday friends.

Cherish

cradle the words from my
heart as I do yours for they
explore the wonders and
richness of life we hold dear
inking our thoughts and
sharing with friends
here in this space
Draft, 2024RoseCappelli

Margaret has the roundup today at Reflections on the Teche where she has just returned from Mardi Gras. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.