Imagine the Possibilities

“Then, abruptly as they came, they’re gone, and the lawn is full of emptiness.”
– from Snow Geese by Barbara Crooker

Happy Poetry Friday!

One of my least favorite fall chores is getting my flower gardens ready for winter. It makes me sad to pull out the annuals and cut back the perennials, remembering their vibrancy just a few short months ago. It helps me to think forward and imagine the garden in spring. This week I read the poem “Snow Geese” by Barbara Crooker. I loved her last line (shown above) and the contrast between full and empty. It reminded me of my peony garden and inspired my poem for today.

Cutting Down the Peonies

In late fall
I ready the garden for winter,
rid the space of faded blooms
and sagging stalks.

The peony bush,
once filled with flower heads,
is ready to rest.
Each snip withers its vibrant soul
until the plant is nothing but nubs
and the garden fills with emptiness.

In early spring
new shoots reach through soggy ground
searching for sun.
There will be buds, pink and white,
filled with promise
and the garden will waken.
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli

Anastasia has the roundup today here where she offers a small poem about her first publication acceptance. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.

Happy Poetry Friday!

The top of the flowering cherry tree in our backyard is visible from the window of my office desk. This morning, when I lifted the shade, the sun was hitting it in a way that made it a beacon of light and warmth. This tree, beautiful in all seasons, has offered inspiration for many of my poems. This post was not what I had planned for today, but I couldn’t resist.

Fall’s Fire

backyard cherry tree

lit with fall’s fire finding

warmth in morning’s chill
Draft, Rose Cappelli 2023

Wishing you all a Thanksgiving filled with light and warmth.

Irene has the round up today at Live Your Poem. Be sure to stop by for a discussion about last poems in a collection, a beautiful Art Speak poem, and lots more poetry goodness. (Note to Irene: I had trouble accessing the comments page, but your post has given me enough to think about for a week! Thank you for bringing light and warmth to the poetry community.)

Happy Poetry Friday!

Lately I’ve been waking to the poetry of Barbara Crooker, thanks to Poetry Friday friend, Karen Edmiston, who happens to be hosting today. Karen posted a poem by Barbara Crooker a few months ago, and I immediately wanted more. I connect with so many of Crooker’s themes, her use of metaphor is exquisite, and she’s a fellow Pennsylvanian. Here are a few lines from “October Light” which inspired my poem for today:

October Light
where the air turns to honey, thickens, earth’s ochre hour.
Here is the map of perfect weather, the brief sweet
return of sun before the short gray days at year’s end…
Barbara Crooker, from The White Poems, 2001

We have a porch/sun room at the back of our house where the sun streams in during the late afternoon. When the trees are glowing and the air is clear, that room is filled with such warmth it almost takes my breath away. I wasn’t sitting in that room when I read “October Light,” but it’s all I could think of.

Sometimes In Fall

when the sky is turquoise
and the maples glazed with a ruddy glow,
the porch fills with the warmth of a thousand suns
the memories of growing children
sharing secrets
shouts of joy, tears of sorrow,
family, past and present.
Caught in the memory of a life well lived,
the late afternoon light
hugs my heart.
Draft, RoseCappelli2023

Be sure to stop by Karen’s blog today for the roundup, a lovely tribute to the wonder of Autumn, and lots more poetry goodness.

Welcome to Poetry Friday!

Early Wednesday morning I was driving home from my daughter’s house and stopped at a convenience store for coffee. I stood in line, a bit bleary eyed, but surprised when the woman in front of me told the cashier that she would be paying for my coffee as well as hers. I thanked her and promised to look for an opportunity to pay it forward. The cashier smiled and commented on how we had made that day a wonderful Wednesday. It’s true. That simple act of kindness warmed my heart in the moment and throughout the day. It was especially appropriate because my one little word for 2023 is kindness.

Later, I read Margaret Simon’s post for This Photo Wants to Be a Poem and learned about a writing exercise called “Taking a Word for a Walk” by Anna J. Small Roseboro. You start with an abstract word, then use it as the first word in the first line of your poem, the second word in the second line, and so on until you have six lines. Each line should have six words. So, I put the two experiences together and came up with this:

Kindness can come when least expected.
Sometimes kindness appears as a gesture.
Appreciate a kindness however it’s bestowed,
because acts of kindness aren’t wasted.
Consider an act of kindness opportunity
to delve and dwell in kindness.
Draft, RoseCappelli2023

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a day filled with the kindness of loved ones and strangers as well. Buffy has the roundup today, so be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.

When I sit down to write, sometimes ideas don’t come easily. When that happens, I’m a kid again staring at a test and not knowing the first answer…and I panic. When that happens, I borrow a line from another’s work to get me started, search for revision opportunities, or change direction completely. When that happens, I’m often surprised at what happens next.

So, this week when I was stuck on a poetry prompt for my poetry group, I changed direction and went in search of something I might use for Poetry Friday. I found an old poem I had written about October and started revising. I soon realized I could also use my revision work for my group’s poetry prompt – to create a paradox ending.

October 
by Rose Cappelli  

October bids farewell to shorts and tees
welcomes sweater weather

it’s baseball’s last blast
bowing to football’s roar and rumble

it’s pumpkins and apples
and chili and stew

a spider’s web
marked with morning dew

it’s that sudden frost
on a milkweed pod

it’s feasting on roasted sunflower seeds
and composting piles of windswept leaves

October begins with shades of jade
and ends with a red-gold blaze.  
Draft, RoseCappelli2023

Bridget has the roundup today at wee words for wee ones where she is happy dancing and spreading joy for her birthday. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.