Imagine the Possibilities

It’s Poetry Friday!

We’ve been having some unusually cool weather here in the Northeast. Many mornings feel more like March than May, but the bluebird chicks have hatched, the peonies are bursting to bloom, and the hydrangeas are sporting new growth. All signs that Spring is certainly on the way.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Eastern PA SCBWI Pocono Retreat held at the Highlights Foundation. It was a wonderful weekend of catching up with old friends, meeting new people, inspiration, and learning. The speakers were wonderful and, as always at Highlights, there was fabulous food. I didn’t even mind the rainy weather and the early morning woodpeckers.

On her daily poem feed, Jane Yolen this week suggested writing about May. So I did!

Linda has the roundup today at Teacher Dance where she talks about kindness. I’m working to be more deliberate about noticing and performing small acts of kindness, so Linda’s post was the perfect reminder. She’s also put out an invitation to contribute to a collaborative kindness poem. Be sure to stop by!

Happy Poetry Friday!

Yesterday I had the privilege of watching many Poetry Friday friends on a Facebook Live panel discussion for Nerdy Book Club led by Laura Shovan. It’s well worth watching to find out more about this supportive and poetry-loving community, and to feel all the joys of writing and reading poetry and bringing it to kids.You can access it here.

One of the things discussed by the panelists were the many different poetry projects being conducted in April. On this last Friday of the month, I have a confession to make – I didn’t completely complete my April Poetry Project. My goal was to write poems that might breathe new life into an old picture book manuscript —one poem a day, exploring the characters and feelings that might result in a picture book in verse. I started out fine, but then I let my internal editor convince me that maybe it wasn’t such a great idea. I continued to add to the collection, but not every day. Yesterday, I tricked my internal editor into thinking I was someone else, and I reread all the poems I had written. And guess what? Some were terrible, but some had potential, and new ideas for that picture book came as I read. By focusing on the process instead of the product, I learned more about my characters and what they wanted me to say about them. The story is titled Willow’s Wonders and is about a girl who moves from the country to the city. Here’s a sample.

Goodbye

We’re leaving today,
Mom and me.
Moving to the city.
Grandma says it will be an adventure
full of new wonders—
new school
new friends
new treasures.
My tummy flip-flops
when we pull away.
I hug my treasure box tight.
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli

Heart Shaped Rock

I touch my lucky rock
shaped like a heart
hold it in my hand like I did
the day I got an A in Math
the day I watched bluebirds build their nest
the day I topsy-turvied into my first cartwheel.

I thought its luck ran out
the day Mom said we were moving.
It’s warm in my hand and
something shimmers inside me.
I tuck that rock in my pocket.
Maybe it just needed a rest.
Draft, 2023Rose Cappelli

If you’re celebrating Poem in Your Pocket day this week, be sure to check out Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and Emma J. Virján’s beautiful book honoring the wonders of poetry, animals, and nature.

Ruth has the round-up today here and she’s inviting all of us to pull up a chair and relax on her porch all the way over in Uganda. Be sure to stop by, sit awhile, and soak up all the poetry goodness.

I just spent four glorious days at the Highlights Foundation soaking in the goodness of poetry from Irene Latham and Charles Waters in their workshop Poetry for Kids: A World of Publishing Possibilities. One of the activities we did was to perform an original poem. Talk about taking me out of my comfort zone!

I searched through my files and found one that I originally wrote as part of an April poetry project back in 2020. At that time I was writing along with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater whose project she called “Poems Can.” Each day Amy chose a theme – like Poems Can Tell a Story, or Poems Can Go Down the Page. Then she’d roll three word dice. The words could inspire the poem or be used in the poem. On this particular day the theme was “Poems Can Rhyme” and the words were dilemma, there, and a blank (wild card). All the poems I was writing that month were about the trail where I walk, so I thought about “dilemma” and came up with “At the Crossroads.” I’ll spare you the video of my performance, and just share the poem:

At the Crossroads

Should I turn to the right
where the daffodils bloom
where the pear trees are bursting
with buds and perfume?

Or should I choose to go left
where a snake could be hiding
where I might meet a muskrat
or spot a hawk gliding?

Today I’m adventurous
curious
bold—
I’ll walk straight ahead
where I just might find gold.
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli

Photo by Einar Storsul on Unsplash

Karen has the roundup today here. Be sure to stop by for thoughts from Ted Kooser and lots more poetry goodness.

It’s Poetry Friday! Thanks for stopping by.

You know you’re a poet when you stop to watch deer playing in a field and jot down a few lines in the corner of your bluebird monitoring notebook.

In Spring

three deer jump and jive
frolic near bluebird boxes
in search of new friends
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli

The gardens at Longwood are in full bloom with spring blossoms in shades of pink and violet, blue and yellow. After checking the bird boxes, I took some time to walk the gardens, breathing in the scents and taking in all the beauty. I happened to find this cinquain among the poems I created and posted here last year with the same title as above.

In Spring

tulip
bulbs buried deep
poke through winter white
stitch a patchwork quilt of color
in spring
Draft, 2022RoseCappelli

Jone has today’s round up here. be sure to stop by for some beautiful found poetry from classic literature of all kinds and lots more poetry goodness.

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to Poetry Friday and National Poetry Month!

April is such a wonderful time to enjoy nature, spring, and always poetry. For the past few years I’ve embarked on a poetry project for April and shared some of it here. This year’s project is a little different. In 2022 one of my writing goals was to write a picture book in verse—a series of poems that would tell the story. Think Dear Treefrog by Joyce Sidman and Diana Sudyka. I had an old picture book manuscript that needed a makeover and tried several times to rewrite it as a series of poems. It never quite worked, but I decided to try again. But this time, instead of focusing on the plot and story, I’m exploring more with the characters and just letting things unfold. The pressure is off and although I feel more productive, I’m not ready to share any of it yet.

So, today I’m sharing a poem I wrote this week in response to a photo from Margaret Simon on This Photo Wants To Be a Poem. When I was little I was one of those kids who always found ways to hop-skip-jump through things like lines on the sidewalk or patches of violets in the grass. So that’s where Margaret’s photo took me.

It’s fitting that Margaret has the roundup today at Reflections on the Teche. There you can find lots of poetry goodness as well as the next line in this year’s Progressive Poem. And for those who celebrate, may you have a joyous Easter filled with family fun.