Poetry Friday: Digging Deep

Happy Poetry Friday!

Sometimes ideas just pop up when you least expect them to. Yesterday I was struggling to figure out how to spell a word and I starting thinking about how my skill level in many things has changed as I’ve gotten older. It’s not that I can’t do them anymore (well, I guess in some cases that’s true), it’s just that I often have to approach something differently or expect that success might be delayed. Before I knew it, I was writing, and a poem was surfacing.

Digging Deep

I used to be a good speller—
knew my way around i and e,
silent letters,
onsets and rimes.

Words can free an idea,
conjure a smell,
create a poem.

But lately, sometimes the easiest words,
the smallest tasks,
are a puzzle I can’t let go—
like names buried too deep,
or memories covered in fuzz.

If I dig deep enough
I know I can find the solution.
I used to be a good speller,
and maybe I still am.
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli

Jan has the round up today at Bookseed Studio. Be sure to stop by for a garden of poetic goodness and a lovely introduction to poet/gardener Sharon Lovejoy.

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Poetry Friday: A Few Haiku

Happy Poetry Friday!

For some time, writing snippets has been part of my daily writing practice. Following Mary Oliver’s advice to “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it,” I try to record something each day in a poetic way. I noticed that some of my entries were sounding more like a diary entry, so I recently added another layer. I now try to capture a small moment as a haiku (I’m loose on the rules). It’s been fun seeing what pops up and what moment strikes me as wanting to be remembered in a haiku. Here are two from last week.

Sunday Supper
layered lasagna
noodles nestled in cheese and sauce
bursting with flavor

Through the Trees
I spy a creek
in the company of sun
sparkling like diamonds

Yesterday I was listening to a piece of classical music written for cello and orchestra. I grew up with a family of violinists, but I always loved the cello. As I listened to the music, I couldn’t help imagining myself creating that beautiful sound.

Marcie has the roundup today here. Be sure to stop by for a haiku, some recommended texts to complement her book Wait. Rest. Pause: Dormancy in Nature, and lots more poetry goodness.

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Book Review: Deep, Deep Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench

Title: Deep, Deep Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench

Author: Lydia Lukidis

Illustrator: Juan Calle

Publisher: Capstone Editions, 2023

This is the opening page of Deep, Deep Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench by Lydia Lukidis and Juan Calle published by Capstone Editions (2023):

Deep,
deep
down,
at the bottom
of the Pacific Ocean
lies a secret place.

It’s no wonder I was immediately drawn in, as I’m sure most readers would be, even if they never heard of or know much about the Mariana Trench. After describing it directly to the reader, the author continues to pique your curiosity with questions suggesting strange creatures. Then suddenly, you are inside a submersible, traveling deep, deep down to the bottom of the ocean. At each stop along the way, the text is paired with a nonfiction sidebar offering interesting facts about some of the creatures that can be found at that depth.

Poetic text peppered with consonance, assonance, similes and other poetry devices is well-suited to parallel the graceful motion of the creatures. Lydia Lukidis successfully creates a feeling of awe throughout and makes the reader feel that they are right there in the ocean, experiencing each wonder first hand. Illustrator Juan Calle uses light and color to bring the creatures to life in a very mesmerizing way. Several sections of back matter provide additional information to curious readers who want to know more.

Although it is probably best suited to children ages 8 and up, I think this book would be fascinating to readers of all ages, at home and in the classroom. Deep, Deep Down invites deep, deep curiosity!

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Poetry Friday: Consistency

Happy Poetry Friday!

A few weeks ago the prompt in my poetry group, the Nevermores, was the word “consistency.” I’d been thinking a lot about routines, especially the morning routine that I’ve established. For now, my morning routine works for me.

Morning

I wake.
Still dark.
Grab pen and notebook.
Spill thoughts,
concerns,
dreams.

Read poems.
Jot ideas.
Wonder if I can write like that.
Maybe someday.
Check the headlines—
good or bad,
funny or sad.

I listen.
The trill of a Carolina wren
greets the sun.
First sound of the morning,
first promise of the day.
©2023RoseCappelli

To some, routines might be considered falling into a rut, but there are always surprises. I don’t usually hear the Carolina wren in the winter, but on that particular morning, at the start of the new year, its song was bright. I looked on it as a good omen. Do you have a morning routine you love? Let me know in the comments.

Susan has the round-up today at Chicken Spaghetti. Be sure to stop by for some poetry goodness.

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Poetry Friday: Two Truths

Happy Poetry Friday! Catherine has the round up today at Reading to the Core. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness.

I’m expecting there will be other posts today celebrating Bridget Magee’s Two Truths and a Fib Poetry Anthology that published on January 1. And it’s only fitting. Not only did I meet Bridget and her dear dog, Smidgey, in this community, but many poets from Poetry Friday are featured in this book.

My poems in Bridget’s anthology celebrate the Moon. In keeping with the math theme, I wrote a nonet and an etheree.

Farmer’s Almanac

Moon

the long-night moon makes me curious,         
hypnotized with wonder and awe
as it lights the garden path,
paints shadows in the grass—
a luminary
in the dark sky,
our faithful
cosmic
friend
© 2022 Rose Cappelli

Moon

from
darkness
a tiny
crescent appears,
spreading over time,
waxing to half a dime,
creeping farther and farther,
reaching, stretching toward the edge
until finally it lights the night—
fully illuminated, glowing, bright
© 2022 Rose Cappelli

There’s one more – the Fibinocci – but you’ll have to get the book to find out more.

Thanks, Bridget, for all your hard work. And congratulations on another anthology!

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