Imagine the Possibilities

A few years ago I started a practice of recording observations that I call “Snippets.” It was a response to Mary Oliver’s suggestion to “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” I recently realized that some of my recent observations were more like diary entries than the musings or thoughts of a writer. I was inspired by Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems (Janeczko/Sweet) and Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature (Davies/Hearld) to not only be more consistent with this practice, but also to do a better job of observing through the eyes of a poet. This week I spent some time paying attention and trying to discover what it was that astonished me. Here are a few examples:

Autumn Snapshots

Lunch
squash and apple soup
chases away the quick chill—
October delight

Hornet’s Nest
papery swirls
once hidden behind lush leaves—
lanterns in the bare trees.

Intruders
the deer,
content in her reverie,
raised her head as we
drove by.

Shadows
silhouette trees
on the concrete overpass
as hidden traffic
whizzes and whirrs,
rumbles and roars.
Draft©2022RoseCappelli

I hope your weekend is full of beautiful fall snapshots. Please take some time to head over to the Poetry Friday Roundup at Heidi’s Blog My Juicy Little Universe for a special musical treat and lots of poetry fun.

Happy Poetry Friday!

Bridget at wee words for wee ones has the round up today. This month she’s celebrating the first anniversary of her 10.10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 Different Ways. So head on over to meet poet Angela deGroot, find links to all the other poets Bridget celebrated so far this month, and find the links for today’s Poetry Friday offerings.

Do you struggle with occasional sleepless nights? I periodically go through periods of sleeplessness, never quite sure what is causing it. Sometimes it’s my dreams, upcoming events, and often a full moon. This week it was words. I tried to capture it all in today’s poem.

Insomnia

Some nights
words swirl,
fast and furious.
I write them down
on something more permanent
than my memory,
before losing them
forever.

Some nights
dreams twirl,
cozy and comforting.
I never want them
to stop,
always want to remember.

Some nights
thoughts hurl,
worrisome and wild.
I wake
hoping to forget.

Some nights
light curls,
peaceful and luminous
through my window.
And I wonder,
just wonder.
Draft, 2022RoseCappelli

Do you remember doing leaf rubbings? I remember taking my kids on long walks to collect the perfect leaves. They’d bring home piles, then transform them into works of art that adorned the refrigerator and bedroom walls. I made them with kids in school and in the Children’s Garden at Longwood. What a delight to see faces light up when the leaf outlines magically appeared!

The leaves are just beginning to turn here, but after some heavy rains this week, the trails are lined with early droppers. I picked up a few on my walks and transformed them into my own works of art. I had almost forgotten how relaxing leaf rubbing can be, and how much fun it is to feel like a kid again.

Leaf  Rub

green to gold
leaf shudders, flutters
down
down
down
where small fingers
scoop and smooth and rub

like the palm of a hand
lines emerge, converge
under crayon strokes
green to gold to crimson

a masterpiece
Draft, 2022RoseCappelli

Matt has the round up today at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme where you can get a sneek peek at his newest book, A Beginner’s Guide to Being Human and lots more poetry fun.

Thanks to poet, author, and friend Laura Purdie Salas, I played around with a new form this week, a definito poem. The definito was created by Heidi Mordhorst, who defines it as “a free verse poem of 8-12 lines (aimed at readers 8-12 years old) that highlights wordplay as it demonstrates the meaning of a less common word, which always ends the poem.” You can read more about it here.

My first attempt (but not my first draft) was a poem I wrote for my poetry group, The Nevermores. The prompt was to write something spooky.

Eerie

a creaky freaky feeling
is creeping up my spine—
spooky,
sometimes kooky,
it fills my head with dread.
What’s around the corner
in this dark, deserted house?
I’m wary of this mystery—
it’s eerie!
Draft, 2022Rose Cappelli

Then for some reason the word “pristine” popped into my head. Dictionary definitions led me to words like “unspoiled, spotless, clean and fresh, new, in perfect condition.” I brainstormed things that might be considered pristine and thought of a lagoon, a white shirt, a well cared for garden, a field of snow, a white sandy beach. Combining words and images, this is what I came up with.

Pristine

fresh and new
like morning dew
sparkling on perfect petals

only snow
unspoiled,
untouched
by soot or foot

oh to roam
on a white sandy beach
soft,
spotless

pristine
Draft, 2022Rose Cappelli

Thanks, Heidi and Laura for pushing me to try something new. Tabatha has the Poetry Friday Roundup at her blog, The Opposite of Indifference. You’ll find more definitos there from the Poetry Sisters (thanks for letting me join in, by the way).