Imagine the Possibilities

This week I attended “The Craft and Heart of Writing Poetry for Children” at The Highlights Foundation with Georgia Heard, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, and fifteen new friends. My cabin (the Floyd Cooper Cottage), was in the back facing the trail into the woods. One morning I woke early and lifted the shade of my window to see what the weather might have in store. It had rained through the night, and now mist enveloped the trail in a shroud of mystery—spooky, inviting, beautiful.

Misty Morning

Mist floats among trees
Hugs the path in mystery
Will you walk with me?
Draft, 2022 Rose Cappelli

It was an incredible four days full of learning and inspiration. Before breakfast on the last morning I grabbed a cup of coffee, walked into the Word Garden, and let these words come to me:

The Goodbye Morning

On this goodbye morning
I wrap my hands around a warm mug
I wrap my heart around you
Draft, 2022 Rose Cappelli

If you ever have the opportunity to visit The Highlights Foundation either for a workshop or a personal retreat, I highly recommend it.

Jama has the poetry roundup today at Jama’s Alphabet Soup. Be sure to stop by for lots of Mother’s Day goodness.

I completed the Flowers A-Z project this week! For my last two I decided to do something a little different – a bio poem for Yarrow and a Fibonacci (Fib) poem for Zinnia.

Yarrow
Mustard-yellow, red, pink
Companion to lavender and thyme
Lover of ladybugs, butterflies, bees
Who wishes for summer sun
Who dreams of open grasslands
Who fears fire, fierce wind, drought
Who nourishes the soul and the soil
Garden ally
Draft, 2022 Rose Cappelli

Zinnia

In
my
garden, 
zinnias,
butterflies, and bees
dance in a rainbow of blossoms.
Draft, 2022 Rose Cappelli

Jone has the round up today here. Be sure to stop by on this last Poetry Friday in April.

Posting late today. I just returned from a trip to New York to babysit my grandkids. Although I was kept very busy with reading, coloring, swinging, and building, I did manage to keep up with my flower poem project. Here are two from this past week.

Queen Anne’s Lace

Some call it a weed,
an invader, a pest
banished from the garden.
But that delicate cluster of blooms
reminds me of lace,
and doesn’t a queen know best?

So I’ll let it grow wild
by the back yard fence
as long as I am able.
Then cut and arrange it
in a cobalt vase
for gracing my dining room table.
Draft, 2022 Rose Cappelli

In Spring

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

Margaret has the round up today at Reflections on the Teche.

Happy Poetry Friday! Today I’ll share two poems I wrote this week for my April poetry project, Flowers A-Z. The first one about the Kangaroo Paw required a bit of research. I didn’t know anything about this flower, but learned it is native to Australia and also grows in California. My research took me to an article I found on the San Diego Zoo website. Many of the words and phrases in my poem are from that article, but I didn’t use them in the order they appeared and I added some of my own phrases – a variation of a found poem.

Kangaroo Paw

the whimsical kangaroo paw
curved
like a kangaroo’s claw
waves a cheerful
red and yellow hello
to pollinating possums
and nectar-feeding birds.
Hop on over, mate!
Draft, 2022 Rose Cappelli

I tried a new form for my poem about nasturtiums, a shadorma, that follows a syllable pattern of 3-5-3-3-7-5.

Nasturtium Seeds

nasturtium
seeds thrown in a pot
sprout and spread
gold and red
a cheery cascade of fun
good enough to eat
Draft, 2022 Rose Cappelli

Matt has the round up this week at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme. Head over there for a wonderful interview with Leslie Bulion and a peek at her new book, plus lots more poetry fun.

This is my third year participating in The Progressive Poem. Irene got us started off with a line she lifted from The Imaginaries by Emily Winfield Martin. So far the poem has taken an interesting path – a conversation, a feeling of reluctance, but then clearly some encouragement. I have the feeling that a journey is just beginning. It’s been a week now and everyone has followed that lead of using words from another source. Since I spent the week revisiting some of the work of Patricia MacLachlan as a tribute to her memory, I knew I wanted to use her words.

Here is the poem so far:

Where they were going, there were no maps.

“Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today.”

“Take the adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes!”

“We have to go back. I forgot something!”

But it’s spring, and the world is puddle-wonderful, so we’ll whistle and dance and set off on our way.

“Come with me, and you’ll be in a land of pure imagination” 

Wherever you go, take your hopes, pack your dreams, and never forget – it is on our journeys that discoveries are made.

Here’s my contribution that comes from Sarah, Plain and Tall:

And then it was time for singing.

But wait, there’s more. My Poetry Friday project has been going well. Here’s a tanka I wrote about the blue poppies on display at Longwood Gardens for a few short weeks each spring. They grow in the Himalayas and are thought to be a symbol of possibility and potential.

Blue Poppy

rising like mountains
to borrow blue from the sky
rare poppies stand tall,
shout of possibility
and vast potential
Draft, 2022 Rose Cappelli

Janice has the poetry round up this week at Salt City Verse.

If you want to follow the Progressive Poem, here’s the list of contributors:

1 Irene at Live Your Poem
2 Donna Smith at Mainly Write
3 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
4 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
5 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
6 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
7 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
8 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
9 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
10 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
11 Janet Fagel at Reflections on the Teche
12 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
13 Karin Fisher-Golton at Still in Awe
14 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
15 Carol Labuzzetta @ The Apples in my Orchard
16 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken Town
18 Patricia at Reverie
19 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
20 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
21 Kevin at Dog Trax
22 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
23 Leigh Anne at A Day in the Life
24 Marcie Atkins
25 Marilyn Garcia
26 JoAnn Early Macken
27 Janice at Salt City Verse
28 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
29 Karen Eastlund at Karen’s Got a Blog
30 Michelle Kogan Painting, Illustration, & Writing