Imagine the Possibilities

Happy Valentine’s Day on this Poetry Friday!

I subscribe to HeartBeats, a monthly newsletter from poet Georgia Heard. This month she offered the challenge to “write a love letter to something unexpected. Not a person—but a small, ordinary thing that quietly illuminates your world.”

I immediately thought about the Christmas candle I burned a few years ago, now long gone but certainly not forgotten. I burn lots of candles, but this particular one was perfection. And although I followed the exercise and made a heart map listing ideas, that candle kept coming up. I’ll admit, I’ve written about it before (versions you may or may not have read), but each time I do, I revise it just a bit. Here’s my latest:

To My Christmas Candle

Somewhere in the middle of a cold winter evening,
I fell in love with you.

Once lost in a whole season of decorating,
now you are so much more.

Burning evenly without residue on the smooth glass,
your glow is a measure of warmth and hope.

Somewhere in the middle of a cold winter evening,
I fell in love with you, my Christmas candle.
Draft, RoseCappelli2025

Linda has the roundup today at Teacher Dance. Be sure to stop by some music for lots of poetry goodness. And may this Valentine’s Day bring you love and kindness.

It’s Poetry Friday! Carol has the roundup today at Beyond Literacy Link where she offers a collection of vintage postcards and the small poems they inspired her to write. Be sure to stop by for her celebration of love and lots more poetry goodness.

Because this is the first Friday in February, I’m contemplating my OLW light and celebrating “the light of home and family where we find the love and shelter that sustain us.”

A Trinet for the Heart

my heart
nestles, nurtures
the memory of people and places
the wonder of sun and stars
with light
with hope
with love
©Rose Cappelli, 2025

May your month be filled with light and love!

It’s Poetry Friday!

Thank you to all the friends who sent New Year postcards. I’m continually amazed at the creativity on display in this group. Each poem, card, photo, drawing has brought me joy which will continue through the year.

In a previous post I talked about keeping a weekly journal of thoughts in Leaf, Cloud, Crow by Margaret Renkl. This week’s prompt was to list beautiful things you can find in the natural world, add to it each day, then think about how pausing for beauty changes the way you feel.

Because of the cold I haven’t been walking outside as often, but this week was a bit warmer so I ventured out to a few new spots. I found a spider egg sac in a pine tree, a purple-golden sunset, stopped to listen to a wren’s song, watched hawks circling and two young doe gingerly stepping through snow searching for seed. I wanted to try the new-to-me poetry form, the Landay, that Amy Ludwig VanDerwater introduced in her post last week. The Landay has only two lines. The first line has nine syllables and the second has thirteen.

On a Winter Afternoon

hawks circle a cerulean sky
over a forest green tree with treasures deep inside
Draft, RoseCappelli2025

I hope you find lots of beauty in the world this week. Jan has the roundup today at Bookseedstudio. Be sure to stop by for lots of poetry goodness and a musical treat.

Welcome to Poetry Friday!

I was ready to skip posting today, until Billy Collins came to the rescue.

I’ve been under the weather for a few days, lacking energy and stamina. This morning I felt better, and in the darkness of the early morning, the moon welcomed me back. I’ve been reading Water, Water by Billy Collins (highly recommend). I wrote in response to his poem “The Cardinal.”

Welcome Back

Finally free of fever fog,
a ribbon of light spreads across the desk,
a glad-you’re-back welcome
from the waning gibbous moon.

Even from my second story vantage point
through the thin layer of snow,
I knew the feeders were filled.

When my husband wakes
I’ll relay thanks from the birds,
how they now love him, too,
how the moon welcomed me back.
Draft, RoseCappelli2025

Tricia has the roundup today at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Stop by for some typewriter nostalgia and lots more poetry goodness.

It’s Poetry Friday! Kat has the roundup today here. Be sure to stop by, especially if you’re a cat (or dog) person, for a delightful tribute to the pets in her life. And, as always, lots more poetry goodness.

Last week on Poetry Friday I read how Heidi Mordhorst and her family celebrate Yuletide. For twelve days, from December 21 (Winter Solstice) to January 1, they light candles to commemorate a gift of the human spirit. You can read more here and here and how Heidi has used the ritual as poetry prompts.

I was drawn to this practice especially because it recognizes our gifts as light, my OLW for 2025. So, I decided to use Heidi’s poetry prompts to mark the year, one for each month. For January, I’m celebrating “the light of the sun and stars and the light that glows in every human soul.”

Morning Star

In the deep of December
I woke to clouds
shadowing,
swirling,
sweeping
the after-storm sky,
and one bright star
peeking through the turmoil.

There it was –
hope in the darkness,
a light to guide me
through the day –

so I made a wish.
Draft, RoseCappelli2025

Photo courtesy of Pixabay