Poetry Friday: It’s Spring!

The Poetry Friday Roundup for March 24 is here! I’m happy to be hosting today and also celebrating the start of spring. For me, spring doesn’t officially start until I revisit one of my favorite E.E.Cummings poems:

[in Just-]
by E.E.Cummings

in Just-
spring          when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles          far          and wee…

You can read the rest here.

Here in eastern Pennsylvania it doesn’t really look like spring yet, but there are a few signs. In my yard and gardens I noticed activity at the nesting boxes, a few emerging peony shoots, and some early spring flowers – forsythia, daffodils, crocuses, hellebores. This morning I woke to a much needed gentle rain that inspired a poem. I’m also offering one about a hummingbird sculpture that stands in my side garden all year long. Even in the winter, she always reminds me that spring is on the way.

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Poetry Friday: Community

(Photo from Pixabay)

Happy Poetry Friday!

One of my least favorite household chores is shopping for groceries. During the pandemic it was grueling, and that was the only time my husband went with me (once or twice). Still, I persevere, because well, we need groceries, and because every once in awhile something surprising happens. I might run into a friend I haven’t seen in a long time, find a new food that looks interesting or, like what happened last week, overhear bits of conversation that inspire a fun poem.

Grocery Store Community

I shop alone.
I peruse the aisles,
plan meals,
ponder purchases
as quickly as I can.

Sometimes
bits of conversation
invade my reverie.
Excuse me.
This one’s the best. (I make a mental note)
Did you get the cheese?
Or

Peter…Peter…
Lila?
Brendan!
Children (or maybe spouses)
who strayed too far.
I look around,
help in the search,
realize

I never shop alone.
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli

And speaking of community, I’m thankful for this community of poets from whom I learn so much. Laura has the roundup today at Small Reads for Brighter Days. Be sure to stop by to hear about her April poetry project (you might want to join in!) and lots more poetry goodness.

Poetry Friday: The Flower Show

Happy Poetry Friday!

This week I attended the Philadelphia Flower Show billed as the nation’s largest and longest-running horticultural event. It’s always a treat in March, when cold winds are blowing, to step into Spring at the Flower Show. An added bonus this year was a butterfly exhibit. One of my favorite displays were the miniature gardens which reminded me of diaramas I used to make for school projects. Of course I was drawn to the literature-themed display of a scene from Alice in Wonderland.

At the Flower Show

i
butterflies alight
sip nectar from cotton swabs
winged wonders

ii
blooms of red yellow blue
pop,
punctuate the air
with sweet smells
transforming the gray city,
the somber city,
into a kaleidoscope of color.

iii
Please come to tea
with Alice and me
under a wide willow tree.
We’ll dine on sweet scones
till it’s time to head home,
tucking our dreams into hope.
Draft, 2023Rose Cappelli

Heidi has the roundup today at my juicy little universe. Be sure to head over there for lots of poetry goodness.

Poetry Friday: Trying Out a Cherita

Happy to be back this week for Poetry Friday!

Last week my grandkids (ages 3 and 5) were here for most of the week while my son and daughter-in-law had some vacation time. It was a glorious, filled-with-fun, loving-hugging time. In other words, exhausting! But I loved every minute learning the art of coffee filter crafts, how to build the best magna-tile tower (then put it at the end of a race track and knock it down), and how there can never be too many sprinkles on cookies.

I tried to wake extra early every morning to get a bit of writing done. My poetry group’s challenge for last month was to write a cherita. I found two great examples from Irene Latham and Charles Waters in Dictionary for a Better World, but it was harder than I thought it would be. For those of you who are new to this form, a cherita is a three stanza poem that tells a story. The one line first stanza sets the scene, followed by the second stanza of two lines, and the third with three. So it’s like a story with a beginning, middle, and end. I tried a few throughout the month and decided to share this one that I wrote last week in the voice of my granddaughter.

Sad

this morning we’re a little sad

so we covered Grammy’s cookies
with sprinkles of purple and pink

later we’ll cuddle and sing silly songs,
share new books and quiet smiles—
chase away that sad
Draft, 2023 Rose Cappelli

Tanita has the roundup today here. Be sure to stop by for some spring gardening inspiration and lots more poetry fun.

Poetry Friday: When Inspiration Strikes

Happy Poetry Friday!

One morning this week I opened Almost an Elegy by Linda Pastan hoping to find some inspiration for a poem. And boy, did she deliver. I read four poems and instantly had at least three ideas. My poem for today was inspired by Pastan’s poem “Squint,.” I was drawn to how she used the title followed by a comma to begin the poem. I couldn’t find a link to it online, but this is how it begins:

SQUINT,

and that low line
of blue cloud
hovering
over the treetops

could be an ocean—the roar
of the highway
the clamorous waves
breaking.

Although I chose to repeat the structure to begin each stanza, my poem was definitely inspired by and written in the style of Linda Pastan.

Pause,

and you might notice
the daffodil reaching through
the too-soon-soft soil
on a warm winter afternoon.

Pause,
and you might hear
the distant drumming
of a woodpecker
messaging a mate.

Pause,
and you might feel
the quiet
in a cup of tea
sipped from a china cup.
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli

Photo from NDTV Food

Molly has the Round Up today at Nix the Comfort Zone where you’ll find her beautiful tribute to winter trees and lots more poetry fun.