photo credit: Randy Son Of Rober

Last week, on Poetry Friday, Carol posted “A Thanksgiving Blessing.” I’m reposting here, as I  love the sentiments expressed, especially -  the “warmth of hope rising,” “May we … speak… of our healings and blessings,” and “May we be with each other… in the light of the present.”

A THANKSGIVING BLESSING

May we be aware not of the things we lack,

but of all that we have.

May we feel not the absence of those we love,

but the presence of those who love us.

May we see not just the harshness of our world,

but the gentleness of its mystery.

May we know not the cold of despair,

but the warmth of hope rising.

May we speak not of our hurts and losses,

but of our healings and blessings.

May we be with each other not in the shadows of the past,

but in the light of the present.

May we bring to our table not judgment, resentment, or anger,

but acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness.

May we remember to feed our spirit by living out of thankfulness.

Anonymous

photo credit: Alex Kehr

CAMERAVISION

See life through my eye.
A mother.
A boy.

I don’t miss a thing.

Her face.
His smile.
Salt breeze.
Spray of sea.
On the count of
three.

One
memorized
moment.

Family.

Who would have thought that Tricia’s suggested poetry stretch (a recipe poem) would be so hard?  For me, the challenge was trying to use the right mix of real recipe language while “cooking up” a poem about something as impossible as “Summer(y) Vacation Ravioli.”

Somehow that name just doesn’t do justice to the wonderfully rich taste, joy and celebration that is authentic Italian cooking. Of which, by the way, I know almost nothing.  Here’s my stretch for the week:

Ravioli di Vacanze Estive

There are countless versions of this dish.
It is not difficult to make the real thing.

Here’s how:

Ravioli

1. Divide your summer into unequal pieces.  Roll each into the smallest portions of days.

2. Lay the days onto a lightly floured surface.  Cover and allow to rest.

3. In a large bowl combine: family and alone time, conversation and silence, things to do and things undone.  Mix until thoroughly blended.

4. Season with bright sun, white clouds, and clear blue skies. Sprinkle in cool breezes and summer showers, according to taste.

5.  Stretch each summer portion into a thin sheet. Cut into squares.  Place a generous tablespoon of free time into the center of each.  Fold the corners over to form a neat triangular pillow.  Gently press out any stress.  Seal the edges.  Cook at a low boil until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon or a skimmer and simmer for 1 minute in sauce.

Salsa

1. To make a sauce, combine any remaining free time with only your most favorite ingredients.  Things such as: a lazy day at the beach, a favorite book, or dinner by candlelight. Stir over medium heat until the sauce begins to bubble.

2. Gently place the ravioli into the pan with the sauce and simmer for 1 minute over low heat.

3. Transfer to a warmed serving platter, sprinkle with a dash of gratitude, and serve immediately.

Make a double batch and save half. You’ll be glad to have that little bit of perfection stored away for a winter day.

*** with a nod to Mario Batali’s “Goat Cheese and Scallion Ravioli”
MOLTO ITALIANO, pg. 234

I’ve not planted the life-sized version, or the mini, but one of these days, perhaps I will.  In the meantime, I’ll have to be content with the fruits of someone else’s labors…

Plant a six-foot-wide pizza
In a wheel-sized patch.
Zone off triangled sections:
Zucchini in one, plum tomatoes in
Another.  Add

Peppers, eggplant,
Arugula.  You’ll need spices:
Thyme, basil, oregano.  Even
Calendulas, the color of cheese. Let
Herbs sprout beside onions and chives.  Home grown.  Your own.

PIZZA PATCH

** The pizza garden is a photo from the University of Minnesota’s Children’s Garden.  The pizza is my own homemade/Farmer’s Market version of a recent Bon Appetit recipe. (Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese.  YUM!)

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Roots, Shoots, Buckets, & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy.  It’s the perfect resource for people like me, who know barely a thing about gardening!

Speaking of which, Tricia’s Friday poetry post about sunflowers reminded me of a summer, several years ago, when my family and I spent a week in a Tuscan farmhouse. Sunflowers were in bloom everywhere.  It was lovely.

My contribution to Poetry Friday doesn’t come close to doing justice to that special place or those memories, but it *does* bring me back to that summer in Poppi, Italy.

Tuscan Sun

The rich dark earth has given birth to leafy stems of green,
to golden blossoms bursting sun as far as eye can see.

A field of yellow faces betweeen the earth and sky…
a gift,
a dream,
a wave of sun,
a summer lullaby.

This week’s Poetry Roundup is  hosted by Kelly Herold at Crossover.

Today is one of those days when I…

1) *wish* I hadn’t updated to the latest version of WordPress and
2) wish I knew enough about HTML to be able to help myself.

The best I can figure out, after scouting around the internet, is that the WP 2.8 version has some bugs which impact how the rich text editor loads. Not being an expert by any stretch of the imagination, I am hoping this explains why the dashboard where I normally post is missing some of the things I like to use and why the “visual” tab is typing up things in a white font so that I can’t see them!

Suffice it to say, that if I had a WordPress/computer savy friend to help me over this glitch, I would be one happy camper. In the meantime, I’ll move onto…

Bugs of the Abecedarian Variety

Tricia’s Poetry Stretch this week was to write an abecedarian poem.

Now that school’s finally out, and because I’ve had an idea for an abecedarian about insects sitting on my computer for several months, I’ve given it a try.

I ended up going in a direction that was markedly different than my initial inspiration, so perhaps if there’s time later in the week, I’ll return to my original idea. For today, though, I’ve focused on the names of different insects – some more unusual, some, of the everyday variety.

photo credit: Opo Terser

Abecedarian: Insect Style

Aphid,
Bean weevil,
Crown Whitefly.

Doodlebug,
Earwig,
Flea,
Gadfly.

Honey Bee,
Ichneumonid,
Jezebel Nymph.

Katydid,
Lotis Blue,
Mould Mite,
Nit.

Oak Scale,
Psyllid,
Queen Butterfly.

Rosy Dart,
Sand Wasp,
Tapered Drone-fly.

Umber Skipper,
Veined White.
Wright’s Checkerspot.

Xylophagid,
Yellow Bear,
Zodiac Moth.

“Window Sijo” was this week’s poetry stretch – a first attempt at sijo, as described by Linda Sue Park in Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems).

Heat was on my mind: a hot weekend in Death Valley and more hot weather at home.

This week also brought the audio of Peony in Love by Lisa See.

Both the heat and Peony’s voice were in my mind as I wrote.

photo credit: danorth1

WINDOW SIJO

Dear husband closes shutters
on days when temperatures soar.

All day.  Empty house.  Who worries
about dark shuttered windows?

Late afternoon.  I open blinds to: Light! And… a room with a view.

Here are my attempts at this week’s poetry stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect – a bite-sized sonnet.

I had no idea I would spend so much time on this tiny-sized version of a sonnet.  The truth is, it’s just not that easy.  At least for me… I did many many versions until I arrived at these two.  The beginning of the second, not surprisingly, came when I awoke last night. Apparently, the mini-sonnet was still haunting me.

I’ve used a near-rhyme, and “cheated” a bit, though I don’t really consider it that.  While I think writing to form is a wonderful challenge and a great exercise, I think it’s good, perhaps better, to break the form if you feel you must, as long as it works.  Since I ran out of time, that’s what I’ve done.

I’ve also rearranged the lines to suit myself (rather than one syllable per line, as Avis Harley suggests in Fly with Poetry: An ABC of Poetry.)

June
night.
Moon
bright.

Cat
purrs.
Rat
stirs.

Rat races.
Cat chases.
Prey fray.

photo credit: nafra cendrers

***

Late night.
Moon light.
Can’t sleep.
Count sheep.

Sigh.
Close eyes.
Doze.
Theme: Dream.

photo credit: audreyjm529

You can jump start your poetry mornings this month with Greg Pincus at Gotta Book and Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

If you’re game, as I was this week, you can springboard into your own poetry writing by trying out Tricia’s Monday Poetry Stretch.

Here’s my attempt at a list poem:

photo credit: cygnus921

Your First Garden

A patch of dirt,
a packet of seeds.
One small spade
to dig stray weeds.

Tiny holes poked in the ground.
A sprinkle from a watering can you’ve found.
And plenty of sun.
You only need one.

Then,
watch,
and wait,
and finally, finally,
celebrate
your first garden.

I love many of Sidman’s collections (particularly Song of the Waterboatman and Other Pond Poems), her site, and the poetry challenges she offers there.

That led me to think about how I wish I had time to participate in the Poetry Fridays that several kid lit blogs host, or the Monday Poetry Stretch that Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect offers each week.

Much as I’d like to, I can’t.  There just aren’t enough hours after teaching all day to take on a “project” when so many others are calling my name…

But all that changed yesterday when poet extraordinaire, Julie Larios of The Drift Record offered up her P-oetry Friday post.

The goal, as Julie explains, is to make a list of things that begin with the letter you’ve been assigned.

Lists, I can do, so I signed up, and Julie’s given me the letter B.

Thanks, Julie!  I’ll post my “B’s” at the end of the weekend.