Poetry Swap Pocket

My last Summer 2017 Poetry Swap parcel arrived this week and I was quite bowled over by it. Linda Baie sure knows how to pack a lot of goodies into a little bubble mailer!

She sent me—a pocket! How perfect for a habitual walker who is always grabbing for a tissue or a notebook or a camera out of her pocket!

This pocket was packed with: a personal note, a notebook, a Pilot pen (even the brand name seems perfect), mints, a (real cloth embroidered) hankie, a couple of pine cones along with a legend about them (perfect to entertain my grands!), a piece of petrified wood, a poem bookmark, and the most darling little black feather you ever saw!

Pocket treasures from Linda B. – Summer 2017 Poetry Swap (Photo by V. Nesdoly)

And this poem… (Linda, you are amazing! – Thank you!!)

Linda, you’ve tied it up perfectly with those last five lines: “doing art … gathering bouquets of images … a crystal vase of ideas.” I’m totally inspired!

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This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by poet and photographer Jone at Check It Out.

There, Jone challenges us to an Acrostic. Well, I just happen to have one in my Summer Shorts (poem-a-day photo-challenge project). It’s all about the PRODUCE (the August 3rd #CY365 prompt)

Photo for “Produce – #CY365 for August 3, 2017 (© 2017 by V. Nesdoly)

PRODUCE

Parsnip, turnip, bok choy
Rutabaga, beet
Orange carrots in a row
Daikon long and white
Under produce mirror-bin
Cabbage doubles round and green–those
Egos swell as veggies preen

© 2017 by Violet Nesdoly (All rights reserved)

 

Wanderlust (poem swap edition)

What’s second-best to Christmas? A parcel from the post-person during summer poem swap season, of course!

When I opened my front door after a summons by the bell on Monday, there was no one there. But there was an intriguing white package propped against the doorframe—poem swap goodies from Irene Latham!

The Car and the car! (Summer poem swap 2017)

The parcel had in it a coloring sheet, perfectly in sync with my 2017 one-little-word “Listen,” a book, The Car, by Gary Paulsen, an actual car—a tiny metal roadster complete with two seats and a transparent front window (cutest thing you ever saw), and this poem…

I love everything in this poem swap parcel but my favorite item is the poem. It reminds me of the summer and fall way back, when I and a couple of friends spent four months backpacking around Great Britain and the Continent. (Yes, that’s what we boomers did in the 70s; we called it the “Europe cure.”) For two of those months we rode the trains, crisscrossing Europe on a Eurail Pass.

Irene’s got it exactly right. The train cubicle, your pack, the hostel are your whole world—bed, dining room, office, garbage can… The sky is the only constant. And you begin to feel like a creased old map, up for any destination, knowledgeable, wise, and invincible.

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This poem is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Linda Mitchell at her blog A Word Edgewise where a poetry prompt auction is going on!

 

A poem about my name!

It’s a real treat to get anything by snail mail these days. When that envelope in the mail contains a poem, that’s a double treat. When that poem is from our own Tabatha Yeatts and it celebrates one’s own name, that’s a treat in multiples!

Tabatha sent me this poem about violets for round one of the summer poem swap. I learned history about my name that I never knew (and was inspired to be a better violet.)

Violets (Image: Pixabay)

Thank you, Tabatha, for organizing this summer poem swap, and for composing and sending this treasure!

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This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link.

Next week the round-up is hosted by Tabatha Yeatts. In honour of National Macaroni and Cheese Day on July 14th, next week’s roundup will have an optional Mac-N-Cheese theme (I’m drooling already)!

 

Wear a Scarf

A birthday scarf for my sis!

Wear a scarf with memory
sweat-cloth of ancient Rome
Chinese army neckerchief
silk mask in cockpit fume.

Wear a scarf that’s beautiful
cashmere, pashmina, silk
woven or embroidered
in gold or silver gilt.

Wear a scarf that’s versatile
stole over evening gown
shawl covering for the time of prayer
pouch for your little one.

Wear a scarf with savvy
learn how to knot and drape
Windsor, cravat, ascot
necktie, Gypsy cape.

Be one with all your sisters
in their lovely shawls and scarves
saris, tichels, hijabs
turbans and khimars.

© 2012 by Violet Nesdoly

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One of the poetic activities I enjoyed in 2012 was joining in on Tabatha Yeatts‘ poem swaps. I found it a wonderful way to get to know a few Poetry Friday contributors well.

My winter poem swapee was kidlit author and poet Joyce Ray. Tabatha supplied us with get-acquainted questions and a poem prompt. Joyce’s answer to “favourite colors: ocean colors, sage green, even lavender” immediately brought to mind a scarf! And so I was on my way. “Wear a Scarf” is the result. (Of course I enclosed an actual scarf as the gift. I never did find one that exactly matched the scarf I had in my imagination, but it was close. And for those familiar with what we did, no, I didn’t follow Tabatha’s challenge to start each line with the same letter. I completely forgot about it, so when my poem from Joyce came with an “L” at the beginning of each line I was so impressed!)

If Tabatha runs more poetry swaps in the new year, join in! You’ll find it an enriching and fun experience!

Now, a Happy New Year to all who read here. May your 2013 abound with poetry!

For more end-of-December poetry check out Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Carol at Carol’s Corner.