“Summer” and “read” are synonyms (Spiritual Journey Thursday)

Summer. Even saying the word makes me feel good. I think the magic of this season is so much a part me because of the rhythms of school ingrained from childhood. From my earliest memories it has always been ten months of school (September to June), two months of summer holidays (July and August)—the standard in Canada.

Then there’s the weather. Where I live, in the northern hemisphere, much of the year is chilly. The warmest months of the year argue loudly for a break in routine. And that’s what summer is for many of us.

One of my favourite summer activities is reading. I read all year but summer with its beach mornings, its lazy afternoons, its long light evenings makes it especially conducive to getting lost in a good book, or series of books.

“Egghead” sculpture by Kimber Fiebiger (On exhibit in Castlegar B.C., 2016)
 Explanation of the sculpture: “Egghead is a tribute to all people who are excited by a good book.”

A couple of summers ago I read all of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books. Last year I indulged in Tolstoy, completing Anna Karenina (not the most upbeat read but long-lasting).

A Story
Tradition
not in her memoir.
No Grannies
bone china.
Grew up in fast company— 
tale of Twisted Tea.
© 2018 by Violet Nesdoly

This year I’m reading the Lord of the Rings books. (Are there three or six? The Kindle collection I downloaded has six!) Though I’ve already been reading it for some weeks, I am only at 36%, it will probably take me much of the summer to complete, and thus it’s the perfect fat summer tome (especially as it’s readily available, without added weight or bulk, on my iPad).

Feeling Small
Joined by marigolds
I am safe in Mother’s arms
reading giant tales
© 2018 by Violet Nesdoly

As well, summer is the perfect time to read the bestseller of all time—the Bible. Whether you read it chronologically in great chunks or selectively a few verses at a time, it’s sure to enhance the spiritual aspect of your summer reading. If you’ve never read it before, try reading a modern version (like The Living Bible – TLB). A good place to start might be the life of Jesus as told in the Gospels of Matthew or Luke (the first and third books of the New Testament).

What about you—do you also enjoy wiling away the summer hours with books? Which ones would you suggest?

(The poems are from my 2017 “Summer Shorts” photo / poem project.)

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This post is linked to Spiritual Journey (first) Thursday, hosted today by Margaret Simon on her blog Reflections on the Teche.

 

 

Farewell to Summer (Goodnight Moon)

I did it! I wrote a short poem for every day of the summer. A notebook in my Evernote app called “2017 Summer Shorts Poems” now holds 93 of this summer’s daily photos and their accompanying verses.

That I even completed this amazes me. But that I enjoyed it to the last day amazes even more. I think the secret of finishing was that my expectations were low. The poems are all short. I didn’t write every day but did take daily photos and then caught up with the poem-writing when I had the time and the inspiration. And I never got too far behind.

Today I share with you yesterday’s photo and poem of farewell to summer. The photo prompt was “Goodnight Moon.”

Capture Your 365 photo for September 21, 2017: “Goodnight Moon” (© 2017 by V. Nesdoly)

Farewell to Summer

Goodnight moon of blushing gold.
Farewell drowsy heat of noon.
Mornings now are crisp and cold
falling leaves and frost come soon.
Autumn’s winds and rains are bold
I would love a summer rune.
Through these lines your charms I’ll hold
till you come again next June.

 

© 2017 by Violet Nesdoly (All rights reserved)

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This post is linked to the Poetry Friday, hosted today by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm where on Tuesday she celebrated the actual birth day of her new book Read! Read! Read!

 

 

Fleeting

Magic morning light
paints me Yellow Submarine
bell bottoms

© 2017 by V. Nesdoly (All rights reserved)

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This is my Summer Shorts poem for July 30th, when the Capture Your 365 (#CY365) photo prompt was Fleetiing.

For those who don’t remember those wonderful Beatles days and the art style that was all the rage, here’s the album cover this photo reminded me of.

This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Margaret Simon, who is celebrating a birthday today! So are Linda Mitchell and Julieanne Harmatz.  Couldn’t help but post a greeting from the band themselves!

 

Where I Stand

My summer poem project has given me a lot of joy… and it’s far from over. As I mentioned yesterday, I’m working on Summer Shorts, a project that combines my love of photography with my desire for poetry to be part of everyday life. Summer Shorts is writing a short poem a day, every day of summer (June 21 to September 21) based on the photo I take from the Capture Your 365 photo challenge.

I actually don’t write every day, but do take a photo every day. On days when I have extra time, I catch up, though often I find these poems practically write themselves during my walk, as words and lines come to me. I always carry a notebook, so I perch myself on a railing or park bench and capture those flighty thoughts mid-walk. Because I’ve promised myself these poems will be short, it’s not intimidating. Who can’t write 3 to 6 lines a day?

Most of the photo challenges are different each day. But a few keep recurring every month. One such is “Where I Stand.” Here’s my “Where I Stand” photo and poem for July 21st. (It happens to be the longest poem in the collection so far… a few over my required 6 lines.)

#CY365 photo for July 21, 2017 –  “Where I Stand” (Photo © 2017 by V. Nesdoly)

pat a dog,
photo the fog

pick a bloom,
pixel a room

chat with a friend
ponder the bend

follow my nose
to smell a rose

stop for a hare
hopping who knows where

admire the herd
find the lyric bird

be lured to tarry
and munch on a berry

my motto for a summer walk:
“Always be prepared to stop!”

© 2017 by Violet Nesdoly (All rights reserved)

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This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by our very talented troubadour Donna at Mainely Write.

 

 

Ghostly visible

August 6, 2016 Photo (Photo © 2017 by V. Nesdoly)

Ghostly visible
as winter’s “Fresh Blueberries”
summer’s Christmas scene

© 2017 by Violet Nesdoly

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I photographed the Christmas scene above last August when we were visiting the kids up north. I wondered how many times I had passed it and not even seen it. It made me think of other things we see and subconsciously ignore because we know they just aren’t relevant. Is there some psychological phenomena behind that? Probably!
This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Carol at Carol’s Corner.

 

 

Parade!

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Parade—band, balloons
horses, bulls, flags, floats, tractors
and candy vultures!

© 2017 by Violet Nesdoly (All rights reserved)

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It’s parade season! These photos were taken last year when we were visiting the kids/grandkids in Dawson Creek. The Friday noon parade introduced a weekend of rodeo fun!

For more poetry fun, visit Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Mary Lee Hahn at her blog A Year of Reading.

 

Thirteenth Summer

Image: Pixabay

It wasn’t that I could not get up
the nerve to water-ski

or that I hated
myself in a bathing suit

It was bare feet
of tanned twins

next to mine
in that Waskesiu boat

smoothly brown
as Indian princesses

nails polished
the pink of shells

beside my pasty
sandaled peasants

that made me feel
not one of the beautiful people.

© 2017 by Violet Nesdoly

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Prompt – Inspiration

The inspiration for this April 2011 poem was Adele Kenny’s memoir prompt. It begins:

For this prompt, try writing a memoir poem about an experience that haunts you. This is not to suggest a bad experience but, rather, a memory that continues to inform the present.

Memoir poems are narrative because they tell stories. However, we often see memoir “poems” that “narrate” in what is essentially prose (with a couple of good images, a few similes or metaphors, and stanzaic arrangements). Most of these poems don’t succeed because they never reach beyond the poet’s impulse to “tell.” The poem has to be more than the story – it has to be about what happened because of the story.

Read the rest of the prompt and a sample poem HERE.

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This April I’m celebrating National Poetry Month by posting some not-as-yet published poems from my files, along with what inspired them. If the prompt inspires you to write a poem of your own, you’re welcome to share it in comments. Whether you write or not, thanks so much for dropping by!

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This poem is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Irene Latham at her blog Live Your Poem.

 

Clematis’s kids

I just love the post-blossom stage of clematis flowers. To me they look a lot like tousle-headed children.

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This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Catherine at Reading to the Core.

 

Dunsmuir Garden

Dunsmuir Garden (Surrey, B.C.) in late June. (Photo © 2016 by V. Nesdoly)

Dunsmuir Garden

Hollyhocks, apples,
lavender, lettuce, Swiss chard
love close company.
Friendships grow across the fence–
thriving in community.

© 2016 by Violet Nesdoly (All rights reserved)

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I haven’t had a garden of pretties and edibles for some years now. We’re not allowed to grow food plants in the garden beds of our townhouse. But if I ever had a food garden again, I’d like it to be a plot in a community garden. There’s something about gardening in community that seems so right!

This post is connected to Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Penny Klosterman at her blog,  Blog-a-penny and her jots.

 

Rodeo Senryu

One of the things we did on our holiday was go to the Dawson Creek Rodeo. What a fun afternoon and evening in a stadium that looked out on picturesque prairie. It was like being on the set of Heartland!

Scene from the rodeo bleachers. Event: Tie-down roping  – Dawson Creek, B.C.  (Photo © 2016 by V. Nesdoly)

What I love to do at rodeos is to challenge myself with getting shots of the action. Rodeos are full of action!

Today I’m posting three senryu (human haiku) based on a few of my rodeo shots. (Be assured, no animals were injured in the process of these events.)

Event: Barrel Racing – Photos © 2016 by V. Nesdoly.

Event:  Saddle Bronc Riding – Photo © 2016 by V. Nesdoly

 

Event: Chuckwagon Race – Photos © 2016 by V. Nesdoly

(All poems © 2016 by Violet Nesdoly – All rights reserved)

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This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe.

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