I enjoy the structure of short syllabic forms of poetry, so I was thrilled with today’s VerseLove prompt using prime numbers from Erica Johnson at http://www.ethicalela.com on this 11th day of the writing challenge. I found a unique book in my mailbox yesterday from my writing sisterfriend Fran Haley from North Carolina, and it inspired today’s poem. We are both watching eggs ready to hatch any day now. I used a partial borrowed line from a poem in the book entitled Memory Garden (in bold) for today’s writing that includes prime numbers of syllables in ascending line order (2,3,5,7,9,11,13….) and I added an ending line of 3.
Feathered Friends
today’s poetry: Language of the Birds cherished gift in my mailbox from a sisterly friend sharing peace and warmth grass withers, flowers fade, but books live on forever like friendship
Today at http://www.ethicalela.com, Emily Yamasaki is our host for Day 8 of #VerseLove. She invites us to write Something You Should Know poems in the style of the great Clint Smith. You can read her full prompt and poem here.
Note to readers: try this one! I just rambled. Sometimes I use a Sarah Donovan strategy I learned several years ago: just write for 10 or 15 minutes and see what you get. Don't worry about editing or word choice or anything - just draft. That’s what I did today. Please come write with us!
Something You Should Know
is that I only moved my lips when Mrs. Flexer
played Living For Jesus all those Sundays
in the big group before small group
because I can’t sing except with
my heart
and that I just acquired the old oak secretariat that
has been in my parents’ home since I was
a baby in Kentucky along with the old red
milk can for my porch, but back to the
secretariat: I love that it shares
the name with the greatest horse
who had to win in Kentucky first
to win the Triple Crown
and that as a child I was mesmerized by Harold Monro’s
poem Overheard on a Salt Marsh
from Childcraft Volume 1 Poems and Rhymes
with the nymph in the green dress
and it’s framed by my bed today because
I’m still mesmerized by it
and that I savor Saturdays with morning coffee
and good conversation
and that I love plants but can’t grow them
because they all die except Leafy Jean and
Leon Russell, who are thriving on the front porch
and that I have four bluebird eggs in one birdhouse
and baby Carolina Wrens in my garage
up over the garage door apparatus
and Brown-Headed Nuthatch hatchlings in another birdhouse
and fledgling cardinals in my Yellow Jasmine vines
and a nest under the porch eave
and I saw an eagle a week ago
and that all three of my Schnoodles have literary names
Boo Radley for obvious reasons
Fitz because of, you know, the party animal F. Scott
and Ollie for my favorite poet Mary Oliver
and that I blog daily and call all my writing group
people my friends
including you.
Ollie, all tucked in while campingFitz, a true party animalBoo Radley, who recently lost his beard for running through the pasture and getting matted with field spurs
I’m hosting #VerseLove today at http://www.ethicalela.com, where we write in verse everyday throughout the month of April to celebrate National Poetry Month. You can read the prompt and the poems shared by others here, or simply see the prompt below:
Inspiration
One of the most uplifting parts of a writing community is getting to know other writers, feeling a connection, and developing a sense of belonging as others welcome you to the group and encourage you in your writing journey. This is my fifth year writing with #VerseLove after meeting Dr. Sarah Donovan at NCTE. Today, let’s introduce ourselves through a Weekend Coffee Share poem, which can take the form of a list poem or a prose poem – or any other structure that you choose. Pour a cup of coffee and come sit down. You may have seen other bloggers writing as part of the Weekend Coffee Share, a powerful weekend writing topic developed by a blogger whose idea inspired this prompt. Raising a mug to Natalie!
Process
Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and imagine being in a small coffee shop among friends. We’ve all strolled in from the cold, damp drizzle and are eager to meet you for the first time – or to catch up with you since last time. Pour us a cup, too, and share something about yourself with us. Invite us into your world, friend! Let your first line be If we were having coffee (or tea, or wine…)….
Oh – and share a picture of yourself with your cup in the comments if you wish!
Kim’s Poem
If We Were Having Coffee
If we were having coffee,
I’d tell you that #VerseLove changed my life
because of you.
Here, come closer and lean in.
Do you like light roast or bold?
Let me pour you a cup. Cream? Sugar?
If we were having coffee,
I’d ask you about your favorite poets
and tell you that as a child,
I spent hours, days, weeks, years reading
Childcraft Volume 1 Poems and Rhymes
and was twice gifted A Child’s Garden of Verses
for Christmas from relatives ~ in 1971 and 1972
and have been hooked on poetry since then.
If we were having coffee,
I’d tell you that I’m a bit of an introvert,
so I prefer writing over talking,
and that over the years, I have come to know
you through our writing ~ so I call you my friend.
I’ll be talking to someone somewhere and you’ll come up.
You always do.
When someone tells me they like Thai food, I say,
No way! One of my writing friends is in Thailand right now!
And when someone hums a tune from CATS, I say,
Girl! One of my writing friends sent me
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats last year.
And when someone says they’re going to the west coast, I say,
Have fun! I was just there with my writing friends in November.
If we were having coffee,
I’d raise my mug to you and say,
Cheers to you, friend! Welcome to #VerseLove 2023!
Glenda Funk of Idaho is our host today for the first day of #VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com. You can read her full post here. She inspires us to write Haibun poems, which combine prose and Haiku poetry. This one was inspired by my trip to South Carolina yesterday to bring my grandson on a fishing adventure today.
Haibun
Rescue
On a birthday fishing trip with my grandson, we were booking it to get to water when we spotted a turtle in the passenger side tire path of my lane not booking it to water at his dawdling speed, so we swerved to avoid hitting it, BRAKED HARD, pulled onto the shoulder, and put it in reverse there on the roadside to rescue this traveler caught between the land and the water world ~ like us
Haiku
we brake for turtles caught in the crossroads: roadside reptile rescuers!
Since we were up early this morning, I asked him to write about the experience too – and here is what he wrote. He said, “I even gave it a title, Nana.” I love his title – – and his last line gives the emotional sigh of high-five satisfaction for terrific turtle teamwork.
Fifteen years ago today, I married my best friend. I still enjoy thinking back on our wedding day…..looking at our wedding album photos. Here are eleven of my favorite memories from that day that I’ll be sharing with Briar today:
Those were the days I didn’t even own a hairbrush. I dried my hair on the way to the wedding in the wind by holding my head out the window of the car. Right before I went down the aisle, the wedding director told me I needed lipstick. So I put it on for everyone else, but not for me.
2. Both of our mothers dressed in blue and were alive and excited to see us happy, in love, and getting married. They are no longer with us, and we miss them.
3. We asked three ministers to tie the knot extra tight – your childhood pastor, our good friend minister, and my preacher dad. In one of my favorite wedding pictures, The Lord’s Prayer is playing and Dad is standing over us with a hand on each of us, praying for us.
4. The florist didn’t put the wires in the tulips (my favorite flowers), and shortly after the wedding began, they started drooping….and drooped….and drooped……
5. We turned our wedding around. We didn’t want our backs to our guests; we wanted them to feel like they were a part of the ceremony.
6. I’d wanted a simple pair of gold sandals to match the gold in my dress, not flats and not high heels, but I couldn’t find any that I liked. So I found a pair of white sandals I liked, taped the soles and footbeds, and spray painted my wedding shoes gold.
7. I wanted a fresher, more updated version of Canon in D, so I chose Lullaby by Bond as the processional for the entire wedding party including me, because it makes me feel good inside time I hear it. It just rolled on and we all did our best to walk slowly. I remember that everyone’s face lit up with surprised expressions during our recessional, because at the very last minute as I was heading down the aisle at the start of the wedding, I had whispered up to your brother in the sound booth, “I want to change the recessional music. Ditch the Trumpet Voluntary and play the Hallelujah Chorus, will ya?” And so he did.
8. I remember just having the BEST time planning our wedding to be exactly what we wanted it to be – a small gathering of friends and family, with a short and personal service followed by a catered dinner reception. And we spent hours together making our own wedding favors that matched the candles on the tables. We cut giftwrap to go in bands around the candles and added our names and wedding date. And we are still burning these, fifteen years later.
9. You smudged my nose with carrot cake icing. That’s my favorite cake – so we had carrot for me and chocolate for you. Every part of that day was so much fun, but ironically the only bite of cake I got was the bite for the picture. We tried to eat the topper a year later, but after a year in the freezer, the frostbite had set in and it wasn’t tasty anymore.
10. We each served our new mothers-in-law a slice of cake to earn some brownie points on the front end. And it paid off!
11. And right before we left on our honeymoon, we called all of our children, nieces, and nephews up to gather around us. I gave each of them a flower from my bouquet, and then we prayed for them. We also prayed for all of the students in our community attending prom that evening, that they would be safe.
I didn’t think it was possible to love my husband any more than I did on our wedding day, but fifteen years later……I sure do!
I was shopping in Senoia, Georgia (home of The Walking Dead) when I noticed all of the plants in one of the stores had names. I took photographs of the name tags and noticed a pattern – – they were all named for famous black women. I struck up a conversation with the owner behind the counter and learned that this shop was a local black-owned business. I enjoyed an added dimension of discovery as I thought of all the women who were being celebrated. It’s reassuring to see how far we have come as women over the past century, and I cheer minority women who have overcome obstacles and stayed the course all the way to success and smiles behind the counters of the businesses that they own today.
I’m taking this innovative idea of naming my fairy garden succulents, which will be the last picture in the lineup – with a fascinating history of the names that were selected for these tiny front porch gardens. First, here are 6 of the 17 pictures I took in the Greenhouse Mercantile, with links underneath to the women for whom each plant is named:
Earlier in the week, I shared my succulent garden and asked for help naming my new fairy gardens. Fellow blogger Fran Haley responded:
I would give one of these fairies a name from a baby’s gravestone I first saw when I was a child visiting my grandmother deep in the country (along the old dirt road, you know-). The name: Leafy Jean. I might name the other fairy Lacey Jane.
I loved the unique sounds of these sweet names with matching long vowels. I named the fairies Leafy Jean and Lacey Jane.
I wondered if I could find out a little bit of information about Leafy Jean, and so I looked on the Findagrave website and found the photo of this headstone for this baby girl “Gone Home”:
I’m betting this is the grave that Fran saw when she was with her grandmother. It’s located in Beaufort County, North Carolina in the Mixon Cemetery. Leafy Jean Wilson was born on a Sunday – Christmas Eve in 1916, two years after the Christmas Truce called between German and British Soldiers during World War II, when they set aside their differences and came together to play a game of soccer, wish each other Merry Christmas in their native tongues, and sing Christmas carols. The Christmas Truce came five months after the war began……and little Leafy Jean was five months old when she died on a Friday – June 22. I wondered at first if Leafy referenced an olive branch, a symbol of peace and goodwill, but looked it up and found that Leafy means “Relief.” In Hebrew baby names, the meaning of Jean is “Gift from God.” It’s a name of French origin, meaning “God is Gracious.” Leafy Jean had a brother named Leon Russell Wilson, who died when he was 1, one day shy of a full month after his sister, and less than a year prior to the outbreak of the Spanish Flu that started in February 1918.
My heart ached for these parents and these precious children.
I knew what I had to do.
I ran upstairs to the toy chest and fished out a few miniature figures. I explained to Lacey Jane that she would be moving to a different container, so we packed her fairy wands, her wishing well, and her other belongings for a journey to a new magical land.
We had to make room for Leon Russell to remain near Leafy Jean.
Thank you, Fran, for the creative names for these gardens. I will think of you as I water them and care for them! I’ll give an update on how they’re thriving on a Slice of Life Tuesday sometime this summer! Perhaps by then I will learn more history about these babies who now have a special place in my heart – and on my porch.
Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers for giving writers voice and space
There is always a (fast-moving) line at this iconic ice cream shop in Savannah, Georgia! It’s worth the wait!
If you’ve ever been to Savannah, Georgia and looked at a list of the top 10 things to do in the historic Georgia city with Spanish Moss draping the Live Oak trees and horse-carriage tours going on from morning until night, then you know that visiting Leopold’s Ice Cream is at the top of the list! Or perhaps you have walked past not already knowing its fame and magic and noticed the perpetual line stretching down East Broughton Street across from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Leopold’s has a unique history, dating back to 1919, when 3 brothers from Greece opened the shop. The place is still an iconic ice cream parlor today, the kind with the classic round tables that make you want to share a banana split or an ice cream float with your sweetheart. The kind of place that brings back memories to every generation alive today and promises continuing traditions for the youngest children.
Saylor holds onto her hat, thinking of what flavor she wants to try!
Every time we travel to Savannah, we make a visit to Leopold’s a priority. When I was recently in Savannah for a Literacy conference, I had the privilege of introducing four of my five grandchildren to all the delights of Leopold’s!
So many choices! Just ordering the ice cream is a unique experience!
When you first enter the shop, you see the servers in their white caps and burgundy aprons, ready to serve you what you probably already know you want – or, to give you a taste of what you think you might like to try before deciding for sure. When I saw the Rose Petal flavor, I decided to be adventurous and check its bloom factor. It tasted exactly like a rose smells, so I ordered a kids’ cup and savored the flavor of this refreshing treat made from actual edible roses.
River enjoys his honey and almond ice cream!
There’s a working old-time Jukebox over in the corner (see it behind River’s head in the picture?) that still plays songs for a mere quarter, and we listened to Chantilly Lace and The Bunny Hop as we ate our ice cream. The songs were made famous by locals or people who visited Georgia (the Johnny Mercer orchestra popularized The Bunny Hop, and the Johnny Mercer Theater is in downtown Savannah at the Civic Center).
Beckham shares his ice cream with his dad
My daughter-in-law Selena chose Strawberry Sorbet
Saylor waits on her peppermint crunch ice cream at the counter
I chose Rose Petal, and it was a unique taste explosion – – made from the essence of rose, it tasted exactly like a rose smells but oddly did not smell like a rose.
Wearing our Leopold’s shirts
Since I always bring home a surprise for my husband when he isn’t able to travel with me, I brought home matching Leopold’s t-shirts to help us remember one of our favorite places to sit and share one creamy confection with two spoons!
And we couldn’t leave out our grandchild who wasn’t able to go to Savannah for ice cream. We celebrated Aidan’s 13th birthday (belated by a week), and he chose Dairy Queen – – another classic ice cream joint!
Cheers for living life to the fullest ~ my hope is that no matter where you eat ice cream or drink coffee or amble along the path, you experience the magic in the moments!
Aidan enjoys a Hot Fudge Blizzard as a birthday dessert! He’s a teenager now!
From Left: Selena, Sawyer, Saylor, River, me, Marshall, and Beckham by the Shrimp Factory on Savannah’s River Street, February 27, 2023
When Mom died in December 2015, we were blessed that she had shared her final wishes so that her arrangements were smooth for my father, my brother, and me, right down to her favorite hymn at the funeral service – How Firm a Foundation – which, when seeing the movie Emma with one of my daughters a couple of years later, prompted full tears when it started playing. Mom may not have liked that version, but it did the trick to trigger my tender heart.
Her forward planning was a gift of love. Though we were grieved, we didn’t feel frustrated or stressed on top of the sadness. I felt tremendously blessed, because I’ve both seen and experienced the other side of that story, and it often results in severing of family ties and sometimes even behaving in ways that do all but honor the legacy of the dearly departed family member. We didn’t want that.
When my brother, our dad, and I sat down to discuss what would be important to our mother, the first truths were clear: remain a strong family and get along. Spend time together making new memories. Live each day to the fullest. Keeping Mom at the forefront of all of the discussions – as if she were sitting at the table with us, listening in – kept us from focusing on anything other than her wishes. She’d taught my brother and me how to crab and fish at the pier, how to swim at the Sea Island pool, and how to ride our bikes right there on Martin Street back when the world was a safer place. She’d been an active preacher’s wife and had volunteered in our classes at school. The time she spent outdoors enjoying nature on St. Simons Island, Georgia was important to her.
As we talked further, we concluded that for her future generations to continue to experience the places that were so dear to her, perhaps we should consider investing in a condominium that would enable family and friends to stay on the island and visit Dad without his having to prepare for family to stay in his home. All signs seemed to point to acquiring a short-term vacation rental.
We found one that met our criteria: no stairs, good proximity to the village area and beach, a ground floor unit, and maintenance and upkeep handled by an association so that its management doesn’t become a burden.
As we moved into the decorating phase, my brother and his girlfriend called me. “Can you look at the paint samples and tell me which one you like? There’s Swiss Coffee, Snowbound, and Vibrant White.”
Snowbound, Swiss Coffee, Vibrant White
I liked Snowbound. So did they.
He called again. “We’ve stayed in some rentals and so have you. So what are your non-negotiables in how you pick where you stay?”
I thought for a moment, focusing on the simple pleasures of what I enjoy most – which, let’s face it – mostly has to do with eating.
“A Keurig is important. Heavy white dinnerware and quality flatware is important, too. So is a corkscrew. But calming colors, ambient lighting, and sparse furnishings in a place free of clutter are my heart’s desire,” I told him. I love a space that proclaims minimalism and cleanliness and lets me focus on something I don’t feel the need to get up and dust or clean. I also like a list of some restaurant and activity recommendations, and a book that others have signed sharing what they enjoyed while staying there. Fast WiFi is at the top of the list, too, in case I have to do some work while I’m away.
I thought another moment.
“Tell you what,” I suggested. “It’s Slice of Life month, and writers are the best at sharing opinions and helping us see things we may not see on our own. How about if I ask the group what they like when they stay in hotels or rental units and let’s see what they love in a place when they are on vacation – or any ideas they’ve seen along the way?”
“That would be fantastic,” he said.
So today, my family and I are seeking your suggestions: what are your top desired features in a vacation rental?
Today is our grandson Aidan’s birthday, and we are so grateful for him!
Aidan Tyler Harris
A grandson who's deeply loved and cherished!
Intelligent
Delightful dinnertime conversationalist
Archery instructor for cousins
Never a dull moment!
Travel buddy
Yard runner on the football field
Loves camping and kayaking
Enthusiastic fisherman!
Reader extraordinaire (it's in his DNA)
Hobbies keep him busy
Always happy to lend a helping hand
Reaches out to others
Range putter
Interests span a wide gamut
Seventh grade scholar!
Since January, we’ve made an intentional plan to savor our Saturdays by starting with coffee and dialing back the pace of life. Boo Radley and his brothers helped us do that today. All three dogs were in different chairs, in different sleeping positions, strewn across the furniture like cozy throw blankets on this cloudy, cold afternoon – inspiring us to kick back and take it easy.
We started the day at 1828 Coffee Company with a cinnamon roll, a slice of breakfast casserole, cheese grits, lemon biscotti, coffee, and lavender latte. What a feast! What a treasure! The gifts of time, togetherness, and relaxation without pressing deadlines are on my list of gratitudes for today.
Common Threads 