Riding the Rail, Walking the Line
we rode the Blue Ridge
Scenic Railway, feet in both
Georgia / Tennessee
Riding the Rails of the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
September Camping at Vogel State Park in Georgia
Camping at Vogel State Park
camping at Vogel
mountain air resetting pace
allowing deep rest
Last week, we camped on the side of a mountain where a stream ran behind our campsite and gurgled with all the relaxing sounds of water. Morning temperatures were in the 60s, and the cell phone signals and wifi weakness made streaming movies and scrolling social media all but impossible.
It was absolutely wonderful, too!
Thank goodness I had hard copies of books and downloads on my Kindle. I was more “in the moment” walking dogs, sitting fireside for chats, and being tuned in to my surroundings. I’d learned the previous week how to play solo Mahjong from a new friend named Kristy, a fellow retired teacher one county north, so I practiced making hands on the 2026 card. I’d also thought to bring watercolor paints along in case an unplanned stroke of creativity came over me (it didn’t).
I’m already missing the mountains. It has peace you can breathe, and when the air gets much cooler, there’s a size XXL outdoor fireplace under a covered pavilion with tables for games or lunch, and sturdy, ample-seated rocking chairs that overlook the lake, perfect for reading or sipping coffee. A breeze wafts through the space. We sat and breathed for a while before driving up Blood Mountain to Neel Gap to visit the hiking store.
And at the end of the day, we roasted marshmallows just like when we were kids…..and slept with the windows open in all the clean night air.
I’m ready to go back!
VerseLove Day 4: Living Poets
Instructions for Traveling with Living Poets
I’m hosting today at http://www.ethicalela.com for the fourth day of VerseLove to celebrate National Poetry Month. Hop on over there and write with us today! Follow this link.
Inspiration
I made a commitment to follow more living poets in 2026, and I’ve been on a remarkable journey of discovery ever since. As a third-year member of The Stafford Challenge, it brings great joy to see a surge of interest in modern poetry! At my father’s funeral in June 2025, I chose a poem from an anthology of living poets to read at his graveside – not one written long ago. I reached out to the poet to let her know I planned to read it, and I sent her a recorded clip of that reading. Imagine my surprise when, with tears in her eyes, she sent her own recorded message back explaining that it was her own cancer journey that had inspired her deeply moving poem. I hope to meet her in person this summer when I travel to Portland, Oregon.
Joy Sullivan, author of Instructions for Traveling West, is one of the living poets I follow on social media. Her Substack, Necessary Salt, captivates me with each new post. I think what I find most enthralling is the sheer glory she finds in everyday moments. I invite you to go on a living poet journey to find new writers throughout the month. Use their work to inspire your own, even borrowing their style and a line or two to frame your own poem. You can find living poets at Teach Living Poets, Poetry Foundation, and by using search engines to discover others.
Process
I’ve selected a poem by Joy Sullivan to get us acquainted with each other using the title alone: The cashier at the gas station asks me where I’m from. Here is the poem free to download from Pinterest.
Choose a person and setting (i.e. cashier at the gas station, pastor at church, mysterious stranger at the bar, waitress at a restaurant, passenger on an airplane, etc.) and introduce yourself. Title your poem as Joy Sullivan does, and offer us a glimpse into your world.
My Poem
The Soapmaster of Green Willow Soaps asks me where I’m from
so I tell her: an hour south of Atlanta
because no one has ever heard of this place
and besides, these towns are so tiny we all just say
Pike County
which is small enough to spit watermelon seeds
across, where the sunsets rival Titian red
when we look over Alabama-way
but what I don’t tell her as I place bars of
Mountain Mist, Morning Citrus, and Purple Haze
into my arm basket
is that I’m plotting retirement in these mountains
sipping black coffee on my porch
in the shadows of Blue Ridge
channeling inner birdsong and crystal-splashing waterfalls
To Love a Word
Check out Georgia Heard’s Substack for monthly writing calendars that work for both children and adults. Her February Valentine Mini Writing Calendar, inspires us to fall in love with the everyday. Day 5 asks us to fall in love with love with a word, one that feels good to say, then to write it down and let it lead.
Since my One Little Word of 2026 is Onward, I’m choosing it today.
Onward
onward: mountains call ~
fresh, clean air…..majestic views
…..babbling creeks….ONWARD!
This Photo Wants to Be a Poem
My friend Margaret Simon of Louisiana hosts the weekly Poetry Friday Roundup by posting a photo and inviting writers to compose a poem inspired by the photo. Last week, she visited the North Georgia mountains with her family as a Christmas gift to her children and their families, and she posted her cherished moments of making memories with them. She invites us this week to write a poem about this photo of her mountain house. 
Margaret has been using the elfchen form, also called an elevenie, in which the lines fall into the sequence of 1 word, 2 words, 3 words, 4 words, and concludes in summary fashion with 1 word that ties it together. She will announce her One Little Word tomorrow, and hints that it may be the last line in her own poem (Connection), so I’m giving an enthusiastic nod to her choice by using a form of connection as the last word in my own poem. You can read her post here, along with other poems that were written about the photo, and her picture that inspires her poem (and others) is below:
Presence
unhindered
time spent
unhurried memory making
letting presence be presents
connecting
Try an elfchen! These are fun to write, and what a fabulous way to preserve memories – using photos and short forms of poems. I like the way just a few words can encapsulate an entire experience and bring all the memories and good times rushing back. 
A special thanks to Margaret Simon for inspiring my writing today. Some of my greatest blessings are my writing community friends, who encourage and inspire me to be better. 
