Invitation to Poetry: Summer’s Sweet Slowness
July 27, 2009 · by Christine
Welcome to our 38th Poetry Party!
I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one). Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog.
Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)
On Friday, July 31st, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a signed copy of my newest zine: Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write.
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Poetry Party Theme: Summer’s Sweet Slowness
The other day I posted a list on my blog of things whose sweetness should be savored slowly on summer days. I invited you to make your own additions to the list and I really enjoyed reading them. So this Poetry Party is an extension of that theme. This week it will be in the mid-nineties and sunny here in Seattle, very unusual weather for us, weather that demands we all slow down and savor the height of summer days. Summer’s invitation is to linger and and notice the beauty in small things.
If you contributed to the previous list already consider turning it into a poem. Everyone is invited to create their own Ode to Summer’s Gifts!
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© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts
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Posted in Poetry Party Invitation | 32 Comments »
July 27th, 2009 at 7:46 am
warmth makes lids heavy
the book drops onto her chest
napping on the porch
July 27th, 2009 at 9:43 am
we gather on the porch at dusk
ready to shell the peas we’ve picked
settling into rocking chairs and
scooping handfuls of slender goodness into piles
on the newspaper-covered table before us
we set about our sacred task
with four heads bowed low
over white enamel bowls trimmed in red
the gentle murmur of pleasant conversation
combines with the steady hum of the slowly oscillating fan
sounding like prayers at evensong
as we intuitively finger our tiny green rosary beads
July 27th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Circles within circles,
unending joy….
Reflect the light,
Crawl slowly over life’s terrain.
Even when feeling miniscule
there is the possibility of flight.
July 27th, 2009 at 11:53 am
SLOW, SWEET, SUMMER, Part II
by Sei Shonagon (Japanese court lady, b. ca. 965)
from The Pillow Book, # 122, tr. by Ivan Morris
___ ___ ___
In the Fifth Month [July], I love going up to a mountain village.
When one passes a marsh on the way, a thick covering of weeds hides the water and it seems like a stretch of green grass;
but as the escorts walk across these patches the water spurts up under their feet though it is quite shallow.
The water is incredibly clear and looks very pretty as it gushes forth.
When the road runs between the hedges, a branch will sometimes thrust its way into the carriage.
One snatches at it quickly, hoping to break it off;
alas, it always slips out of one’s hand.
Sometimes one’s carriage will pass over a branch of sagebrush, which then gets caught in the wheel, and is lifted up at each turn, letting the passengers breathe its delicious scent.
___ ___ ___
July 27th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Summer Sweetness
Dressed in my glossy red coat
adorned with perfect black dots,
I tip a feeler into the warm summer air.
Ahhh.
The bark feels cool and
safe beneath my bare feet.
Perfect for a slow stroll
on a summer day.
Shall I stick close to home or
spread my wings and fly?
The world offers much to explore.
Hmmm.
Which outlook will I prefer today–
comfy barkside view or
daring aerial vista?
Summer sweetness beckons.
July 27th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Hmm, Christine if you think it’s appropriate I’ll post, but as for now I’ll use this handy hideout as eros drifts through:
LET ME BE THE BREEZE
July 28th, 2009 at 8:01 am
ooops, it was late and I looked at the words “summer’s sweet slowness” but not the picture. I think my poem suits the words, but definitely not the photo.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Icy drinks
with peaches or berries
slowly cooling and refreshing
as I swallow
Cool mountain streams
surrounded by evergreen
feet dangling
in the burbling, noisy water
Surf – rushing
in haste to conquer gravity
then being pulled back to its bed,
taking sand and pebbles with it
Fresh corn,
still on the cob
dripping with sweet juices
and melted butter
Children
playing frisbee or softball or soccer
running, laughing,
secure in their abandonment to joy
Faces
of friends and family
smudged
by traces of BBQ sauce or watermelon juice
Long talks
with the wife of my youth
about nothing and everything,
things great and small
These are the things
that time should not mar
Hurry should be kept
at distance – afar
Dripping like fruit juice
from cheek and from chin
steeped in the sweetness
taking it in
July 28th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Grady – Everything about your poem resonates with me and it is hard to pick a favorite verse….there’s the one about ‘long talks about the [wife] of my youth – about nothing and everything, things great and small’….and I am particularly drawn to a bit of the summary: ‘These are the things that time should not mar – Hurry should be kept at distance – afar’.
Thanks for this offfering.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Check out my poem entry on my blog. Thank you for a wonderful prompt!
July 28th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Ladybugs
Where did they come from?
The one in my pocket is
not a guest.
I thought a remnant of candy
but a certain smell it emits.
Rolling the bug of Our Lady
ignites wings, and fly’s.
These are miracle bugs,
Morphed angels
possibly.
I find two more, one on my
pant leg, one in my car.
I uphold a reverence for these bugs.
But why surround me? I am not halo bound.
Do I emote suffering, to be devoured?
July 28th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Ladybug’s Tabernacle
Welcome to the tabernacle of the ladybug!
Join us in our opening hymn, The Glory of the Tree.
Glory, Glory, Glory to the highest.
Glory, Glory, Glory to the tree.
Gracious Tree of Life,
You precede our needs with a path laid in wisdom.
The crooked cracks of your bark lead us to sustenance.
Grant us the wisdom to walk the labyrinth of crevices.
Relying on you to provide the guidance we need.
To arrive at the life-giving source.
In the name of the Tree, the Leaf, and the Aphid,
Amen.
July 29th, 2009 at 4:29 am
Christine, just to mention that the court LADY
on her journey into the mountains in my entry
parallels the LADY bug on her journey climbing
up the bark in your photo. ((-:
July 29th, 2009 at 5:18 am
when i hold you
with my eyes only
i want to move beyond touching
your skin, that sweet rind
keeping your best secrets
July 29th, 2009 at 6:35 am
I have such wonderful poets as readers, I am really relishing these words during a very full week. More responses from me soon, but for now I am just savoring the sweetness!
July 29th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Laure….I love your poem! Very “song of solomon”.
July 29th, 2009 at 10:15 am
thank you, Janet. your kindness blesses!
July 29th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Thanks, Carolyn – I do appreciate it! I’m not sure I have a favorite verse, either – but if I had to pick, it would probably (even though it is the least specific to summer) be the “Long talks with the wife of my youth” part, too. I have been blessed with an amazing wife, and after 23 years, she is still my favorite person to spend time with!
July 29th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
For me, it’s long summer nights. Thanks for this wonderful prompt! I posted the following at my blog:
Summer beams down
gracious rays of warmth
and grace, postcards from
a sacred space. an invitation to walk
slowly through a thin veil
of sweet summer fragrance.
A cool breeze pushes aside
the weighty heat. dusk absorbs
the noise of the day, gathering us
to her bosom, until
like a baby’s sweet slumber,
we are still.
Then the almighty locust choir
kicks into a roaring crescendo,
with only fireflies for stage lights.
and the starry night
becomes an amphitheater
for God’s majestic symphony.
July 29th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Radiant Beauty
The insignificant significance of who I am.
I am the whole world.
I am a speck in that world.
I can be fulfilled from within myself.
I thirst for the externals to feed me.
Insignificant significance.
The lady bug – a radiant, unique beauty is significant because of her signficance.
Can I?
July 29th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
“Walking in the Waters of the Oceans Love”
Feel the soft waters surrounding your bodies
Embracing its loving refreshing nourishment
Complete oneness
As thy attention is in the moment
Caressing you within its vastness
The sparking water droplets fly about you
Softening all that is
You are soothed in living here
Taking your time along the way
No worries
No hurry
Just full embracement of what is
Right now
Ahhhhhhh….
Breathing is easy
Your eyes are bright and shiny in the waters reflections around you…
All that is beauty is one
It is carried in you, eternally
Always there
The gentle tides
Caress your legs
Bringing you to the Sacred Center
Ahhhhhhh….
Stay…..
Forever….
Constant….
Creation as one….
Slow your pace…
Ever more still…
Ahhhhhhh…
Enjoying this days gifts
Always there
In you
Around you
Ahhhhhhh…..
Revitalizing
Healing all
Peace
Summers quality
Spirit
Loving embraces
Received, Receiving
Inviting in each day
Grateful in God’s Creation
July 29th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
“A Summer Day”
Digging my toes in the garden mud,
old blossoms golden yellow are beginning to fade
but new buds appear like a thousand beaming suns.
I lay in the earthy grass, soft green blades tickling my ears,
On the radio, Van Morrison calls me sweet as Tupelo honey
and sends me soaring above the blazing clouds.
In this moment, time goes backwards through all that ever was
while deep down joy penetrates every cell of my body
giving root to the peace and light of knowing.
July 30th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Every wedding anniversary in July I try to write a poem for my husband. This is for our 39th. We are so blessed.
Sweet Summer Love
Floating on the old water bed
we rest in the forest peace
of fir tree guardians
surrounding our home
built together
so many years ago
Ours is a summer love
a summer wedding
summer babies
teenage summers
cars coming and going
in the hot nights
then too soon
relatives sleeping in the basement
kids’ summer weddings
Now we put on our summer skins
swim together in the cold silk
of lake and sound
Our summer lips
taste summer wine
taste the miraculous peach soft skin
of our summer grandchild
taste the cherry kisses
of our sweet sweet summer love
July 30th, 2009 at 8:02 am
green rosary beads, indeed!
watering, moving in circles around the wildflowers,
scattered in ancient motion with the half-moon
seeds gathered over years
from many places
all with an eye to high desert grace
they make me smile
these willful, resilient, cheerful guys
I sit down on my outdoor futon
under the crabapple
iced tea sitting on the stump
that sports a brilliant orange fungi
growing on the side of it,
to watch it all
in astonishment
July 30th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Lovely Lady
A lady in red,
spotted in the tall grass.
Small hands eager
to capture summer’s delights.
A yelp of triumph
as the trophy is lifted high.
All come running
to gather round.
Slowly and steadily
she crawls from
hand to hand,
her calm unruffled.
Flying off
with helicopter wings.
The lady in red is
our first love in the garden.
July 30th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
What’s the Hurry?
All tell me to hurry up
But what is better
Than sun shining on your face?
July 30th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Thirty thousand feet flying up in the air
I am amazed.
I know it is ubiquitous in its commonness
but seeing mountains and cities from above the clouds
never fails to prick my sense of wonder
no matter how many times I buckle up
and put my tray in the upright position.
Ladybug, you do that to me too
every time by happenstance
I see you crawling on stem and rock.
I am amazed.
I know you have a voracious appetite
for aphids in my garden that keep you fat and sassy.
Yet, seeing you immediately lifts my spirits
not only for the service you provide
but also because your presence evokes beauty and wonder in me.
I can then see the trees when before I only looked at them.
Everything commonplace becomes extraordinary.
I claim my birthright as a child of creation
beholding the universe in its splendid diversity.
I delight in it all.
Gratitude comes over me
and I am flush with the warm glow
of an embarrassment of riches.
I am amazed.
July 30th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Like watching grass grow
so moves the inner life
in this season.
So sit a spell,
watch some of earth’s
smallest creatures
go about their lives,
and trust the process.
July 30th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
I am really in awe of this outpouring of beauty! I continue to savor each juicy word. Thanks dear poets!
July 31st, 2009 at 12:29 pm
City Summer
fireflies in a jar
on top of the TV
phosphorescent lightning
at midnight
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:13 am
I don’t need to be big to know love.
Even crawling, I still shine.
Being small lets me feel
texture
and
breath.
Residing in stillness…
there is not big or small.
Only aliveness.
August 6th, 2009 at 4:10 am
Your beautiful photo inspired a different line of thinking for me:
small things
small things often go unnoticed, but
small things can be beautiful
small things can be powerful
small things make a difference
small things are how big things begin