‘To Wander’ Published at Visual Verse!
I am pleased to share my poem, To Wander, is published in Volume Eight, Chapter Six of Visual Verse’s ongoing ekphrastic poetry anthology!
Though this chapter of the Visual Verse anthology is from April and I am currently focused on writing my inspiration for the May ekphrastic challenge, I still find the featured artwork from April both playful and curious, and full of the spring vibes still with us in May. The inner child in us invites us to enjoy the moment, to forget about tomorrow, and to smile. The adult in us warns we have no time.
I wandered a little in the creation of this poem. Ekphrastic poetry is especially hard because a picture presents hundreds of stories. Choosing the story I connected with the most took a fair bit of refinement and the cutting away of the distracting tales still trying to dress themselves prettily enough to attract my eye.
Nothing but growth matters in spring. To make room for it, you must prune.
Spring is as good a time for self-love as any other season. Spring is nature’s self-care devotional.
Though the fruit trees on my backyard hill have finished blooming wickedly and the intoxicating smell of the blossoms gone, I have the delight of knowing the experience of breathing in scented nectar is captured in my writing. Words are here for me even if memory fades.
I invite you to enjoy To Wander and nourish your inner creative.
We wet our naked feet in streams
That swell with the sky. Our hearts
Curdle together at the cusp of a
Flash flood carrying us upward. Past the . . . please continue reading here and feel free to share your beautiful thoughts!
Artwork by Cris Martin
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Only cloud
Good poem 🌼
Brujoeleuterio
Realizo amarrea de amor
lifestyleseason
Congrats! Beautiful poem and thank you for sharing this with us!
Kelly Diane
Congratulations Jaya, such beautiful words.
glowsteady
Congratulations!! Another fantastic poem. I love how you described spring, the blossom trees opposite my house are dropping their leaves right now so this feels so timely x
Jaya Avendel
So happy this found you at the perfect time, Sophie!
barbaraleaver
Wonderful news! Love the visual with the ‘dragging green lichen’. Reminds me of days breaking into spring warmth.
Michele Lee
Congratulations, Jaya. 💐 I love your comments about self-love and the inner child. The collection looks lovely. The link takes me to chapter 7. I am sure it’s me, but I am not seeing your poem.
Jaya Avendel
😁 The first link takes you directly to the current issue of Visual Verse. The following link will take you to ‘To Wander’.
https://visualverse.org/submissions/to-wander/
Thank you for sharing the ways my thoughts on spring and the inner child connected with you!
Michele Lee
Thank you for sharing that. I will try again with the new link. I love reading your work and always want to support your publications. 😊
Michele Lee
Your delightful poem brought back several childhood memories. 💖
Jaya Avendel
Truly delighted, Michele, to know you wandered a little in memory!
Charley
Congratulations Jaya! This was a wonderful poem – as always!
Corinne
Ahh I love the world swell and cusp in poetry! I’m not sure what it is but those words seem to dance inside my head!
Corinne x
Jaya Avendel
Thank you, Corrine! I too am inspired to move by those two words.
Jess Kart
First of all, congratulations! I smile at your precious, rare ability to transport a reader to the place of your choosing and hold them captive there till that last word is read.
Wonderful poem that I enjoyed reading a lot.
Paused at the lines “Past the wicked towering rocks… hills receded around them”… the words just resonated with me.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Jaya Avendel
Thank you, Jess, for sharing your incredible experience of my poem, and especially for sharing two of your favorite lines. It is eye-opening to see how everyone connects differently with a piece.❣️
Jodie | That Happy Reader
Another beautiful poem Jaya! Congratulations!
Keep Calm & Drink Coffee
Best congratulations!
Would you believe if I say that I didn’t know what Ekphrastic Poetry is?!
Every time I learn somethiing new thanks to You!
I also googled Unakite. Beauriful.
You really nourish my inner creativity and my knowledge as well!
GRAZIE DEAR!
Jaya Avendel
I confess there was a time when I also did not know the name of one of my favorite styles of poetry. I am delighted to have passed on the name of a love to you. 💖
Keep Calm & Drink Coffee
<3
Jocelyn
Congratulations! This is such a lovely poem. I love how the childhood experience and nature goes hand in hand in this poem.
Sharila
I also love spring for all the opportunities it offers for a restart. Beautiful words.
ivor20
A beautifully creative poem, and congratulations Jaya..
Jaya Avendel
Thank you, Ivor!
eob2
Wonderful as always, congratulations! Indeed live life play hard but always be aware. 🙂💙
Jaya Avendel
Energetically expressed 👍🏼
Loren
“Spring is nature’s self-care devotional” is a perfect way to describe how to describe the complexity of emotions and feelings that arise with the arrival of spring.
Your poem is absolutely beautiful, it reminds me of childhood jaunts on a day trip to a lake, but also reminds me of the magic of nature.
Thank you for sharing your poem and congratulations on getting it published!!
Jaya Avendel
Childhood jaunts on a day to the lake awaken memories of summer in me also! Thank you for your encouragement and for sharing your thoughts.
Unwanted Life
That was a great poem, I don’t think I could have come up with such beautiful words from the image. For me, the image screams children’s story of a bear playing pranks on two children in the woods. I would have no idea how I’d turn that into poem. Good luck with you May challenge, not that you need it
Jaya Avendel
🙂 I had an hour to write this one and I needed every minute of it! Thank you for your well wishes also. It never hurts to have a little luck stored away.
Unwanted Life
Feel free to put that in the good luck bank then
Jeff Flesch
A beautiful poem, full of mystery, history, and possibility. Lovely, Jaya. Congratulations.
sammicoxwriter
Beautiful poem, Jaya. Congratulations
Gabriela Marie Milton
Beautiful Java. Congratulations.
Jaya Avendel
Thank you! Much love. <3
Gabriela Marie Milton
My pleasure. Same to you.
T.J.S. Sherman
Excellent work!
Andrew McDowell
Congrats!
Ingrid
This is lovely Jaya 😊 Congratulations!
Artist/Poet_JayMoraShihadeh
Great little poem Jaya, congrats!