Thursday, July 1, 2021

Spiritual Journey Thursday, Sharing Our Stories, and Poetry Friday: Nurturing Our Summer Souls

Carol at Beyond Literacy Link is hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday this month with the theme of Nurturing Our Summer Souls. We would love to have you join us. 

When Carol asked us to write about nurturing our summer souls for Spiritual Journey Thursday, my first idea was to take the theme and create an acrostic poem. But I found that structure too constraining. Then I tried to collect my ideas into prose, but that wasn't right either. It didn't take long for me to decide that a list poem was the perfect vehicle for my summer musings on how to savor summer and nurture our souls.

Savor Summer

Sip lemonade

Rock on the porch

Sit in the shade

Cheer the children in the neighborhood parade 

Throw candy for the marchers

Salute Old Glory

Chat with the neighbors  

Cool off with a popsicle

Rescue ice cream from the spoon & return it to the cone

Indulge in a shaved ice

Build a sandcastle

Bury my feet in the sand

Swim in the ocean or the lake or a pool

Hike in the woods 

Picnic with friends 

Play at the park


Swing until my toes touch the sky

Vacation with family in my hometown

Saunter the library stacks (when it opens)

Read outside, read inside, read on the road, read at home

Attend outdoor theater

Stroll the farmer's market

Collect shells or rocks or pine cones or memories

Embrace the new (food, flavor, trail, experience)

Listen to the birds 

Celebrate fireflies 

 

Revel in the flowers

Water my garden barefoot

Talk to my tomatoes

Stop at roadside stands

Buy the berries and the melons and the peaches

Showcase summer in my best dishes

Gaze at the night sky

Take my quiet time outside

Ponder God's word

Listen for His voice 

Feel His love

Embrace the miracle of today

Journal the wonder

Nurture my soul

15 comments:

  1. What a wonderful list and full of surprises, like "talk to my tomatoes" and "Swing until my toes touch the sky."

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  2. Ramona, the list poem was the best format for your thoughts on nurturing your summer soul. So many of your points are ones I share as well. I especially liked "Embrace the miracle of today and Journal the wonder." When we look at life with a positive outlook, we find so much fulfillment in just the simple things. You are a collector of memories and today's SJT has allowed me to gather so many inspirational thoughts on how to nurture my summer soul. I am capturing your Summer fruit salad and turning it into a digital inspiration for a sharing of Nurturing Our Summer Souls Gallery. I will send it via Twitter shortly.

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  3. I love that this alternates the pics, too! This is summer, indeed!

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  4. YUM to all of it. What a wonderful list poem... especially with that cutie on the swing! I'm so glad you are out enjoying it! Life is good.

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  5. Ramona, your list poem IS the perfect vehicle for savoring summer! Along with those gorgeous photos - that winsome little grandson on the swing, the perfect embodiment! That smile nurtures one's soul, for sure - how could it not? So many of your lines speak to me; I cannot say which I love best, but the idea of savoring the wonder and embracing the "miracle of today" while being ever-mindful of the Lord and his love, and journaling... well, to quote the old hymn - this is my story, this is my song. Such gifts are meant to be savored. You also start us off with a valuable reminder about the composition process, finding the right from. I took part in a discussion with other poets recently on this very thing - "what form is right" as we were experimenting with them. There are times when an acrostic or pantoum, let's say, will work beautifully when there is a word or line that absolutely must anchor a poem to be built around it, and other times when they or any form will choke or constrain what the mind and heart and soul are compelled to convey. That process of discovery and starting over, differently...priceless.

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  6. -finding the right FORM*, that should say-

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  7. Summer in a poem, like fireflies in a jar, Ramona. I savored each of your lines! Enjoy your Independence Day celebration however you do it!

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  8. Ramona, that is beautiful! You did find the right form for sharing what nurtures you. I'm curious if you will be able to do all these wonders by the end of summer or if some will have to wait for another day? Either way, have a blessed summer. It sounds like it will be rich.

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  9. I agree - the list form is perfect! What an inspiring list of activities. Even if you only manage to half of the things on this list, what a rich, experience-filled summer you will have!

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  10. Oh, you did find the perfect way to share wonderful ways to nurture yourself in summer! This is a fabulous list!

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  11. Wow! You do know what summer is all about and to do a fraction of these things would make a great summer. Such joyful photos! There are poetic lines all around us, waiting.

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  12. Thank you, Ramona. So many summer blessings are here. The one that struck me most was swinging. How I loved to swing as a child! The freedom I felt, the wind in my hair, the challenge to always pump higher. Thank you for sharing your summer with us. Many blessings.

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  13. Your list poem is perfect and inspires me to consider writing one of my own. I love the whimsy of some of your ideas and the simplicity of others. A list to dig into, for sure! Enjoy nurturing your summer soul!

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  14. All those verbs! Need to do all of them!

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  15. Marvelous list poem for summer Ramona! I'd like to step into many of your suggestions here, especially, "Water my garden barefoot," thanks!

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