Friday, September 2, 2016

Poetry Exchange

It's Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Penny at A Penny and Her Jots.
And today I'm sharing the last poem exchange of the summer, organized by Tabatha Yeatts.  My last partner for this year's round is Carol Varsalona!  She seems to have done her homework and enjoyed the "assignment" in this year's summer poetry exchange.  Carol has kept up with my recent motorcycling adventures, as well as drawing from my April A to Z Challenge where I wrote poetry based on vanity plates in Maine!  Since Carol also has a vanity plate, she used her plate to write a creative acrostic and print it up on a bookmark with plenty of sparkle!

Donna is....

        Enthusiastic
        Learner
        Admitting

        Real
        Exciting
        Adventure
  founD on the road

By Carol Varsalona, all rights reserved

She also found a newspaper article on women bike riders and used the article to create a Found Poem.



"What? Wearing Motorcycle?"
"No confusion,
I'm a woman on a bike
who wears what's comfortable!"
Bold, Blonde,
Biker Babe
Journeying Through Life

By Carol Varsalona, all rights reserved

Carol also supports a charity that brings education and sustainable living to Masese, Uganda.  The women there make beads and string them into jewelry, selling them to raise money to care for their families.  Carol sent along a beautiful string of ocean blue beads - a certain conversation piece to wear and bring awareness.
Thank you, Carol, for your multi-faceted gift!  Sweet, sweet, sweet!

What a great summer this has been!  I'm going to keep on riding until the leaves fall and I get too cold to continue.  Tomorrow my husband and I are riding to the park (I say "park", but I mean ocean) on our bikes, with lunches tucked away in bags on the back.  Maybe I'll tuck a bathing suit and towel in there, too!  We're going to pretend we are tourists...on "Daisy" and "Retired"...
I still can't believe I did this... that I'm DOING this!
Neither can my husband.

If you'd asked me three years ago if I'd ever ride a motorcycle, I'd have laughed and not even have taken the question seriously.  Three years ago I was having trouble seeing.  I couldn't drive a car at night.  I could barely drive in the daytime.  My back hurt.  I could not walk or ride long distances easily.  I was having problems with gluten (though I didn't know what it was that was making eating an iffy thing).
Got my cataracts fixed in the fall of 2013... things literally started looking good.
In 2015, I discovered gluten was ruining my life and cut it out... things started working well.
In 2016, I lost 50+ pounds... everything became easier and less painful to do.

I can see, I can eat, I can move!  I am not the same person I was three years ago... but I'm kinda feeling like the person I was 30 years ago.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful poems this summer!  I feel so blessed to be in this group... why, 6 years ago, I wouldn't have said I was a writer (no commenters on anything posted for those first three posts!).  And I didn't know any writers.  But everything has changed.  And I like every single change.

Changing

Chameleon, caterpillar,
dandelion, me -
Look at us just one time
what is it that you see?
Look again another day,
scan us up and down;
Do we look the same to you
or have some changed their gown?
Leaves on trees, clouds above
Eggs about to hatch
Nothing stays the same it seems
always there's a catch...
Sprouting wings, changing garb,
gray to brilliant blue,
Cycled lives of wonderment...
What's in store for you?

by Donna JT Smith


33 comments:

  1. You are inspirational, Donna! So happy for you (and us) about all these serendipitous changes. What's in store, I wonder?

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    1. I feel that I've been dealt a new hand. What IS in store? I wonder, too.

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  2. Such energy and enthusiasm here, Donna. Lovely! And a delight to see/read your Poetry Swap treasures. No wonder you're smiling and sharing the joy. :)

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    1. JOY may have to be my new OLW for next year. BOLD has been a real blessing!

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  3. I like what Carol wrote for you, and what you wrote about you even more, Donna. You go! And keep going! 50 pounds, wow. You must feel light as air.

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    1. I have had such transformations that it is hard to take it in sometimes. Light as air is right!

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  4. Wow! That's a lot of changing. Congrats on being determined enough to change your life for the better. It's never easy to follow through.
    And thanks for your words in your poem. So positive and hopeful!

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    1. I felt and still feel like I am being guided through a maze... and it's "amazing".

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  5. All gorgeous things to celebrate, Carol's thought-filled gifts and your poem of celebration, Donna. We've traveled a long road together! Happy times: "Cycled lives of wonderment".

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    1. I'm happy that this journey on this long road continues to stretch out before us! There is with much to celebrate along the way despite the twists and turns.

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  6. I am so delighted to have delighted you with lots of "joy" during the last poem swap, Donna. I also like that resonated with Linda: "Cycled lives of wonderment..." It says so much about all of the positive ways you have improved living for you. When you ride off into your next journey, please capture the summerscape moment and send it on to me for the summer gallery. It was fun creating for you and reading your creation in this post.

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    1. Mmmm. You have me thinking about my next ride... and a picture-poem combo. Thanks again, Carol, for the beautiful poetry package!

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  7. Wow, you scored a treasure-trove of goodness in your poetry swap with Carol! I so admire the amazing changes you've made in your life, Donna. Good for you! =)

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    1. Quite the bounty! I've so enjoyed this summer's swap!

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  8. Wow--what amazing changes you've made in your life, Donna! I am so impressed. And your gifts from Carol are wonderful. You wear the "bold, blonde, biker, babe" moniker well.

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    1. Just got your poem yesterday, Buffy! Gorgeous pictures! And I love the poem. I kind of felt like I could relate!

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  9. Donna, isn't growing wonderful?

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  10. What a lovely life to live and celebrate growth.

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    1. That's the fascination of life - that growing and learning!

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  11. Oh, Donna! You biker babe goddess! Not only are these changes a gift to yourself, but you're inspiring everyone else in the process. Huzzah to Carol for sending such thoughtful words and gifts.

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  12. It's so inspiring to hear about all your good changes! And what a wonderful Poetry Swap!

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    1. Some changes are good and some are not. So far, these are all good! It was a super swap!

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  13. Dear chameleon, caterpillar, dandelion biker-babe -- YOU are an inspiration. And how lovely is Carol's gift? I can hear you talking up those blue beads... thank you for sharing! xo

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    1. Glorious breakfast ride on Saturday!
      I'm looking forward to wearing those beads. I have to research the area where they were made and the women who created them.

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  14. Your poem connects perfectly to the one Linda B. shared this week!

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  15. Wow, what an inspirational post--both the gifts from Carol and your poem. Love it all!

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  16. Love this poem about change. I especially like this phrase "changing garb."
    It's just a great combination!

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    1. Thanks for dropping in and dropping some breadcrumbs! I've left a comment on your site and hope you will drop by this Friday for my link to your site with a poem connection to your May 15 post!

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    2. I can't wait for Friday, Donna! I am ever so grateful to get to connect with you on Fridays and to read your beautiful work.

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