Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 31

Robbie’s Inspiration – Book Review: Ever So Gently, A collection of poems by Lauren Scott #poetry #poetrycommunity #bookreview

What Amazon says

In Ever So Gently, Lauren Scott shares her strong link to nature, taking the reader on a tranquil walk through a redwood grove. You’ll find an invitation to sit quietly on a patio, captivated by the simple beauty of a hummingbird. She’ll entice you to revel on the shore of a freshwater lake, mesmerized by its stunning beauty.

Scott shares how love has shaped her life. From that first delicious kiss to celebrating decades of marriage through a love that deepens over time. How her heart melted when she became a mom, then ached when her children started their adult lives across country. And how her adorable canine companions found their way into her heart.

Scott underscores how life presents mysteries we struggle to solve. We can’t help but ponder the deeper meaning of a simple vision. She prompts you to reminisce and reflect on your past, present, and future. Through the ups and downs. what matters most is to love and live ever so gently.

My review

Ever So Gently: A collection of poems is a beautiful memoir of the poet’s life and experiences, mellowed by experience and understanding, and told through carefully selected words. The poems are a mixture of freestyle and syllabic and share some vivid and delightful imagery the celebrates important moments in the poet’s life.

For me, the emphasis with this collection is on the softening of the poet’s attitude towards, and views, on life gained through experience and living. This message, reflected in the title “Ever So Gently” and the beautiful and peaceful cover, is wonderful and absorbing. Its subtle repetition throughout this book is like slipping into a warm bubble bath. It evokes the same delightful sense of peace and calm. My words must not be misunderstood to mean that none of the poems demonstrate moments of anguish and angst, as that is not the case. Those moments, that are so catastrophic and devastating to the poet at the time of occurrence are there, but their harshness is lessened through acceptance and understanding gained over the passage of time.

A few verses that I particularly enjoyed:

“A lone sailboat glides by
pausing for the unfolding.
With hair the color of an egret,
an older man leans against a stump.”
From The Sun Knows

“raindrops vacillate
layers hold their own secrets
delicate delight”
From The Peach Rose

“Each purl stitch was interwoven with love
from her gentle touch.
She, the teacher, me, the student,
as our bodies sank into the sofa
checkered in a 70’s palette.
From The Old Afghan

The two poems that I related to the most were The Mess and Young Campers, both about the poets children. This book is a celebration of life, the good and the less good.

Amazon US purchase link for Ever So Gently, a collection of poems by Lauren Scott: https://www.amazon.com/Ever-So-Gently-Collection-Poems-ebook/dp/B0CB9H52ZT

Book trailer

Growing Bookworms – Great Halloween reads for children #Halloween #GrowingBookworms

Thank you to Kaye Lynne Booth for hosting my latest Growing Bookworms post about great Halloween reads for children.

Growing Bookworms – Great Halloween reads for children #Halloween #GrowingBookworms

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday #poetry #spring flowers

We are back home after a lovely three days in the bush. It was very hot, 36 C, but we saw so many animals because they were all drinking at the watering holes.

This is my poem for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenge. You can join in the challenge here: https://tankatuesday.com/2023/10/03/24-seasons-syllabic-poetry-challenge-no-2-10-3-2023-tankatuesday/.

This is my first choka poem: 5/7/5/7/5/7/5/7/7

Fair Maidens

Shy buds tightly furled

Glorying in morning sun

Warmth gently coaxes

Fair maiden flowers to shine

Slowly revealing

Cherise floral finery

Trimmed with pale yellow

Bold zephyr blows approval

Blushing girls dance and giggle

These ones are a paler pink:

Yellow roses

Robbie’s Inspiration W3 Prompt #74: An Ode to my Oven

I am going to be away in the bush for a few days with limited access to WP so I won’t be posting again until next week.

I have tried to find some new cake pictures for Liz.

An Ode to my Oven

Oh, how I love my oven

It’s my favourite toy

I use it to create

cake and fondant masterpieces

And, don’t forget the gingerbread

Picture caption: Tutankhamun death mask cake

Gingerbread slabs

Baked on flat trays

Smelling of cinnamon and spices

Cut out with a cookie cutter

In a uniform design

Others designed

To detailed specifications

A castle

Picture caption: Gingerbread casstle

A fairy mansion

A train

A caravan

And a windmill

And now I’ve got something exciting

Hidden up my sleeve

A different Halloween design

A complex confectionary feat

Some are just gingerbread

And some include shortbread

Made using my special shortbread recipe

Gifted by my mum

I’ve also used it

To bake plate-sized rounds

And sandwich them using cream

And delicious seasonal fruit

Picture caption: Strawberry shortbread cake

I’ve made hunderds of cakes

Some are special

Van Gogh’s sunflower field cake

And Lion Scream

Featuring a bridge

Have you ever tried

To make a bridge out of cake?

Picture caption: Lion Scream cake that inspired Lion Scream the poetry book

I carved it out of sponge cake

Cooked to perfection

In my reliable oven

I’ve made rich chocolate

Red velvent

Orange and chocolate

Lemon served with curd

Vanilla milk sponge

Marbled

Fruit cake for Christmas

Simnel cake for Easter

With almond paste

Layered and baked

To a delectable golden brown.

Lots of birthday cakes

Some are strange

Picture caption: Minecraft creeper cake

Meringue cakes

Train station cakes

Roses cakes

Book cakes

And big boobed cakes too

Then, there are baked treats

All kinds of scones

Sausage rolls

Swiss rolls

Hummingbird cake with cream cheese icing

Banana bread

Carrot cake

Biscuits of all sorts

Baked cheesecake

Savory pies

Oh, how I love my oven

It’s my favourite toy

Prompt

The iconic Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904 – 1973) would have turned 119 this summer. Neruda was known for his historical epics, political manifestos, and love poems. Neruda’s incisive and joyful odes were often dedicated to ordinary objects making them approachable yet surreal. 

Click HERE to read “Ode to My Socks,” translated from Spanish by Robert Bly, in which Neruda describes his covered feet as “two fish made / of wool, / two long sharks / sea-blue.” 

Inspired by Neruda’s electric, surreal images, write a joyful ode to an ordinary object in your life. It doesn’t matter what it is, think kindly about how to honor and describe this praiseworthy item of yours. This particular poem of Neruda’s consists of 215 words , so try to bring yours close to the word count. Not exactly– close; but not too short. AND Joyful, remember!

You can join in here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2023/09/27/w3-prompt-74-weave-written-weekly/

The prompt is from Selma. Her winning poem is here: https://selmamartin.com/and-in-that-moment-somewhere-a-band-was-playing/

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday, and Sunday Stills #poetry #fences #wildlife

Hay fever

Dust

Floating

Creating

Bright sun sparkles

Haloed dancing flecks

Partnering with pollen

To wreak havoc on humans

Irritating lungs and noses

A unified hay fever event

That signifies the arrival of spring

My kigo words are dust and hay fever.

You can join in Tanka Tuesday here and find out all about the new rules and fun: https://tankatuesday.com/2023/10/02/recap-24-seasons-poetry-challenge-no-1/

Sunday Stills – Fences

Up close and personal – in the lions den

Hello darlings!

You can join in Sunday Stills here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2023/10/01/sunday-stills-dont-fence-me-in/

Robbie’s Inspiration – Reena’s Xploration Challenge #299 and spring garden

Reena’s prompt is as follows:

You have a line here, which can be inserted anywhere in the beginning, middle or end of your piece. You are also free to not include the line but use it as a theme.

Memory is all around us, as well as within.

You can join in the prompt here: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2023/09/21/reenas-xploration-challenge-299/

The poetry book I published together with Kim Blades is no longer available on Amazon. It includes a poem I wrote about memories and I thought I’d share it for this prompt as a YT reading.

The poem is called My Mind’s Eye

I also wrote a poem for this prompt.Memorable hindsight

Tears

Flowed fast

The doctor’s words

Unacknowledged

They offered no peace

I no longer believed

In medicine’s great power

Was my weeping a prediction?

A foreshadowing of the future?

Or does memory create clear hindsight?

A few more spring flowers from my garden.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Reena’s Xploration Challenge #298, Tanka Tuesday and a painting #poetry #art #spring

I have struggled for time for the past three weeks. September is traditionally a busy work month for me and I’ve worked late every week day. I get my poems written during the school run (I keep them in my head until I get home and can write them down), but finding time to put the post together sometimes eludes me.

I have included three poems here.

The first is for Reena’s Xploration Challenge #298. The prompt is this interesting curved pencil. You can join in here: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2023/09/14/reenas-xploration-challenge-298/. My poem is a shadorma (3/5/3/3/7/5)

Meandering paths

Life’s pathways

Don’t follow straight lines

Seemingly

Randomly

They meander through choices

Unwittingly made

My next poem is in response to my first ever watercolour painting. It is a pincushion protea flower and my poem is another shadorma.

Flower illusion

Unusual

Pin cushion flower

Slim petals

Not prickly

Although its looks may deceive

Nature’s illusion

The last poem is for Colleen’s new Tanka Tuesday challenge which involves choosing seasonal kigo words as the driver of a syllabic poem. It is spring here and my seasonal words are immature peaches. Colleen has created a new blog for Tanka Tuesday which you will find here: https://tankatuesday.com/2023/09/18/new-tankatuesday-site-24-season-syllabic-poetry-challenge/

Here is my haiku:

Immature peaches

Green beads decorating trees

Loeries watch their growth

*Loeries are a local fruit eating bird

Lastly, here are a few more of my spring garden photographs:

Treasuring Poetry: Meet poet, Selma Martin, and a review of her poetry book, In The Shadow of Rainbows, A Collection of Songs of Presence

Today, I am delighted to introduce poet, Selma Martin, as my September Treasuring Poetry guest. Selma writes thoughtful poetry about the human experience and has recently released a poetry book, In The Shadow of Rainbows. Thank you for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.

Treasuring Poetry: Meet poet, Selma Martin, and a review of her poetry book, In The Shadow of Rainbows: A Collection of Songs of Presence

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday, a poem and bats in the belfry #poetry #TankaTuesday

This is my first double etheree poem. It consists of 10 lines of increasing syllables from 1 to 10. The second part is a reverse etheree.

I wrote this poem for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday prompt, but it was actually inspired by Selma’s Tanka Tuesday poem from last week which you can read here: https://selmamartin.com/tankatuesday-weekly-poetry-challenge-no-336-9-5-23-synonyms/.

Don’t

Dwell on

Negatives

A survivor

Is our planet Earth

Millions of years have passed

Life has progressed and evolved

Meteorites have crash landed

Oceans have risen and retreated

And still our beautiful blue home survives

***

Acknowledge global warming as a truth

Accept the challenge and do your part

Share your opinion with respect

Vinegar doesn’t catch flies

Coat your tongue with honey

Most importantly

Enjoy your life

You only

Receive

One

What is the relevance of the picture you ask? Well, the picture reminded me that nature always survives and adapts.

Picture caption by photographer, Terri Webster Schrandt, from secondwindleisure.com blogBats in the belfry – isn’t this a great picture.

Growing Bookworms – Tongue Twisters and a review of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L-Engle

The benefits of Tongue Twisters for children (and adults too)What is a tongue twister?

A tongue twister is a sequence of words or sounds, usually of an alliterative kind, that are difficult to pronounce quickly and accurately.

An example of a tongue twister

One of the tongue twisters I grew up with is Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper.

This is a video of the tongue twister:

Benefits of tongue twisters

Tongue twisters are fun and often results in lots of laughter, but they also have benefits for children.

Tongue twisters are a great way of introducing different consonant sounds to small children. They help pronunciation by teaching the brain how to form the necessary signals and organs of speech to make the required movements.

Regular recitation stimulates control of the muscles used for speech, ensuring clearer pronunciation of words with difficult syllables. Tongue twisters help children to decease instances of pauses in speech and reduce hesitation over pronunciation.

Listening to a parent or caregiver reciting tongue twisters helps to improve a child’s listening skills and comprehension of spoken English. Learning a tongue twister, promotes memorization which improves memory and cognitive skills.

Continue reading here: https://writingtoberead.com/2023/09/13/growing-bookworms-tongue-twisters-and-a-review-of-a-wrinkle-in-time-by-madeleine-lengle/