Beautiful Places I have seen

 3. The third location near my northern Virginia home I would like to highlight is the Hidden Pond Nature Park in Springfield. The tiny pond is idyllic all times of year, even when the algae blooms there. 

Beautiful Places I have seen

2. Another spot that provides inspiration for poetry throughout the year is the Green Spring Gardens park and historic manor house that dates from the 18th century. 

Beautiful Places I have seen

1. One lovely place I have been all seasons of the year is Lake Accotink park near my home in Northern Virginia. It is frequented by many families and has a beautiful historic carousel.

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I love Robert Frost’s Poetry, I always have…

 Robert Frost poetry reading at the Kennedy Center in 1962.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiGw8_-0cDzAhU8q3IEHVI-CpUQtwJ6BAgFEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgE64CTUGQpg&usg=AOvVaw3D9-bke4-GUP8eKdtcEiQL

He recites one of my favorites: Stopping by woods on a snowy evening…

I also enjoyed this one… https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken

Some more questions answered…

 Q: When did you start writing poetry, and why did you begin? 

A: I started writing around the age of 11, shortly after the untimely death of my biological mother from Cancer, and then shortly afterwards, the loss of my maternal grandparents as caregivers, followed by the loss of my paternal grandfather just one year later. All of that was a very powerful experience for me and shaped my future life in myriad ways. Both reading and writing have always been very helpful to me in processing loss and other difficult emotions.

Q: Do you have a favorite subject (is it the ocean? the forest?) and what draws you particularly to it? 

A: I love it when our strongest feelings coincide with things we can observe in the natural world, and I am often most inspired to write after hearing the roar of the ocean, enjoying the silence of a woodland scene or even feeling the motion of insects in a beautiful garden.

Q: What is your writing process (sudden inspiration, multiple drafts, etc.?) 

A: It definitely varies- there are times when I am inspired by something I observe in nature, human or otherwise, and other times when my own life events cause feelings that need to be explored through writing.I often revise my poetry several times before I am satisfied with it. I move lines, eliminate unnecessary words, change punctuation, and sometimes alter the entire focus of a poem before I feel it is close to being “finished.”

Q: What advice do you have for a young poet (either chronologically young, or early in writing career)? 

A: Write from your heart and based on your own singular experience. You can then be certain to be original, as no one else will see the world exactly in the unique way that you do.

 

Pandemic PraiseSong

By Shelley Kahn

Praise the azaleas blooming through the front door glass;

Bless the Early Morning Newscasters, finding new ways to 

comfort us;

Praise the Researchers who are tirelessly looking for treatments

Bless the participants in every new medical trial,

Praise the teachers who find new ways to continue their avocation,

Praise the parades of their color clad graduates;

Bless the online Proms and Concerts without cease;

Praise the Mothers and Fathers who are teaching their children lessons of kindness and civic duty, rather than cruelty and selfishness;

Bless the first responders and the heroic medical workers for their unceasing bravery;

Praise all the essential workers who risk everything, everyday, for everyone;

Bless the meditators who calm us;

Praise the mediators who unite us;

Bless the unselfish mask wearers who seek to protect others despite discomfort; 

Bless the civil servants who telework to keep our country from collapsing around us;

Praise the mechanics who fix our cars so we can travel when needed;

Bless those in nursing homes who need our assistance;

Praise the vaccinators for helping us inoculate the public;

Bless those who are alone, for their fortitude and bless them with all forms of recovery,

Praise everyone still telling the truth to power;

And bless the sky, blue and boundless in Springtime, and the star filled infinite heavens,  seen through doors, windows, and everywhere else, easing our 

Collective pain -through their unceasing connection to the universe.

 

So, what inspires the poetry you create? 

My inspiration for writing poetry has generally come from moving life events, loss, and appreciation of others and of the beauty I have been lucky enough to notice in the natural world. Even when we are going through rough patches in our lives and face mourning for those we have loved and lost, we can still find comfort in the colors of the forest in the seasons and the ocean all times of the year. There are truly so many wonderful scenes to behold.