Asters - Writing about Beauty

Stopping by Raiber Road
Photo by Amy LV

Driving home from a school on Wednesday, I was struck by the absolute beauty of autumn wildflowers lining country roads. Gold and purple, brown and green...the mosiac of color and changing life made my soul sigh in wonder.

As I neared home, I pulled my car to the side of the road, got out, and took several photos, including the one at the top of this post. I couldn't shake this picture, those purple faces, fireworks, shouting out to the world, "We are here! It is autumn! Rejoice!"

What do you find so beautiful that it stops you from walking, from talking, from riding your bike? If something makes you pause, makes you think, makes you long for more...write.

Was I inspired by a favorite poem here?  I am certain that I was.  X.J. Kennedy's poem "Blow-Up" speaks of a cherry tree losing its blossoms.  It, too, rhymes the words blast and last.  It, too, is about time's fast passage.

In the words of the Lebanese American poet Kahlil Gibran, "Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary."

Listen to your heart.

If you have not yet visited my new blog, I invite you to Sharing Our Notebooks, a growing blog peeking into the notebooks of all kinds of people and appropriate for classroom sharing and mini lessons.  This week, writer Luke Reynolds has opened up his pages to us!

Anastasia Suen is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Picture Book of the Day.

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