Poetry Friday: Summer Swap and A Rash

A Great Blue Heron stalks the pond at my Dad’s house. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

It’s Poetry Friday and our host this week is Linda at her blog Teacher Dance where she shares excitement about this time of year. Thanks for hosting Linda, and stay cool!

This has been an odd week. I have been battling a rash. I sought treatment for it on Monday, which is an unusual occurrence for me. With my husband a retired physician and myself a retired nurse/nurse practitioner, we don’t usually seek healthcare for minor problems – usually.

But this rash was nasty. It grew over the course of my first week home, with hives coalescing into large welts of pure itchiness. I had it on my inner arms, inner thighs, and face with it starting to appear on my abdomen. By Monday morning, I could not think of anything but scratching myself! My husband actually suggested I call to get a clinic appointment.

Having been seen and on medication for the rash – still of unknown origin – I am almost back to normal. Thankfully, The rash is still slightly evident but the itching (and subsequent need to scratch) has been mostly alleviated. Whew!

This week also marks the end of the Summer Poetry Swap, organized by the gracious Tabatha Yeatts of The Opposite of Indifference.

Photo of a haiku and collage by fellow Poetry Friday participant, Denise Krebs. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

I had swaps with Denise Krebs who shared a wonderful haiku and collage she was inspired to make after my Debris poem. I was touched! Denise also sent a handmade market bag which will be going to Europe with me next month. Thank you, Denise!

Linda Mitchell sent a wonderful journal filled with all kinds of goodies which I misunderstood and added to the goodies and sent it back to her! Ugh! What a goof! I should have just asked her about it before I sent it back! It was a great journal! Her included poetry was about reusing – so appropriate and appreciated! Thanks, Linda!

Photo of Journal and collage and cards by Jone Rush MacCullough. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

Jone Rush MacCullough and I have struck up a special friendship, I feel. We both love nature and photography as well as writing. Jone went to the trouble of searching for our OLWs for this year. She then took all the words and incorporated them into a collage. It is lovely. I will also take the journal on my trip next month. It’s lightweight and I will have something on which I can record my thoughts on our journey. Jone also included some handmade greeting cards that had a strike line from my own poem about a Jack in the Pulpit plant. Thank you, Jone! I’m not sure I’ll be sending them out to anyone, they are so lovely! I love the purple.

Photo of swap goodies from Patricia Franz. her poem is on the reverse side of the photo with the white-capped mountains – © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

Patricia Franz sent some lovely photographic images of Lake Tahoe. With my recent trip to Northern California to see the ancient Redwoods, Patricia shared some of her favorite places with me, including Mt. Tallac. Patricia wrote about pride of place and that is something I ascribe to as well. It is a fact that if we can encourage our youth to love their “place” they will be more willing to work to take care of it. I saw this pride of place and willingness to work in my garden club students years ago.

David Sobel –
“If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it.”

And, last but certainly, not least, I will send out my swap to Carol Varsalona today. I am anxious to receive hers as well. Carol has done a lot for me over my time with the Poetry Friday group to ensure that I continue to post – despite often being the last one to make my attachment to the round-up. Thanks for keeping me going, Carol – My poem to you was inspired by your kindness!

I’ve truly enjoyed the Summer Swap and thank all of those who participated and also, Tabatha, who took the time to keep in touch and make sure we were all able to keep up with our swapping! I’ll look forward to doing this again with you all!

One last note: Remember my Ekphrastic Nature Poetry Anthology for Children ages 10+ has open submissions until November 1st. I have heard from some of you about submissions and have started to receive them as well. The link for information and submitting guidelines can be found on my blog menu which runs horizontally across the page. But, you can also use this link:

Ekphrastic Anthology Submissions

I’ll leave you with some thoughts from this poem from John Updike (1932-2009) about August:

The sprinkler twirls.

The summer wanes.

The pavement wears

Popsicle stains.

The playground grass

Is worn to dust.

The weary swings

Creak, creak with rust.

The trees are bored

With being green.

Some people leave

The local scene…..

I’ll leave the rest to your imagination…or you can read it in this book I found at an antique store in Stillwater Minnesota, if you can find a copy! It was a steal at $5.00!

Book of Children’s Poetry I got at an antique store! Photo Only © Carol Labuzzetta, 2023.

19 thoughts

  2. Oh, Carol. I, too, am glad your rash is disappearing, and hope it stays away! I do love the swap, too. What lovely summer surprises they are & I enjoy creating them, too. Thanks for sharing yours, a bounty of goodness to celebrate!

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  3. Carol, wow, I’m so glad you are recovering from that awful rash. It sounds horrendous. I hate to itch!

    Thanks for sharing your sweet poetry swap goodness. I enjoyed trading with you this year. Enjoy your trip to Europe! How fun is that? I’m happy our little shopping bag will travel with you.

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  4. What a graceful blue heron! I’m so sorry about your rash. I am glad you found a way to treat it. So hard to know what to do when something appears out of nowhere like that. I loved seeing all of your poetry swaps as well.

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  6. Carol, you just revealed another facet of your broad career life. I never knew you were in the nursing field before education, etc. Your poem swap items from fellow poet friends are so creative and inspirational. I sent your swap out yesterday and realized that I spelled your name wrong after I sent out the items.-so sorry about that. Sometimes my mind wanders and I don’t even realize the typo until much later. I do want to thank you for your lovely sentiments about our friendship. I am humbled. I also have been a late-comer to Poetry Friday so we all do what we can to keep the poetry goodness coming. BTW, I had a horrible rash this summer also-allergens in the air kept me itching until the little red marks went away. Here’s to a healthy fall.

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    1. Hi, Carol! Yes, I was a nurse for 15 years – with half of that as a Nurse Practitioner. It was a honorable and challenging career but my heart belongs to teaching. I want to thank you for the swam goodies you sent! They all had so much thought put into them. The butterfly, the photos you selected from my blog – just the whole thing was so well done! I appreciate all of it. Thank you! As far as the rashes, I hope for both our sakes they stay away. It is awful to itch – I am also a very allergenic person so I understand! Thanks, again!

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  7. Sorry about your rash and I hope you are over it. Such lovely swap items you shared. I also loved the Updike poem. “The trees are bored/ With being green” was unique and made me smile. I’d like a copy of that anthology.

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    1. Thanks, Janice! My rash is gone – thankfully! I liked the line in the Updike poem as well – I really had no idea he was a poet. You may certainly buy the anthology when it’s done but you can also consider submitting to it – I’d love to see something from you! Thanks!

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  8. Oh wow, Carol. Rashes are not fun especially in the summer when I think the heat just aggravates everything. Thank you for your kind words. I feel connected to people who see nature and write poems, I hope your trip is somewhere fun next month. Thank you for ending with the Updike poems it describes the end of August so perfectly.

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