Poetry Friday: Our Month in the Caribbean is Over But I’m Coming Home with Renewed Focus

Hello, Poetry Friday Friends. Tomorrow, we’ll be on our way back to Wisconsin from our month-long visit to the USVI. It’s been a great stay – the weather was warm and sunny. We spent time on the beaches of both St. Thomas and St. John.

Our condo hosted not only Jim and I, but also our neighbors from Wisconsin for a week, our oldest son for nine days, and my sister-in-law for six days. We met our friends from Cincinnati for a glorious twelve-hour day on St John which included hiking, exploring plantation ruins from the 1700s, lunch at an iconic spot, and snorkeling/swimming in crystal clear turquoise waters where the fish swam right up to kiss your hand!

The month has given me a lot of fodder for poetry. And I’ll share a poem today inspired by our trip to Magens Bay Beach on St. Thomas and the pelicans we saw there. But before I do that, I want to share that I’ve decided a few things about my future while we’ve been here.

To be as brief as possible but still share what I’d like I’ll break it into categories for you:

Social Media

Today, I deactivated my Facebook account and will deactivate my account on X later. I cannot stand the vitriol and ignorance that I see on the platforms. I made the mistake of commenting on the way the new administration has gone about “draining the swamp” and how I feel it is wrong.

Not everyone in Federally funded positions is lazy or “extra.” True scientists are doing valid work for the well-being of our world (climate change, biodiversity research, and more). These employees have gotten the same emails as everyone else. They are in fear of losing their jobs, their livelihood, and their capacity to study important issues. I’ve had nothing but backlash since I commented and the comments are from ignorant supporters of the administration.

I’m done.

Writing

I will continue my writing on Medium and WordPress via this blog. I plan to update this blog in the coming weeks. If you want to continue to see my writing you can do so here. You can also email me if you want a friend link to my Medium posts, and I’ll send them on to you.

Hopefully, by mid-summer, my novel will be done and I can work on finding a publisher. It is not kid-lit, but adult mystery/fiction, so it will be an interesting road to travel.

Jewelry

I’ve owned and operated an Etsy shop since 2008 – Carol’s Jewelry Orchard. It is time to shut that down. I will sell all currently listed items at a discount before I close it. There will be great deals so if you live in the continental US be sure to visit. I might reopen another shop with vintage glass and vintage/antique jewelry – so far that’s just an idea though. We’ll see.

The time has come to pursue other areas of interest. I want to learn to paint with watercolors and ramp up my knitting/crocheting game. I love to research as well so I might work that into some kind of hobby, too.

While I still love creating, I think it’s time to take on other forms. My jewelry business sustained me through being a new mother, years of being a stay-at-home wife, and engaged school district volunteer. But, I’ve become increasingly frustrated with the medium and the expectations of product vs. value. It’s time for a change.

I realized this over the last several months while I had difficulty pursuing the hobby while at my Dad’s house in Western New York and now on vacation in the Virgin Islands. Hobbies are important. Both my husband and I have missed ours during this extended vacation, but it is time for a change for me.

My Dad’s Journey

Many of you have followed my posts about caring for my dad – at the end stages of his life.

Before we left on this trip, we spent a total of ten weeks between early August and January 10th at my Dad’s. His cancer had advanced, and he started treatment, but he stopped treatment after two hospitalizations, increasingly severe symptoms, advanced heart failure, and a secondary cancer that grew rapidly.

He started hospice care less than a week after we left to come to the Caribbean. My sister was there with him until last week. His neighbors are helping with his care now as he’s refusing aide service so far. We are returning to WNY shortly after we get back to Wisconsin. Some serious family discussions are needed.

Poetry

One of the poems, if you can call it that, was inspired by the pelicans we saw at Magen’s Bay Beach during the last week of our trip.

Pelican Song

Take off
Circle
Dive
Splash
Gulp
Float
Repeat
Over 
And 
Over

© Draft, All Rights Reserved, Carol Labuzzetta, 2025

Enjoy the following gallery photos from my trip.

Photos include the beaches of St. John, St. Thomas, and the Annaberg Plantation Ruins. All photos by author. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2025. There is no permission to duplicate in any form.

Poetry Friday this week is hosted by Linda Baie at Teacher Dance. I’ll be returning to the cold of the midwest as you read this. I am looking forward to finally being able to read all of the poetry goodness sent in the new year’s exchange when I get home!