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The Invitation

1/19/2025

30 Comments

 
Hello blog friends,

Do you have a favorite photo that helps you escape into another time or a different world? I've several treasures that I keep near. The one below is from a journey to Alaska. I didn't climb the mountains in the picture, but I travel to them in my dreams. I can look at this scene and disappear into the misty wonderment. 

I mention the above because Robbie Cheadle has a poetry challenge involving a photo. Her selected, spin-the-bottle, poetry style is a shadorma - a six-line stanza poem written as 3-5-3-3-7-5 syllables. If you'd like to know more, just click on the link above. 

My poem, which I've entitled The Invitation. I hope you like it. 
Picture
THE INVITATION
​
winds whisper
beckoning us near
chilly gusts
wrap and tug
nature inspires adventure
​virtual or real

​I hope you have a wonderful week. Let's all find time to escape into nature - even a virtual one will suffice. ❤️
30 Comments
Robbie Cheadle
1/19/2025 21:58:29

Hi Gwen, this is an extraordinarily visual poem. A marvelous shadorma. Thank you for joining in.

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 07:27:02

Thank you so much, Robbie. You inspired me to take the leap and try this syllabic form.

Reply
Timothy W. Dittmer link
1/20/2025 06:03:54

Beautifully descriptive, Gwen.

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 07:27:44

Thanks so much, Tim. I suspect you've climbed more than a few mountains. 😊

Reply
Jan Sikes
1/20/2025 08:01:19

A beautiful and enticing invitation, Gwen. I love this!

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 15:38:15

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Jan.

Reply
Colleen link
1/20/2025 08:46:46

Gwen, I love your shadorma. It's a great form. You should write more of these. 🩵

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 15:39:01

Thank you, Colleen. It was easier than I thought it would be, so maybe I will try another. 😊

Reply
Priscilla Bettis link
1/20/2025 09:00:51

Your picture and poem bring me to my formative years in Alaska. Cold, blustery, cloudy, and somehow still beautiful.

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 15:39:54

Oh my, I'd love to hear your stories about those years. ❤️

Reply
Yvette M Calleiro link
1/20/2025 09:04:00

Love it, Gwen! I have pictures from my Alaska trip that always leave me in wonder as well.

Yvette M Calleiro :-)
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 15:40:49

Thank you for sharing that, Yvette. It is magical in its own way.

Reply
Liz Gauffreau link
1/20/2025 10:00:07

Your photo and poem feel like Mount Washington calling my husband and me to come back. We've been away too long. (We take the auto road.)

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 15:44:13

I've only been to the base of Mt. Washington. I delivered my son there for an Outward Bound trip--which he loved.

Reply
John Howell link
1/20/2025 10:27:54

A lovely poem, Gwen. It speaks directly to the photo or maybe the photo speaks to the poem. Well done.

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 15:44:53

Thank you, John, most appreciated.

Reply
D.L. Finn
1/20/2025 11:02:57

Love this, Gwen:) Yes any break in nature virtually or in person! Xo

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 15:45:36

YES! Thank you, Denise. 😊

Reply
Daniel Antion link
1/20/2025 16:15:26

Very well done, Gwen. I think you captured the spirit of Alaska.

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/20/2025 18:43:29

Thank you, Dan. It's an awe-inspiring State.

Reply
Miriam Hurdle link
1/20/2025 20:01:46

Your photo is breathtaking and your poem beautifully answered the invitation, Gwen! Alaska is calling me to return.

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/21/2025 08:52:50

Thank you, Miriam. I pleased you enjoyed it. 😊

Reply
Thomas Wikman link
1/20/2025 21:31:41

That's a stunning photo and the nature poem speaks to photo well. It is very beautiful

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/21/2025 08:53:30

Thank you, Thomas. Alaska natural beauty is breathtaking.

Reply
Annette Aben
1/21/2025 08:22:06

Amen!

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/21/2025 08:53:56

Yes, Amen! 😊

Reply
Jacqui Murray link
1/22/2025 13:23:10

Love that last line. I do more traveling virtually than any other way.

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/24/2025 08:48:39

Thank you, Jacqui. At my stage in life, most travel is virtual. 😊

Reply
D. Wallace Peach link
1/22/2025 16:37:56

What a fabulous photo, Gwen, and perfect for the chilly weather outside. It's a wonderful invitation to adventure. It's stories beckon. I'm so envious that you saw it in person! Hugs.

Reply
Gwen M. Plano
1/24/2025 08:50:31

Thank you, Diana. I've visited Alaska a few times and enjoyed each trip. It's an amazing State. Hugs in return.

Reply



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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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