BE it so... "For the Poet's Eye..."

 

WORDS In Declaration...In Song... "For the Poet's Eye..."

Before I sleep, I Declare... OUR connection, our interplay, the spirit of commune is real. To all who visit... Let us be among those who have chosen to celebrate the ultimate beauty of bonding across differences, across the false separation of humankind, the animal kingdom, and the grace of Nature. We are to hold to a consciousness that brings us to be ONE in love and glory. ONE with the knowing of GOD.

Let us bond in gratitude with the waters, the vegetation, the growing life upon Earth that provides food, shelter, clothing. Let us honor and protect the air we breathe, the Earth we walk, the vast vistas of the firmament, and the TRUTH we behold in heart, in soul, in light, in breath, in BEING. And to this in gratitude for this blessed life mine of 88 years.

YES, feel it... OUR connection, our interplay, the spirit of commune is ever real.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

APOGEE Paradigm™

A Birth New

 A Birth New 

The passage real, a freedom complete

A deliverance, a cry, a breath

BE this the birth of my son

CHRISTOPHER ANGELO

Instant be his claim

Eyes open to the light

The light speaks his soul

The light pulses his heart

His is the spirit of supernal grace 

Within SELF a knowing devine

Blessed BE this son mine 

Within a knowing of light real

Yours a destined call bar all conceal

Endowments, GOD in joy onto YOU

In splendor this day, this birth new.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY~ 2026

Ever with love,

Mama

13 STARS... A Free Nation New... 1776... Freedom's Creed

13 STARS... A Free Nation New... 1776...

Freedom's Creed

The ravages of suppression

Known and heard

So from the heart of Freedom

Came each word

Declarations so marked

To portray

That man free of oppression

Be the chosen way

In Freedom’s light

And with Freedom’s call

Dignity of expression

A right granted all

And if with doubt

And query new

A forum open

For a challenged view

Hold these words

As Freedom’s choice

Let not TRUTH be a silenced voice.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

APOGEE Poet

Poet Laureate

Orangetown, New York

Historical Companion to “Freedom’s Creed”

and the Image of Thirteen Red Starfish

The poem “Freedom’s Creed” echoes the foundational spirit of the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. Its lines reflect the grievances, aspirations, and moral clarity that shaped the birth of the United States.

The opening acknowledgment of “the ravages of suppression” parallels the Declaration’s catalog of injustices. The poem’s insistence that freedom speaks “from the heart” mirrors the Enlightenment ideals that guided Jefferson and the Continental Congress.

The accompanying image of thirteen red starfish swept ashore by ocean waters serves as a vivid historical metaphor. Each starfish represents one of the original thirteen colonies, not as distant stars on a flag, but as living forms shaped by natural forces. Their red color evokes resolve and sacrifice. The regenerative nature of starfish symbolizes the ongoing renewal of the American experiment, a nation continually striving toward its founding ideals.

The ocean’s movement reflects the tides of history—economic pressures, political conflicts, and philosophical currents—that carried the colonies toward independence.

The brilliant sun and lambent blue sky evoke the Enlightenment’s illumination, the intellectual dawn that made self-governance possible.

Together, the poem and image form a historical dialogue: a modern reflection on the principles of liberty, expression, and truth that defined 1776 and continue to shape the nation’s identity. YES, be it known, freedom a legacy, a living responsibility.

Ascension

 Introduction

Within the APOGEE Sound Sanctuary, the watercolor Ascension and its companion poem stand as a unified expression of rising consciousness. The painting breathes in soft, luminous hues that lift the spirit, while the poem moves in a cadence of clarity, devotion, and grace. Together, they embody the principle of Ascending Intelligence — the continual movement of awareness toward light, purpose, and peace.

This work arose through communion. The painting called forth its own becoming; the poem answered with its own illumination. In their union, color becomes vibration, word becomes resonance, and the Sanctuary, a place where art, spirit, energy, and intention meet in harmony.

Ascension

demanding be the many tasks at hand

a perception, a plan, action in command

intention and focus be the call of the day

the gift of time and a knowing provide the way

how sweet when vision is newly held clear

when the din of despair is silenced and gone the fear

how comforting is this moment's embrace

when within heart, love the soul does place

how knowing is an ascension's call

when resounding with the grace of ALL

and as I cast my sight to the lambent sky

feel I the beauty of the moving firmament on high

the lithe bamboo touched by the gentle winds that blow

breath, faith, 'tis all that I need now know

the day by Nature's plan does unfold

and I to be led by THE WORD ever told.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Poet Laureate

Orangetown, New York

Ascension, Watercolor, ©Rose Marie Raccioppi

~

THE WAY

THE WAY is revelation. THE WAY is invocation. THE WAY is the soul’s ascent through darkness, discernment, fire, and illumination.

Poems, teachings,— each one a step, a vow, a rising. This is the path of the seeker, the visionary, the poet, the BEING who walks in truth.

Poem

THE WAY of Soulful Mind 

Strength, direction, harmony Ever present questing destiny Healing body, mind, soul Ever present questing goal Premonition and knowing wise Ever present questing prize Mastery of time and space Ever present questing grace One with truth, nature and creation Ever present questing celebration Enlightenment, SELF, artistry defined Ever present questing soulful mind.

— Rose Marie Raccioppi

Teaching Passage

The WAY of Soulful Mind is the awakening of inner orientation — strength, direction, harmony. It is the integration of body, mind, and soul. It is the mastery of time and space, the unity with truth, nature, and creation. It is the artistry of enlightenment, the ever‑present quest of the soulful mind.

Poem

BEYOND  

ridden with darkness and the wake of pain the clutches of shadows and the inane 'tis not life that looms, bows and seeks to hide but the illusions and hurts held deep inside beyond all hurt, doubt and unabated fear ever the hand of grace reaching near beyond devastation and the din of despair lies the answered call of light and faith's care hold to a vision noble with unrelenting love look to the vistas of beauty within and above the call to truth, love, beauty and grace be they within the chambers of heart to place within the darkness be there light perceived the fires, the grace of BEING, in blessings conceived.

— Rose Marie Raccioppi

Teaching Passage

BEYOND is the passage through shadow into sovereignty. It teaches that darkness is not the end but the threshold. Grace is ever near. Vision noble becomes compass. Light is perceived even within darkness.

We read, words call

some echo what was 

some echo what is

some echo what is yet to BE 

this The WAY of WORDS...

Rose Marie Raccioppi

APOGEE Poet

~

Memorial Day Tribute ~ 2026

M E M O R I A L D A Y  

T R I B U T E

Memorial Day, gives special meaning to the words THANK YOU ... for it is life given and freedoms won that weold in gratitude. What is endured by our Veterans can only be known by them. We are to embrace and honor their needs. Yes, we are to provide the ultimate of understanding and support for their return home, be it to heaven’s door or earth’s abode, we ever in expression of our abiding love.

Abiding LOVE ... heart to heart….

heart prayer, an inner light, a flame

passion, faith and truth in glory name

this sounding PRESENCE be it in PRAISE

for the treasure of time and blessed days

a body, a mind, a spirit, a soul

a life in pursuit of purpose, a vision, a goal

hold to the light of souls in heavens above

live the majesty of PRESENCE and abiding LOVE.

Heartfelt be these words and remembrances. Heartfelt be the sacrifices, the loss, the vision, the victory, the freedoms to prevail.

So this be known…

And they who for country and freedom in battle perish

We to weep and in loving memory with gratitude cherish

For each life that was lives in God's embrace sublime

Ever blessed be their souls in soaring grace divine

The pulsing, sounding, recording within our heart

From which memory and sentiment have their start

Of dearly loved ones who once filled our day

Their souls taken to another path, to the eternal way

We share gestures and words that lovingly hold to grace

And within our BEING it is tenderness we place

All in reflection of sacrifice and noble deed

The cry of Freedom, ever our living creed

The gifts of LIFE with vision blessed and bold

This the giving within each Veteran's story told

Loyalty, dedication, ascending care be they known

This in valor by our sons and daughters shown

Courage to hold to freedom's call and light

In perseverance the challenge be it day or night

Fortitude, strength, imbued with heart's noble call

Sacrifices of body, limb, in this a growing toll

To hold resolve and endure all claim

To fire the passion beyond the pain

For those given to liberation and freedom's call

Blessed Be they who have given their All

It is resolve that humanity calls to be known

Within the grasps of faith, love and TRUTH be shown

This day, the NOW of yesterday we devotedly share

For timeless be each heart's deeply felt care

Life with God's blessings shall ever prevail

'Tis the vision of freedom and valor within souls we hail

Symbols of spirit, our flag, a wreath, an eagle in flight

This in reflection of faith and God’s gift of loving light

Declaration of Independence, Constitutional Rights ever to preserve

And so the glory of those who devotedly and honorably serve

The dream yet dreamed shall unfold

And PEACE to be the story told

'Tis the gift of knowing that marks the rising way

And we in tribute give honor this Memorial Day.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Poet Laureate

Orangetown, New York

~

I was asked how do you know you are a poet..

 

I was asked how do you know you are a poet... 
I answered...
and so it is...

when you find bits of paper in your pocket bearing lines
when you realize you did not take your vitamins because you forgot to eat
when you keep writing even though the pencil point is broken
when you hear words in your heart and cannot write them fast enough
when you hear the crackle of a fallen leaf and know it is a song
when you see a smile and feel the wondrous charm of joy
when you are embraced by the MUSE that refuses to let go
when you hear silence and know it is an orchestra divine
when you grasp the lint in your pocket and feel its inspiration
when you see each season by its ceaseless cycles of grace
when you find that every expression, every gesture of nature calls your attention
when you breathe and feel the miracle of life that is you
when you sigh in delight and amazement at the poem you just completed
and so it is ... you know.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

APOGEE Poet

Poet Laureate 

Orangetown, New York 

Photo::

Orangetown Designates Raccioppi as Poet Laureate
Nyack-Piermont Patch

November 16, 2011

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