Sometimes Real Sometimes Pretend

Seashells hold the whispers of wind and sea
All of life becomes known to me
A world of wonder and wishes of no end
Sometimes real sometimes pretend.

Rose Marie Raccioppi



Georgia O'Keeffe, 1887-1986, The Shell, 1934, charcoal on laid paper
From the Collection of Dorothy Braude Edinburg

Stormed

The ears deafened by the din of despair
The eyes blinded by the glare of illusion
The heart ravaged by the pain of betrayal
The soul hidden within the shattered self
Waves of destruction crest a sea of confusion
Life’s shores besieged by fear
Spirit summoned in the wake of the storm
Behold its calm resolve
The winds of change can now be heard
The distant shores now seen in the light of the rising sun
Rhythmic this heart with the cadence of the ocean tide
Undaunted now by the resounding ebb and flow
And the constant winds of change.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Light Behind the Storm, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, www.apogeeart.com

A New Path So Shall She Lay

And how a mother shows her care
She sees the loss, the pain but does not despair
With faith and the vision of her child set free
She revels in joy for all that be
Acceptance, gratitude, forgiveness to discern
Life’s lessons not always easily learned
With wisdom and knowing deep within her heart
Doubt, fear and sadness readily depart
A new path so shall she lay
For this and the awakening day.


Rose Marie Raccioppi


Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia Pointing to her Children as Her Treasures, 1785, Oil on Canvas

Now and Ever blessed

Daughter Child of the Muses
on the altar of your soul
betrothed now to TRUTH
the light of moons, stars and sun
the song of the many winds
shall you abide
troves, garland, pearls of peace
crest your heart
Maiden Bride of Being
now and ever blessed.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Madonna of the Magnificat, Sandro Botticelli, 1481, Tempera, Uffizi, Florence.

Descent No More

Under the shroud of sleep
Timeless moments
Inner realms dispelling limitation
All pervasive Being
Above Earth's plains
Beyond all mountains
In flight across the heavens
Held not by gravity
Within the burning light
That cannot be contained
The shroud of sleep lifted
And I awakened to time
A vibrant peace
An all sounding silence
Knowing
I shall descent no more
Into the lower realms
Of deceptive thought.

Rose Marie Raccioppi




In the Center of the Trifid Nebula
Credit & Copyright: Daniel Lopez (Observatorio del Teide)
Astronomy Picture of the Day
2008 June 30

Explanation: Clouds of glowing gas mingle with dust lanes in the Trifid Nebula, a star forming region toward the constellation of Sagittarius.The Trifid, also known as M20, is only about 300,000 years old, making it among the youngest emission nebulae known. The nebula lies about 9,000 light years away and the part pictured here spans about 10 light years. This image was created with the 0.8-meter IAC80 telescope on the Canary Islands of Spain.

Descent No More, THE WIND AND THE WILLOW, Rose Marie Raccioppi, Publish America, June, 2008.

A Bud Within

Pink, red and yellow, three roses for me to receive
Gentleness, love, truth, I did perceive
Each a bloom as days gone by
Gentleness and love flower and die
Truth prevails in bloom array
A bud within holds this very day
Its message I heed in delight
TRUTH, the bringer of gentleness, love and light.

Rose Marie Raccioppi



A Bud Within, THE WIND AND THE WILLOW, Rose Marie Raccioppi, PublishAmerica, 2008

Passion

Passion
the pulsing
adventure
of soul of spirit
inspired by
omnipresent need
Passion
the very flame
that lights
the creative longing
the quest for purpose
the reach for knowing
Passion
the wakeful night
that looks to the stars
the moon
the rising sun
the promise of the new day
Passion
the touch of the sublime
the silent yearning
the one known
the beauty perceived
the moment present
Passion
what I dream
what I vision
what I feel as ME
what I know as SELF
what it is to BE.

Rose Marie Raccioppi
Poet Laureate


In tribute to

Ioannis Potamousis

on the occasion of the piano performance of
February 21, 2009

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Frederic Chopin
Franz Liszt

South Nyack Recital Series
Soiree Society of the Arts
The Carnegie Room
Nyack, New York


Flower, Photograph, Collectible Clicks, ©Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2008.

Set Free

Held by illusion's grasp
Shackled in painful confine
Imprisoned in coveted care
Time, purpose, call and command
Set free the souls and hearts of man.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Emancipation Monument in Lincoln Park
Washington, DC
Sculptor: Thomas Ball, 1819-1911
Modeled 1874. Cast 1875. Dedicated April 14, 1876.

Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, Cesar Franck

The mounting quest and fervor real
This heart knows not to conceal
Open to feel, long and mark desire
Pleading passion, flame and fire
Quiet the repose and soft the slumber
Nothing shall restrain or encumber
I willing to heed passion's plea
In all sensibilities I not flee
Each shade, hue, timbre and tone
I in your Presence, One and alone
Rippling waves of time and place
Know I the rapture of God's grace.

Rose Marie Raccioppi
Poet Laureate

upon reflection
Soiree Society of the Arts
piano performance of

Kimball Gallagher


Frames of Mind, Opus 5, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2007, Conceptual Art, www.apogeeart.com

Each Day's Story

A loss I shall not bemoan
For within a lesson be shown
The night I shall not fear
For day is but moments near
If a moment in confusion's wake be
Faith ever present to embrace me
And so I with God's light and glory
See the love in each day's story.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Sunrise, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2000, www.apogeeart.com

Deliverance I Declare

Deliverance I declare
from the din of desolation
from the clutches of despondency
no longer this mind divided against itself
no longer this body possessed by deception
no longer these eyes blinded by deceit
no longer these ears deafened by despair
no longer this spirit quelled by dejection
Deliverance I declare.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Devastation of Job's Flocks, Jean Cousin, The Elder, Soucy, Ca.1490-Paris, Ca.1560-1561.
Jean Cousin (born Soucy, near Sens, 1500; died Sens before 1593)
was a French painter, sculptor, etcher, engraver, and geometrician.
Raphael to Renoir: Drawings from the Collection of Jean Bonna
January 21, 2009–April 26, 2009
http://www.metmuseum.org

ONE

Peace and prosperity, anguish and pain
The majesty of God, the veil of the inane
Look to this day with faith in thy heart
Love be the path, from despair do part
Streaming from earth and the heavens above
Enduring abundance and God’s complete love
No limitation upon thy spirit thy soul
One with God, One with goal.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Saint Patrick's Cathedral, NYC, New York, Photograph, Patrick F. Raccioppi, 2007

This Moment Now Past

This moment present its gift to receive
Borne by what you choose to perceive

Harken well this moment now past
Within a memory held, a memory cast

And upon its thought and vision held clear
The moment once gone is again once near.

Rose Marie Raccioppi



The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dalí, 1931, oil on canvas, 9.4 × 13 in
Museum of Modern Art, New York City

She Plays

Loss and the beauty of what was
The winds carry the haunting call of past and present
The heart beats the memory, the lament
The soul knows it is the dark and the light
The morning and the noonday gone to the journey of night
The journey of night ever in pursuit of the awakening dawn
To this our life and love belong.


Rose Marie Raccioppi
Poet Laureate


In Dedication to

Amy Gustafson

On the Occasion of the Performance of
February 14, 2009

Domenico Cimarosa
Alberto Ginastera
Franz Schubert
Isaac Albeniz
Enrique Granados
Frederic Chopin

South Nyack Recital Series
The Soiree Society of the Arts
The Carnegie Room
Nyack, New York

Silent Night Rhythm, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2002, www.apogeeart.com

Love Eternal

Saint Valentine's Day
2009


Cupid and Psyche sculpture, by Antonio Canova;
group in marble H 0.55 m; W 0.68 m; D 1.01 m. (1787)

Where Love Is Known, A Saint Valentine's Day Ode

Where love is known
And destiny makes its call
Now I want to take you away
Bring you to that place
Where there are no doubts
Where only conviction and faith preside
Where obstructions are but momentary
That place within my arms
Now I want to take you away
Bring you to that place
Where there are no doubts
Where you feel the vastness and closeness
Where an embrace holds and frees you
Where you live the beauty you are
Where love is known
And destiny makes its call.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


"The popular customs associated with Saint Valentine's Day undoubtedly had their origin in a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair. Thus in Chaucer's Parliament of Foules we read:
For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.
For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers' tokens."*
* From:http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15254a.htm

Georgia O’Keeffe', "Red, Yellow and Black Streak," 1924, oil on canvas, 39 3/8 x 31

Heart and Home

Within these walls the waling labor and the promise of a new day
Upon these floors the heavy burdens and the knowing of The Way
Within these chambers of heart and home reverie and reflection
The searching wave of wonder and awe crests with God's perfection
No promise or lament need be silenced or denied its haunting call
Within moments Now the pulsing passion of Presence, The All
The rooms of this home bear sounds and visions of day's gone by
Beauty held in music, art, the gifts of man, child, earth, sea and sky
The noonday sun touches this winter day with warming light
From each window I look to sky, trees and leaves in wind's flight
This deep captivating call of heart and home in silence I do ever hear
I know of God, this moment, and faith in a tomorrow of banished fear.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Heart and Home, Photograph, Christopher A. Raccioppi, 2008

Passions Mine

Seduction and passion's plea
Longing and rapture in reverie
Fervor, spirit's luminous flame
Ablaze the soul calls its claim
Rueful reflection sounds its cry
Muse be summoned to answer why
Enfold yourself in the spark of creation
Now and eternal is all revelation
Brush stroke of color upon surfaces vast
Sculpture set by the artist to cast
Carving of stone with the hand divine
Drawing holding grace in shadow and line
The sounding heart and reaching hand
Music, music, echoes of God's command
Flaming heart of love and boundless fire
Know I of grace and incessant desire
Art, music, words in prose, words in rhyme
Playful musings of these passions mine.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Baldassare Peruzzi, 1481-1537, a painter of frescoes in the Cappella San Giovanni in the Duomo of Siena, Muses Dancing with Apollo

One Step More

Beyond the bronze, silver and gold
Is a vision set a story told

Many an hour of practice and play
Marking time for an honored day

Yet within each moment the heart does shout
It is the NOW that it is all about

A journey, a path, a destined you
Marked by what you choose to do

Postpone not your victory and conquest
See it in each moment you do your best

A belief, a dream, a goal
With it your willing paid toll

And with triumph and the winning score
A new journey and one step more.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Panathenaic prize amphora, ca. 530 B.C. Attributed to the Euphiletos Painter Greek, Attic
Terracotta; H. 25 in. (62.23 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Rogers Fund, 1914 (14.130.12),
http://www.metmuseum.org

One Step More, from THE WIND AND THE WILLOW, Rose Marie Raccioppi, June 2008,
Publish America.

Is It

Is it brush in hand and thought in heart
From which this painting has its start
Where comes this call I hear as mine
Word, color and form these gifts of time
Is it the Muse that summons the soul
Beauty be the quest, beauty be the goal
And when in completion a work is to be
Is it the Muse I hear in joyful reverie
Is it Truth that anoints each new day
With the knowing path of the spirit's way
Ever present this reach to do and create
Welcome I Truth, the Muse, Destiny and Fate
God be known in what I receive and give
This be the decree for each moment I live
Is it when faith and knowing jointly resound
That God and the Muse so freely are found
So be it brush or pen in heart, mind or hand

It is to be in the Creator's fullest command.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Quest, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2000, www.apogeeart.com

Frames of Mind, Opus 4

The call of color and light

Upon this surface pristine and white
Line, form, visions near and vast
Brush stokes of BEING cast
Pale, brilliant, hues, deep, dark
Surface holding passion, gentle, stark
Opus of tone, cadence sublime
Streams of spirit, Frames of Mind.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Frames of Mind Opus 4, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, www.apogeeart.com

Night Journey

Canticle of Love
Franz Liszt

Peering through the raindrops upon the window pane
The night sky of violet and blue
The crescent moon veiled by a drifting cloud
The night embraces me and I am blanketed in its mystery
This unknown and uncharted moment of time
Sound painted streams, rivers, oceans
Such cascading waters of mind
Reach now the valley of my soul.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Night Journey, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2002, http://www.apogeeart.com

In Beauty's Reign

A word, a brush stroke, sound and light known
The marks, the creations of Beauty shown
Hands and heart in grandeur be
In the music, art and love brought to me
With gratitude and grace
Moment now and memory I trace
And here I willingly stand
In Beauty’s reign and command.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


"Clodion (Claude Michel): Minerva (1975.312.6)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/neoc_1/ho_1975.312.6.htm (October 2006)

Minerva was the Roman name of Greek goddess Athena. She was considered to be the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, art, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts, and the inventor of music.

Dance, Dance, Dance

A body to embrace space and time
To feel and know this structure mine
Movements of thoughts within
Shall I walk, jump, run or spin
Hop, skip, step, lunge, prance
Leap, dance, dance, dance
The chirping of birds I hear
Frolic be this body I cheer
The drums and piano sound
Romp I will upon this ground
Leap about, jump about, spring
What thrill this body does bring
It answers the music in joy
Each limb to be nature's toy
In gladness this body now prays
Dance, dance, dance filled days.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Terpsichore, Muse of Choral Song and Dance, Antonio Canova (Italian, Neoclassical Sculptor 1757 - 1822) 1816
Cleveland Museum of Art

Nightingale de F.L. Matthew Cameron

Oh, sweet sounds thy Nightingale

Upon my soul this night I hail
And I in reverie and charm delight
Embraced by this sonorous night
Light lilting waves of love so real
All within my heart I to feel
Upon piano keys now heard
The music of the night songbird.

In Dedication to Matthew Cameron

On the ocassion of your performance
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Weill Recital Hall
Carnegie Hall, New York City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozoysappOp4

Rose Marie Raccioppi


"Rose and nightingale (gul-o-bul-bul) drawing [Iran] (1993.98)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/10/wai/ho_1993.98.htm (October 2006)"

Barren Trees

The winter sun bright and free
To touch and reach the whole of me
No leaves to shield me from its rays
The gentle warmth of cold winter days
Shadow, light and wind the snow does hold
This moment present and memories of old
The fun and frolic of young winter's past
Snowballs, sleigh rides, delight ever last
And now the faint song of wind and chime
The gifts of barren trees, life and time.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

From THE WIND AND THE WILLOW, Rose Marie Raccioppi, Pub. June 2008,ISBN-13: 9781604744545
Tree, Photograph, Collectible Clicks, ©Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2008.

The Glory Of The Sublime

Words defined deeply within my heart
Visions from which to start
A world where love and grace are known
Where God's WORD in deed be shown
An understanding of TRUTH and care
A world of peace, praise and prayer
A world that lives within my soul
A knowing that sounds its toll
The gifts of life, earth and time
Embrace the glory of the sublime.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Winds of Summer Day 2003 , Watercolor, ©Rose Marie Raccioppi, www.apogeeart.com

The Creator's Enfold

These thoughts birthed and bred
In words of musings to be read
What is real and truth over time
Are the castings of the sublime
Loss and fear one and the same
Call for blessings in God's name
Reveal the teachings to behold
Eternal be the Creator's enfold.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

photograph credit to: wordofdesign.co.uk

Abundance Be

Ravage not the land nor sea
Heed the echoed cry and plea
Heard in the crashing wave and thunderous sky
In valleys, plains and mountains high
Hold this Earth in reverent care
Protect our gifts of water and air
Take not in abuse a mineral or gem
Behold the wonder of each bloom, leaf and stem
Trees to flourish, 'tis bounty's call
The knowing grace of Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
Earth, animals, a you, a me
Nurture wise and abundance be.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

In The Fold Of The Muse Divine

The whispers are ever to be heard
in a wind song a voiceless word
In the fold of the muse divine
beyond all space and time
This eternal call of spirit's reach
upon your soul to bequeath
The giving over is the receiving
and real becomes the believing
Known be truth and splendor
to destiny's purpose surrender.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Photograph, Christopher A. Raccioppi, 2008

Phoenix Rising

Despair, devastation
Deliverance I declare
Rise I as the Phoenix
From the ashes
The dark spirit
A faded illusion
And I free
Free.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Andreas Alciato. Emblemata, 1573, celebrated legal scholar of early sixteenth-century Italy,
known for his work in philology and ancient law
http://www.apogeelearning.com

Alchemy to Ring

Seized be this spirit in a moment of dark despair
Absent of knowing God's light and ever loving care
Oppression upon my heart yet be lain
The shackle of emotion still held profane
This mind to silence the daunting echoes of time past
And free this heart from chains cast
Memory to free both heart and soul
Alchemy to ring its welcomed toll
I again in a golden light of faith and love
Served by truth and the heavens above
Clear be the messages of heart now heard
Filled with the glory of God's Word.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Shadows Cast Gold, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2001, www.apogeeart.com
http://www.apogeeart.com

BRAVO Yashar

Passion's pulse in command
Piano keys await your hand
Sounding this array of emotion
Fingers set in waves of motion
God, Truth, Power, Love and Grace
Known with each finger placed
Piano keys voice spirit’s calling plea
Presence, reflections, lyrical reverie
Gloria Patri be the praise, the claim
Held is this grandeur in your name.

In loving friendship,

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Performance of Yashar Yaslowitz
Bach, Beethoven, Chopin
January 31, 2009
South Nyack Recital Series
Soiree Society of the Arts

Music, Painting by Georgia O'Keeffe