The Call of the Season ~ the call of the moment ~ 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


Flower, Photograph, Collectible Clicks, ©Rose Marie Raccioppi, 2009

Language provides an echo - it is not the original - words are representations, symbols, utterances, that the inner spirit longs to be known - to self - to others and to the ultimate SELF. As a poet, language echoes my heart's lament, my soul's joy and my spirit's quest to soar, echoes holding to praise and gratitude, a sounding sense of purpose.

The Wind and the Willow ~ in this moment present ~

Review of
Rose Marie Raccioppi’s
The Wind and the Willow

“Are these assumptions of reality/The shackles that need to be broken[?]”queries Rose Marie Raccioppi in “Possibility,” from The Wind and the Willow, her first collection of verse. The line is emblematic of her core pursuit to pierce beyond the illusory veils of the material world while paradoxically being dependent upon reality for drawing imagery to provide intimations of the “Beyond.”

A non-denominational devotional poet with fervent pantheistic longings, Raccioppi’s metaphors and unpretentious affirmations appeal directly to the heart. In this volume she creates a metaphysical poetry and is content to take her simple Shelleyan imagery wherever she finds it within nature’s bounty.

The Wind and the Willow consists mostly of brief meditations and what Raccioppi calls “mindscapes” which constantly seek calming epiphanies of self-recognition in the fleeting moments, even in the midst of turbulent and painful experience. At her best, in works such as “This Night Knows No Sleep,” “This a Winter’s Night,” “Away You Fly,” “Descent No More,” “But Can I Share,” “The Wind and the Willow,” “Swaddling Divine,” and “Now and Ever Blessed,” Raccioppi attains perceptual clarity and an incantatory music that might remind readers, by turns, of Henry Vaughan’s devotional lyrics, Walt Whitman’s celebrations of the unbridled Self, the near-improvisatory freshness of D.H. Lawrence’s “Pansies,” and William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence.” This is poetry that is designed to reach a broad audience.

John Ballard

Available at Barnes and Noble and online booksellers nationally and internationally.
Pub. Date: June 2008
ISBN-13: 9781604744545

Link to : BARNES & NOBLE ~ Thank you for your order.

The Wind
all pervading
free
one with all direction
The Willow
rooted ever in search
branch and leaf so humbly bend
holding to the wind
the light
and the unseen Presence
Wind and Willow, so I am
thought, mind and spirit
all pervading
free
one with all direction
holding to the unseen Presence.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


And now this very day

Perceived joy in this moment real
A sense of oneness I shall not conceal
The lilting exuberance, the embracing calm
Life in all its blossoming, its abundance, its wondrous charm
This moment barren of loss, fear, regret or sorrow
Holds the promise of BEING, this moment, this hour, this day, a tomorrow
This spirit, this soul, this life bequeathed to me
Ever was, ever is and ever shall BE.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

A Haiku Reflection ~ Firmament

blessings and splendor
this celestial sea of grace
a light eternal.

Rose Marie Raccioppi
~
To view on You Tube
YouTube - Firmament
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6QlIBV1Drg

Featuring original art, poetry by Rose Marie Raccioppi
and Claude Debussy, Reverie for Cello performed by Julian Lloyd Webber
and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by James Judd.
Claude Debussy, Reverie, 1890, French composer, 1862-1918.

~

Special Announcement:
Read the Review of The Wind and the Willow
THE WIND AND THE WILLOW
Limited Edition Hardcover
Softcover
ISBN-13: 9781604744545
directly from Publish America.
Click on title, place title or my name in search bar of Publish America Entry Page
available also on line booksellers nationally and internationally
including Barnes and Noble and Amazon
Thank you for your order.

Firmament

In Celebration

With love known and joy

And so with gratitude and praise to the beauty of the ever changing
"Firmament"
My very first video in celebration of these gifts...

Rose Marie


To view on You Tube
YouTube - Firmament
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6QlIBV1Drg

Featuring original art, poetry by Rose Marie Raccioppi and Claude Debussy, Reverie for Cello performed by Julian Lloyd Webber
and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by James Judd.
Claude Debussy, Reverie, 1890, French composer, 1862-1918.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy

Self Portrait

Self Portrait Gary Manzo
2010

Be this shadow and fire
The ever questing of soul's desire
Be this light and knowing wise
The depth of heart within these eyes
Purpose, noble intent, passion aflame
The artist in colors to proclaim.

Rose Marie Raccioppi



Self Portrait, Gary Manzo, 2010, Art of Gary Franklin Manzo, http://garymanzo.ning.com/






Special Announcement:
Read the Review of The Wind and the Willow
THE WIND AND THE WILLOW
Limited Edition Hardcover
Softcover
ISBN-13: 9781604744545
directly from Publish America.
Click on title, place title or my name in search bar of Publish America Entry Page
available also on line booksellers nationally and internationally
including Barnes and Noble and Amazon
Thank you for your order.

The Little Prince

The Little Prince Within Us

The Little Prince so recently I have met
He tells of travel, folly and regret

With question and wonder he is sure to ask
What draws us to each and every task

Of what import is what we think and do
If it does not hold what is good and true

With love he does tame and so he does see
One blossom of beauty among all that be

Wherever he travels he questions anew
Why do we do whatever we do

He holds a blossom, a sunset, a star
Venturing to lands near and far

And what he tells us in his favored way
Each sunset brings to this very day

And so The Little Prince sets out to depart
To his homeland from where he did start

The Little Prince within us shall remain
A blossom, a star, now to tame.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

...upon reading the...
The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

ac•ro•nym: ARTIST

Self-portrait in red chalk, circa 1512 to 1515
Royal Library of Turin

Aspiration
Right intention
Trust
Inspiration
Spirit
Truth

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci

In Celebration of his birth April 15, 1452

his genius

his gifts eternal

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, April 15, 1452 ~ May 2, 1519, an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. Leonardo is known as the archetype of the Renaissance man, a man whose curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention. Indeed one of the greatest artists of all time and perhaps the most diversely gifted person ever to have lived.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

Brush Strokes

palette of color
with a canvas of light known
brush strokes of blessings.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Frames of Mind, Opus 1, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, Conceptual, http://www.apogeeart.com

Rapture ~ A Haiku Reflection

rapture and beauty
line, form, structure, grace divine
bequest of the soul.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


The Rapture of Psyche, 1865, Oil on canvas, William Bouguereau, French, 1825-1905.

And So I Read

And so I read of lands near and far
Of voyages of the sea guided by a star
And you dear child will come to hear
Of travels of peril and times of fear
What man has done for gain and pleasure
What is gathered as spoils and as treasure
And tell you of Lords, Barons and Royalty fine
The Kings and Queens of days of past time
There will be stories of gardens and fields in bloom
Of love, grace, sunrises, sunsets and a crescent moon
Of stars and galaxies in vistas far and wide
Of oceans, ebb and flow and constant the changing tide
Of times of tears, despair, question, doubt, concern
And then the understanding, the resolve, the lesson in turn
Upon pages there be recorded words of longing and desire
Passions known to light the depths of soul's fire
Yes, dear child, these marks speak many a word
Within be found a calling, eternal Spirit be heard.

Rose Marie Raccioppi



Auguste Reading To Her Daughter, Oil on canvas, 1910, Mary Cassatt, 1844-1926.

♡
In Gratitude to
Chris Strawbridge
his generosity of heart and spirit
his faith in inspiration shared.

Special Announcement:
Read the Review of The Wind and the Willow
THE WIND AND THE WILLOW
Limited Edition Hardcover
Softcover
ISBN-13: 9781604744545
directly from Publish America.
Click on title, place title or my name in search bar of Publish America Entry Page
available also on line booksellers nationally and internationally
including Barnes and Noble and Amazon
Thank you for your order.

Gather We Must

With right intention and purpose clear
Abiding faith and vanquished fear
Heed the warnings and the plea
Heard in the winds and the sea
Pillage not the earth that gives
To each and all that grows and lives
Gather we must a knowing wise
Step beyond the perpetrated lies
Poisoned profits no longer to bear
Each child's call is for our care
Health and well being priorities set
The challenge of change to be met.


Rose Marie Raccioppi



Children Playing on the Beach, 1884, Mary Cassatt, American, 1844 - 1926, oil on canvas, 38 3/8 x 29 3/16 in., Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.19

A Poet's Launch

A poet's plea
For understanding and empathy
A poet's quest
For what will support a child best
A poet's word
For expressing an inner call ever heard
A poet's launch of a Blog new
For introducing APOGEE Learning to You.

Let us begin a dialogue that benefits our children
and their learning potential.

You are invited and welcomed to become a follower of
http://www.apogeelearning.blogspot.com

Rose Marie Raccioppi
do visit:
http://www.apogeelearning.com

Thank you for your interest, your support, and your endearing friendship.

Interlude

interlude
that space
the embrace of solitude
the touch of silence
the voiceless guide that calls
the known
a PRESENCE
a timeless moment
deep sleep
a flight to eternity
a pause
quietude
and ALL IS.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Quietude, Watercolor, Rose Marie Raccioppi, Skyscapes, http://www.apogeeart.com

Deep Sleep and Joyful Awakening

Deep sleep and joyful awakening
So be this day of Spring
Yellow aflame, hues of delicate pink
Brilliant white ablaze
A palette of color to bloom before me
A soft mist and gentle wind
Songbirds, an orchestra of grace
And too, the golden blush of the Willow
The budding green of the Oak, the Dogwood
The feel of dew laden blades of new grass
All sensibilities touched
Deep sleep and joyful awakening
So be this day of Spring.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


Banks of the Seine with the Pont de Clichy in the Spring, Oil on Canvas, 1887, Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States of America.

The Resurrection

The Christ has risen
eternal love and glory
blessed soul divine.

Rose Marie Raccioppi



Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1834-1890, Danish, The Resurrection, 1873. Museum of National History on Frederiksborg Castle. Courtesy of the Hope Gallery.

The Three Marys at the Tomb

His body to rest
Lain He be in a stone tomb
This now no longer.

Rose Marie Raccioppi


William Bouguereau, (1825-1905), William Bouguereau, (1825-1905), The Three Marys at the Tomb, 1876.

Creator's Grace

Budding iris of blue violet tone and hue
Such splendor lovingly captured by you
With hand and heart 'tis beauty abound
And this within each flower painted found
Strokes of color, delicate, bold, in light cast
Be these majestic blooms in strokes ever last
Blossoms and Spring winds each in an embrace
The blessed touch of the Creator's grace
Vincent your gift of devotion here you give
Behold I the glory of those moments lived.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Irises was painted while Vincent van Gogh was living at the asylum at Saint Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, in the last year before his death in 1890.

Irises, 1889, Oil on canvas, Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.

Holy Week

Pieta

blessed holy week
devotion and faith so known
glory be our love.

Rose Marie Raccioppi





Pieta, 1876, William Bouguereau, 1825-1905.