Come November 1-2, Mexicans and other Latino communities around the world will be observing Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), a traditional fiesta to honor and remember deceased loved ones.
Celebrations will include using marigolds and calaveras (skeletons), decorating family gravesites, constructing altars with photos, memorabilia and offerings of the departed’s favorite foods and beverages; as well as holding community gatherings with music, dancing, feasting, and masquerading as death.
Rather than being a somber, mournful occasion, this much anticipated holiday is a time to welcome the spirits of departed ancestors to a joyful reunion with the living on Earth.
In This Moment is Special: A Día de Muertos Story (Paula Wiseman/S&S, 2025) by award-winning author-illustrator John Parra, a young boy practices mindfulness as he prepares for the fiesta throughout the day. He treasures each moment with family and friends — moments time will turn into the precious memories of a life well lived.
We first meet him early in the morning as he anticipates what’s ahead with hope and excitement:
Today holds a special promise.Una promesa especial.
Oh, the possibilities! He first shares “a tamale, avocado and egg breakfast” with his family, who, like him, have donned calaveras paint. Next, he and his sister take the bus to school, where he pushes his mind “to discover and learn” subjects like history, language, geography and science.
Happy Friday! Here’s a spot of beauty just for you.
“Golden Meadow” by Molly Sims (oil on panel).
WHY I SMILE AT STRANGERS by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
In difficult times, carry something beautiful in your heart. ~ Blaise Pascal
And so today, I walk the streets with vermillion maple leaves inside me, and the deep purple of late-blooming larkspur and the lilting praise of meadowlark. I carry with me thin creeks with clear water and the three-quarters moon and the spice-warm scent of nasturtiums. And honey in the sunlight. And words from Neruda and slow melodies by Erik Satie. It is easy sometimes to believe that everything is wrong. That people are cruel and the world is destroyed and the end of it all imminent. But there is yet goodness beyond imagining — the creamy white flesh of ripe pears and the velvety purr of a cat in my lap and the white smear of milky way — I carry these things in my heart, more certain than ever that one way to counteract evil is to ceaselessy honor what’s good and share it, share it until we break the choke hold of fear and at least for a few linked moments, we believe completely in beauty, growing beauty, yes, beauty.
Did you find comfort, solace and hope in Trommer’s lovely images?
I like her references not only to nature, but to poetry and music, and to the tangible things in our everyday lives, like fruit and pets.
art by Youqing (Eugene) Wang(oil on hardboard).
The title of the poem is key. Internalized imaginings are all the more beautiful (and powerful) when shared, if only through a simple smile. A split-second connection, warm positive energy, a flash of humanity — can truly make someone’s day.
1. Happy November and Happy Election Day! We’re going full-tilt 💙BLUE💙 for maximum good luck in today’s critical race. First, behold several blue beauties from Vermont artist-author-illustrator Ashley Wolff’s A Year of Birds Challenge.
“Blue Grosbeak”“CA Scrub Jay”“Peacock”
Each day in 2022, Ashley painted a different bird, an awesome opportunity for her to study one of the most varied and fascinating groups of animals on earth. Love seeing so many new-to-me species rendered in luscious, vibrant gouache.
“Indigo Bunting”“Grandala”
Each 5″ x 7″ signed painting is a OOAK original, and Ashley is donating 20% of the proceeds to wildlife conservation. Why not treat yourself or a special someone to one of these gorgeous pieces? 🙂
“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a salad, asking it to be a donut.” —Unknown
Please help yourself to coffee and donuts.
Welcome to Poetry Friday at Alphabet Soup!
Donut or doughnut? Maple Bacon or Bourbon Caramel Apple Pie? Cinnamon Sugar or Coconut Caramel Crunch? Donut ask me to choose. They’re all good.
What better way to celebrate October — arguably the prettiest fall month — than with donuts? Call it my once-a-year indulgence, when I can convincingly “rationalize” the intake of extra calories, fat and sugar (especially since several donut shops around here feature scrumptious seasonal flavors). I think Pennsylvania poet Betsey Cullen has the right idea.
*
“Iced Donut” by Lauren Pretorius.
RATIONALIZATION by Betsey Cullen
Fry, dunk, sugar, cajole, bathe in cinnamon, sprinkle cha-cha dancers on smooth whiteness, ice like Jackson Pollock. Thank the Dutch
for every olykoek, palm-size, four hundred calories wide, one hundred calories deep. Isn't calorie a measure of heat? Ah, sweet crutch;
chocolate glazed, cream-based, two-a-day. Straight from mouth to hip. Can you swallow it? Food hit of the century in 1934, way too much
for tubbies. Loosen up. Krispy Kreme rhymes with dream. Go ahead. Wallow in a carrot-cake donut, call it a vegetable.
“Thief in the Night” by Eric Joyner (click to see more of his work).
Who am I to argue with Betsey? 😀
Just because you’re cute, here’s a short recipe poem from The New Home Cook Book published by the Illinois State Register (1926). This was a ladies club community cookbook that appeared annually between 1922 and 1926. The poem preceded the actual recipe, which doesn’t indicate how many doughnuts it makes. A fun and tasty bit of nostalgia to nibble on in any case.
Beat egg, add sugar, melted lard and sour milk into which soda has been stirred. Add grated nutmeg and salt. Sift baking powder with flour and mix to make a soft dough. Knead lightly, roll out, cut and fry in deep hot fat. Dust with powdered or granulated sugar.
~ from The New Home Cookbook: Latest Revised Edition (Illinois State Register, 1926), as posted at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.
What’s your favorite? Do you prefer a raised or cake donut? Sugared or glazed? Yes or no to sprinkles?
*
Now, while you’re sitting there with that glazed look on your face, please leave your links with the ravenous Mr. Linky below. Anxious to see your original poems, poems by others, reviews, and interesting poetic musings. Thanks for joining us this week!
*
*
“Life is Sweet” by Terry Romero Paul (oil).
🍩 May you have a donut-y weekend filled with cream, jelly, custard and pudding!
Jama's Alphabet Soup 