As I write, icicles have just dropped off the balcony above my condo unit in Florida. During my previous time in the panhandle, I saw snow on the beach once, March 1993. It melted almost as fast as it fell onto the sugar-white sand. But this year, Enzo came for a visit. The view was “Florida, unhinged.” The snowfall resembled the heavy stuff that dropped on my Tennessee home mid-December 2009. The one where I couldn’t get my car up the hill to my house. Where I built snowmen, sledded down the backyard hill, and played in the snow long past sundown. In between the peace and beauty of it, I heard ice creak before branches cracked and tumbled. I saw eerie, blue-green snow lightning.

Here, I lumbered out to the chilly beach as snow fell to an ocean wave soundtrack. Later came snowdrifts. Icy roads. A blanketed beach. The next morning, people walked the shoreline, exchanged greetings. A tiki hut wore a snow-covered roof. Tide pools iced over. In the snow-covered sand, children made snow angels. As the day drew on, a scatter of snowmen began to appear across the island. Today, the snow melt has made progress. Sand peeks out along well tread places. A lone snowman sits, disaggregated, at the tideline. Normality will resume soon.

Normal is fine. Everyday enchantments are everywhere. As poets, we know wonderful things happen when we are intentional and attentive. Look to favorite poems: the magic of a well-crafted line, a breathtaking unexpected turn. Powerful opening lines, closing lines, and isolations. A clever enjambment. Music. Rhythm. A pull at our senses. We writers are the enchanted and enchanter. Keep observing, learning and creating. I can’t wait to experience your poems!

Want more enchantment and adventures? The National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) holds their annual convention in the Land of Enchantment July 23-28, 2025, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. With a theme of Enchanting Words and a host of workshops, readings, open mics, a youth event, and a National Slam competition, enchantment is inevitable. Registration is open. NFSPS annual contests and the BlackBerry Peach Spoken & Written contest are open. Registration is also open for the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Competition.

If you missed it, January’s fascinating program on confessional poetry will soon be available to members for replay. Our February workshop will focus on a form that’s been around for centuries and remains relevant today: the ghazal. Member Cathy Hollister will present. Come prepared to explore and write!

Fellow society members are preparing an amazing 68th Annual Poetry Festival to be held in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on April 26, 2025. Make plans now to attend. More details to come.

If you’re looking to get more involved in your poetry community, we’d be enchanted if you chose to support our society. Have a passion for contests, marketing, or engaging with people across regions or states? Reach out (poetrytennessee@gmail.com).

Curious about PST? Join us at a meeting or event. Reach out anytime. I hope to see you soon at a PST event.

With appreciation and excitement—
Lisa Kamolnick
President, Poetry Society of Tennessee