For the second session of "Moving Poetry: Indian Dance and Poetry" at the Kips Bay New York Public Library, we explored the theme of spring and rejuvenation through the poem "Ecstacy" by Sarojini Naidu.  

Ecstasy 
Sarojini Naidu
 
Heart, O my heart! lo, the springtime is waking
In meadow and grove.
Lo, the mellifluous koels are making
Their paeans of love.
Behold the bright rivers and rills in their glancing,
Melodious flight,
Behold how the sumptuous peacocks are dancing
In rhythmic delight.
 
Shall we in the midst of life's exquisite chorus
Remember our grief,
O heart, when the rapturous season is o'er us
Of blossom and leaf?
Their joy from the birds and the streams let us borrow,
O heart! let us sing,
The years are before us for weeping and sorrow ...
Today it is spring! 

Today is spring/ Group Poem
Blossoming rain 
Brings flowers 
Doves cooing, birds cooing,
Colors and smells, 
Beckoning us towards rebirth,
Joy and happiness. 

At Arts for the Aging, we have been trying to come up with ways to include more cultures and disciplines in our creative aging work, and also reach more older adults. In March of 2023, I worked with Annetta Dexter Sawyer with hybrid programing. 
A few images are below (image credit: Susan at Kensington Club Parklawn)

Our first session as part of the poetry and movement workshop on March 24, 2025 at Kips Bay NYPL, we explored a poem by Ravindranath Tagore titled "Vismaya"/ Wonder (below):

Vismaya (Wonder) by Rabindranath Tagore
"My heart sings at the wonder of my place
​in this world of light and life.
at the feel in my pulse of the rhythm of creation
cadenced by the swing of the endless time.

I feel the tenderness of the grass in my forest walk,
the wayside flowers startle me:
that the gifts of the infinite are strewn in the dust
wakens my song in wonder.

I have seen, have heard, have lived;
in the depth of the known have felt
the truth that exceeds all knowledge
which fills my heart with wonder, and I sing."

Gifts of life/ Treasures (group poem) 

"Sunlight, the moon, starts, rain, nature,
Space 
Happiness, joy, family, 
Life, flowers
Imagination, creativity, transitions,
Time, youth, old age,
Lifecycles, existence,
Empathy, compassion, love, gratitude, wisdom, freedom,
Completion." 

Image credit: Elissa King at Kips Bay NYPL