Roberta Writes – d’Verse, petals and happiness & Thursday Doors #photography #poetry

Lillian’s quadrille prompt requires the use of the word petal, you can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/09/22/peonies-lily-of-the-valley-pick-your-posey/. Punam’s Poetics Tuesday prompt is happiness which you can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/09/23/poetics-tuesday-happiness-is/

I combined the two prompts into my poem African Violets. It is Mom and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary tomorrow. We are having a celebration at the Country Club on Sunday. Mom is very excited and we have already selected her dress and she is going to the hairdresser tomorrow (my gift to her). I have also made her an African violet themed wedding cake for the event.

African Violets (freestyle)

deep affection for mother

expressed in each petal

carefully cut, moulded, and painted

in shades of her favourite purple

African violets for an immigrant

who found love in this wild land

miles from her childhood home

planning fiftieth wedding anniversary

source of companionable happiness

Picture caption: Mom’s wedding cake decorated with fondant African violets

Thursday Doors, Brighton

You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2025/09/25/nationality-rooms-intro-and-syria-lebanon-room/

Seeing as this is Mom’s week, I am sharing part 1 of my photographs from Brighton in the UK. Michael and I took a day trip to this city to see the Seven Sisters and the lighthouse. Mom worked in a hotel in Brighton before she married my father. These pictures are of London Bridge train station and the first stop on the Brighton tour: Paynings.

Picture caption: Entrance doors to London Bridge Train Station. I liked this artwork so included it in the picture.
Picture caption: entrance gates for the underground.
Picture caption: Doors of the train to Brighton
Picture caption: Countryside at Poynings
Picture caption: Close up of a farmhouse at Poynings
Picture caption: walking paths at Poynings
Picture caption: we saw some hang gliders at Poynings
Picture caption: hang gliders landing among the wild flowers
Picture caption: hang glider coming in for a landing

123 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – d’Verse, petals and happiness & Thursday Doors #photography #poetry

  1. Happy Anniversary to your parents, Robbie. 50 years is a remarkable achievement. The cake is beautiful and I’m sure the celebration will be a wonderful time. I love the pictures. I’m not much of a world traveler but I’ve been in that train station. It was good to see it. I love the amazing captures of the hang gliders in flight. Thanks for joining us on what I’m sure is a very busy week for you. I hope everything goes well this weekend.

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  2. Happy joyful Anniversary to your mother and father! Such a beautiful cake… adorable! 😍 And your photos are all amazing! 😊

    I visited Hastings, in 1999, oh my… time flies (I enrolled on a 2-week course in Advanced English there) but I wished I had chosen Bournemouth or Brighton, like some of my colleagues then. Well… the Norman Conquest information from school had stayed with me a bit too strong, I must say. 😀Those are all such beautiful towns, lovely beaches… I remember being impressed by the tides, low one week, with a large stretch of sand and pebbles, and high the next, when walking along the pier… simply wonderful! 💕

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  3. What a delicately gorgeous cake! Fitting indeed for a fiftieth anniversary. I remember older ladies loving African Violets in my youth- but seldom see them now- well of course- Alaska and our sun starved winters- a beautiful post all around, Roberta. I enjoyed the little jaunt to Brighton as well.

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  4. Congratulations to your parents on their anniversary, Robbie. That cake is gorgeous. I love the flowers. They’re so pretty and perfect. Enjoy your stay at the Country Club💜. A beautiful poem and fantastic shots.

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  5. Congratulations to your parents, Robbie. That’s no small achievement. I’m sure your mom will be delighted with her gift. I’ve never read you discuss whether you have siblings or not.

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  6. Congratulations to your parents, Robbie. The cake is spectacular.

    I’m glad you enjoyed your visit to the south coast. Your photos give a good impression the countryside around here. I live not too far away, and I think you mean Poynings. That’s just to the north of Brighton.

    However, IMO you missed the best town on the south coast. 😄That’s Eastbourne. It has the highest cliff in England (Beachy Head) with its lighthouse at the foot, and a spectacular meandering river at Cuckmere Haven with its famous Coastguard cottages on the cliff. They were featured in the film ‘Atonement’.

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    1. Hi Viv, I did mean Poynings. I must have written it wrong and then copied and pasted 😱. We did go to Beachy Head but those pictures are still coming 😊. We went to a few other places too that will come in order of the tour. Nice to know you live near there. I really liked it.

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      1. You’re welcome. 50 years is an amazing achievement indeed. Wow, 25 years! We’re about three years behind you. I think silver is the color for the 25th wedding anniversary. From the photos of some of your adventures, I’m sure your celebration is going to be awesome.

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  7. Wow… a 50th anniversary — I can’t begin to imagine. Congratulations and happy anniversary to your parents, Robbie. Your poem is perfect for the occasion, and the cake is lovely. What a wonderful event you’re planning. I enjoyed the photo tour too. It had to be fun to see the hang glider. Big hugs.

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  8. What a lovely cake with love in each carefully crafted petal. The poem takes it to a deeper level. Happy anniversary to them. Not many people make it to their 50th. I love your countryside pictures, too. The hang glider adds so much interest to an already beautiful area.

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      1. It is everywhere. Congratulations next February. We celebrated our 30th in June of this year. My first husband and I had 20 before he passed. So marriage has been my thing. 🙂 xxx

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  9. What a wonderful way to celebrate your mom and your parents’ fiftieth anniversary. A beautiful poem, fabulous cake creation, and photos of Brighton, where she lived for a time. I’m sure her dress and hair looked lovely.

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  10. What a wonderful post, Robbie! The cake is (was) beautiful, and so personal! I loved the country expanses and especially the view of the farm. Congratulations to your parents — love found in a “wild land.” A very touching tribute from their daughter.

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