• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Carolyn Martin - Poet

“All my life I have tried to find the truth and make it beautiful.” – Sting

  • About
  • Books
  • Carolyn’s Publications
  • Sample Poems
  • My Blog
  • Let’s Connect
  • Show Search
Hide Search

The East Coast Diaries, Part I

It happens this way …

The second trip of 2019 took us to New Jersey and Philadelphia. We spent June 28-June 30 at the Mt. St. Mary House of Prayer, a lovely retreat center run by my dear Sisters of Mercy.

On Friday, I shared the lectern for a poetry reading with my long-time friend and teacher, Sister Maria Cordis. We read to an appreciative group in the beautiful chapel at McAuley Hall, the Sisters’ nursing home.

DSC08400

On Saturday, I presented a poetry workshop to a group of former students, sister/friends, and area folks who love poetry. As always, these students taught me a few things about poetry – even my own — that I hadn’t thought of before. That’s the mystery of art: it keeps unfolding even after the artist thinks a piece is done.

DSC08413DSC08418

DSC08426
Sister Linda, Me, Sisters Rosemary, Carole, and Mary Jo cracking up on the front porch. I’ve known Linda since 2nd grade and the other beautiful women since I was 18. Lots of history together!
DSC08436
My former students from Mt. St. Mary Academy: Diane Celentano Leahy (’72), Ampy Pikarsky (’72), Mary Lou DiDia (’72), and Eileen Burke (’75). What astute students — still!

On Sunday, June 30, I met my mom and brothers at the Washington Crossing Inn for a reunion brunch. We hadn’t been all together since 2005. John will retire next year from teaching Social Studies at Marist High School in Atlanta at age 70. Gerry is a lawyer who is the go-to-guy who lives near mom and is on-call when she needs help. But, at age 95, her motto is “I’ll do it my way” and she figures a lot of things out for herself.

DSC08444
Me, Gerry, Mom, John

DSC08450

A thought about the first leg of this trip: You can go home again if you remember to be the new and improved self you’ve become after you left. I’m pondering that.

 

 

Written by:
Carolyn Martin
Published on:
July 9, 2019
Thoughts:
4 Comments

Categories: It happens this way ..., PostsTags: Mt. St. Mary Academy, Mt. St. Mary House of Prayer, Sisters of Mercy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tricia Knoll

    July 9, 2019 at 9:13 am

    I’m so glad you made this trip, Carolyn! Lovely.

    Reply
  2. Sharon E Williams

    July 9, 2019 at 10:07 am

    “You can go home again if you remember to be the new and improved self you’ve become after you left.” I, too shall ponder this over the next 10 days as I prepare for my journey home on the 19th. Think I will write this out and put it on the fridge and mirror in the bathroom as my new affirmation… Thanks, Carolyn!

    Reply
  3. B. E. Berger

    July 10, 2019 at 6:29 am

    Thank you for sharing this meaningful trip. You look especially beautiful in these photos as your joy and peace shine through.

    Reply
  4. Jim Borden o pk

    July 14, 2019 at 12:24 pm

    sounds like a wonderful trip (it was to Philly after all!). thanks for sharing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept that my given data and my IP address is sent to a server in the USA only for the purpose of spam prevention through the Akismet program.More information on Akismet and GDPR.

Footer

All Content and Photos Copyright © 2025 Carolyn Martin · Website by The Poetry Box · Powered by Wordpress· Log in
  • Facebook
  • Email