In February I participated (off and on) in Laura Shovan’s February Daily Poem Project. The group opted to continue writing together on a monthly basis. This month the challenge was to riff off Rainer Maria Rilke by writing a poem using the following 10 found words harvested from his poem, “Early Spring” : varnished, softness, meadows, rivulets, tendernesses, earth, subtle, risings, expression, and trees. Here’s my effort, including 7 out of the 10 words:
Dawn’s Sweet Tenderness
Dawn offers sweet tendernesses
as earth softly stirs
with subtle shifts of sound
from jaunty peepers’ chorus
to liquid silver birdsong
while the rising sun dips
gauzy clouds in sherbet hues
and rivulets of dew coalesce,
thinly streaming down grassy stems
into drowsy meadows
like yesterday’s tears
Molly Hogan (c) 2017
Nix the comfort zone 
Oh those jaunty peepers. They serenade me every evening into the morning dawn. Your poem brings a sense of serenity as I hustle and bustle frantically attempting to start my day.
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I’m on spring break and enjoying the absence of hustle and bustle! Peepers are the best, aren’t they!?
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Enjoy your time off!
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“liquid silver birdsong.”
That’s really lovely. I’m listening to it outside my window right now!
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It’s a wonderful way to start the day!
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Such a rich poem of early morning imagery! I’m glad you are sharing it here.
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The “rivulets of dew” streaming “like yesterday’s tears.” The imagery is so spot on in this poem. I’m going to try that exercise…stealing words to use in my work. Lovely.
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I’ve found the exercise quite challenging, but fun, too–hope you enjoy it!
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Oh my goodness, is that gorgeous! I’ve been revelling in the peepers’ chorus for weeks, and am already sad that it is ending. You also struck a chord with me, because I’ve been paying close attention lately to the dawn chorus and the order with which each species makes it’s grand entrance. Thank you for this.
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How wonderful that you can identify the individual birds as they join in–I can’t do that but still enjoy the full chorus!
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I WISH I knew them all! Just learning one at a time.
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A provocative poem. The closing scene is powerful. You also helped me to hear spring.
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There are so many great lines in this poem… I’ll share my favorite
“gauzy clouds in sherbet hues” Ahhhh…..
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Well done, Molly! I love the tone that finds full expression in your last two lines. I love the opening with dawn and the movement from earth to sky and back to earth ending with the disappearing tears that pulled me fully into it — cycles of life.
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This sounds like a great exercise to do with a group. It would be fascinating to see how everyone approached the same ten words in different ways. I loved your poem. It gave me a nice lift.
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Thanks, and you’re right– It’s amazing to see how 10 words can lead in so many different directions!
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