I thought I was all worn out after last month’s SOL writing challenge. Phew! No daily writing deadlines. Less pressure! More time for….other stuff. Woohoo!
But… it’s National Poetry Month. There are challenges and invitations everywhere! Much to my surprise, I’ve found myself “Playing Around with Poetry”. I’m still not quite sure who gets credit for issuing the initial invitation, but think it was Mary Lee Hahn. I know that Jone MacCulloch, Margaret Simon and Christie Wyman are playing along. Yesterday, I gave in to temptation and messed around with my own version of some Paint Chip Poetry.
This morning, much to my surprise, I couldn’t resist trying again. I changed it up a bit, deciding to pull out three random strips and point at one color on each strip without looking. I pulled: “dapper tan”, “papaya”, and “euphoric lilac.”
Spring Dawn
One plump sparrow
with dapper tan stripes
forages beneath the euphoric lilac
heavy with exuberant blossoms
whose scent drifts up
to sweeten the
papaya-streaked sky
(rough draft)©2019 Molly Hogan
Nix the comfort zone 
So many fellow slicers are joining in on the poetry fun this month and they are encouraging me too. I haven’t tried yet but maybe Friday!
I love your paint chip poem. Your chosen colors fit so well with your subject! Love it!
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I enjoyed the SOL challenge, but I really missed writing poetry! It’s nice to have something nudge me to make a bit more time for it.
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Delight-ful! Love the “papaya-streaked sky!” I can’t wait to try a paint chip poem. Today’s magnetic poem didn’t come easy!
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I loved your magnetic poem!
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What a great exercise in widening vocabulary and making connections between seemingly- random words! Now I feel I need to head to the paint chip display at the hardware store! I’ll be emailing this link to my school inbox for future use; thanks!
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It definitely makes you think in different ways. So far (she says with the wisdom of two days under her belt), it seems like the color name for one chip provides a sort of entry point. We’ll see if that continues.
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Papaya streaked sky! I love how the random color names push us to write something in a new way. I’m glad you are joining in. So much fun.
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Definitely! I never would have thought of papaya-streaked sky without this challenge. I make no promises about how much I’ll participate, though. I still want to swing back to Laura’s challenge and contribute a few more poems and do some reading. Perhaps over spring break.
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I’m giving up on Laura’s challenge. I have to chalk that one up. And stop beating my head over it.
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And so speaks the voice of wisdom! I’m with you on the head beating, though.
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I’m in love with papaya-streaked sky too! I couldn’t resist this particular challenge either, even though I was certain I was all challenged out after March! I haven’t tried the random paint chip generator yet. Will try that this week for sure!
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I didn’t even know about a random paint chip generator! Now I’m going to have to check that out. The fun never stops!!
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Oh… I so want to join in on the April poetry fun….. but I have too many deadlines and to much work. After two writing challenges in March (writing, reading, and commenting) the most I can manage now will be Tuesday SOL and Poetry Fridays… I do love your poem!
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I know how you feel, Alice! I bit off way more than I could chew in March and ended up essentially bailing on one challenge. I still feel bad about that. We’ll see how long I play along this month. For now, it’s been fun and not too time-consuming. I still hope to get back and read more of your March posts.
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I think paint chip poetry may win the internet this NPM. Your poem is wonderful. I like the way you weave the paint chips into descriptions of nature. I like your take on paint chip poetry. I could not resist the pull of poetry this month, too.
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I was imagining all the clerks at Home Depot and Lowes shaking their heads at the influx of people looking at (and pocketing) paint samples! lol
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This is a beautiful poem. I’m just now tonight trying to click through links to find out more about paint chip poetry.
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I’m creating my own version as I go along!
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So great that so many of you are writing and posting poetry this month! You wrote such a fun, playful poem
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Thanks!
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I love the paint chip poetry idea. Your poem is wonderful, especially the papaya-streaked sky. Beautiful. Next week, we will be writing poetry. I think my kids will love this idea. Thanks for sharing.
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Color poems are so accessible to children. I’ve always enjoyed using “Hailstones and Halibut Bones” as a mentor text with students.
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Yeah! I can’t wait for my euphoric lilacs to bud and bloom! So glad you are joining us. I haven’t pulled random colors yet. I’ve been looking for themes thus far. Will take that risk soon!
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Theme? What’s that!? lol I’m working more in the area of vignettes.
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