This year I was especially struck by how drastically the palette has changed from winter’s whites, greys and blues to spring’s jewel tones. It seems almost surreal. Sitting in my many-windowed family room these days, I feel saturated in green. Outside, the intensity of green feels fluid, as if the air is filled with chlorophyll. And then there are the flowers, bursting forth hither and yon in bold and breathtaking hues. It amazes me how the same views can change so dramatically from one season to the next. So, when my turn to choose the challenge for the Inklings came around, naturally I suggested a color poem.
After many, many, many false starts, I opted to use Eleen Spinelli’s “If You Want to Find Golden” as a mentor.
If you want to find purple,
step outside and close your eyes.
Feel the breath of blooming lilacs
pulse against your skin.
Listen for the cauldron simmering
at the heart of iris,
where satiny petals amass,
eager to fly amethyst flags.
Open your eyes
to step into spring meadows
where rising stalks of lupine,
undulate in a riot of purple
across verdant green.
Peer into the heart of shadows
beneath leaf-laden trees
where violet secrets gather.
Linger as day cedes to night,
watercoloring sky and clouds,
if you want to find purple.
©Molly Hogan, draft
If you’d like to see what the other Inklings did with this challenge, click on their names to check out their poems:
Linda Mitchell
Margaret Simon
Heidi Mordhorst
MaryLee Hahn
Catherine Flynn
Tricia is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at The Miss Rumphius Effect.
Nix the comfort zone 
Ah, this beautiful lavender bath is breathtaking. I love how you included other names for purple: amethyst, violet. Lovely word choices. Thanks for this challenge.
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Thanks, Margaret. I found myself struggling with this one more than I’d expected. I’m not thrilled with my poem, but I’ll take the win of participating this month 🙂
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Ahhhh! I have to see if I can narrow down a single color from my garden. Lots of green shades and somehow the white flowers are earliest but I can’t wait to try this when the colors of whatever is coming (and I delightfully really don’t know) appear.
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I almost wrote about all the shades of green. Oh, my! Mind boggling, right? And then, it’s such fun to wonder about what will be coming next! I have some general ideas, but there are always a few surprises. My flower garden is a mass of chaos for the most part, but still I struggle to cull the marauding invaders (looking at you phlox and dame’s rocket!)!
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“Watercoloring sky and clouds” is a great way of looking at day’s end. We have lots of purple in our yard with the irises, lilac, and sage. (And an uncontainable meadow of mint…)
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A meadow of mint must be a blessing and a curse! I imagine the smell is amazing!!!
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Molly, you could have left the slider photos and nothing more and this would have been a stellar post! HOW do you make those, and how do you get them into your post? ❤
I'm a sucker for a cauldron of bubbling potion, so I love
"Listen for the cauldron simmering
at the heart of iris"
but you have so many fresh phrases. I raise my amethyst flag and salute you!
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Thanks, Heidi! I wish I could claim crazy tech guru status for the sliding photos, but it’s a wordpress option under image choices (“image compare”). You’re on blogspot though, right? Perhaps they have something similar?
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Wow, the breath of lilacs and that cauldron! Woot! Also, how do you do those cool slider pics?
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Thanks, Laura! The slider pics are an option called “image compare” under images on wordpress. I discovered it by chance and this was the perfect time to put it to use 🙂
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It has seemed like a burst here, too, with more rain than usual, plants are bigger than I remember. I love each flowering word, Molly, but especially love the idea of watercoloring ‘sky and clouds’! Also, the ‘slide’ effect is terrific!
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I’m glad you liked the slide effect. (It’s called “image compare” under images in wordpress.) This seemed like the perfect time to use it.
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Yes to blooming lilacs–truly my favorite few weeks of the year for decades. I just love those flowers…the purple and the pinks of them. What a wonderful post. Keep finding that purple, Molly! It looks good on you.
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Thanks, Linda! I love the profusion of lilacs in spring. The scent is amazing–it really does seem like it pulses in the air!
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Loved the slider visuals! It’s a great window into your world. Now I’m off to find some purple, too!
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‘Where violet secrets gather’ – how beautiful, Molly. As for those slider pics, thank for introducing me to them! I’m also on WordPress, so I’m going to give them a try. Yours were just breathtaking. Both seasons so lovely in their own way.
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Oh be still my purple-loving heart (and I am DEFINITELY going to try out the slider option)!!!
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There is something truly magical how spring bursts into color. Each season has it’s voice and song. I love the slider. Going to use “If you want to find….”
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What a profusion of purple and green! I have lilacs and violets, but no lupines, which I love. Thanks for sharing where “violet secrets gather.”
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Your poem is a jewel-toned treasure, Molly. Such gorgeous photos too. And I had fun with that slider! How do you do that?!
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Never mind my question — I just saw that you already answered it for Laura. 🙂
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