March 2024 SOLC–Day 29
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
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Today’s post is also for Poetry Friday.
Releasing the Day
At the end of a day dense with noise,
I drive home in a silent fog
that drifts in shape-shifting banks
and hovers over snow.
Wipers swish, swish, sweep.
The quiet calm
of drip, drip
raindrops
reigns.
©Molly Hogan, draft
Thanks for the inspiration to try a nonet again, Kim Johnson! So much of my writing has been for the SOL challenge this month, and I’ve veered almost entirely away from poetry. It was a joy to wrestle with syllables again.
Tricia is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday at her blog, The Miss Rumphius Effect.
Nix the comfort zone 
that is such a beautiful line, ‘a day dense with noise.’ And then the image of the atmosphere dense with moisture mirrors it yet gives the opposite feeling , as you ‘release the day.’ Another gorgeous phrase.
and ending with a little alliteration made me re-read and notice a lot of alliteration throughout. So much to love in this poem.
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Thanks, Fran! I just love the fog and the nonet seemed like the perfect form to capture how the day eased in its presence.
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After a day like that I too drive home in silence. But your poem really shows how noisy it is during a rainstorm. Hopefully that noise quieted your mind!
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I sat in the car in the driveway listening to the rain for a long while. Very peaceful noise!
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shape-shifting banks
swish, swish, sweep
Oh, how I loved this alliteration!
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Thanks!
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A “day dense with noise”–totally understand that one! I also love nonets!
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I’ve been so busy writing for the SOL challenge that I’ve written very little poetry. It was nice to noodle around with a nonet!
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Molly your photo and poem bring a sense of peace on these dark days. I love all your alliteration. May your weekend be filled with joy.
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Thanks, Carol! I hope you also have a lovely weekend.
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Love this as a deep exhale, Molly.
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Thanks! It was exactly that!
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Oh, how I love a nonet. I truly believe that as far as poetry goes, I’m on #teamsyllable and not #teamrhyme or #teamanythingelse. This form works perfectly for the rain, especially as it wanes. The waning rain….
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Thanks for the inspiration!
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I love this! I can definitely relate to that feeling of moment of quiet after chaos… thank you for sharing!
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The contrast between a very busy and noisy day and the dense silent fog was just so striking.
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Thanks for sharing. I like the strong, specific verbs
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This is lovely! I love the repetition, both overt and subtler–especially in the last three lines.
I didn’t know about nonets. I’m putting them in my notes to try. Thank you!
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I hadn’t written a nonet in ages, and had a lot of fun doing so.
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Getting inside the car after a long day and mist all around sounds like a big sigh, Molly. This captures the moment beautifully! The “swish, swish, sweep” is a perfect metaphor! Nice to see you here!
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It’s nice to be here! I’ve missed PF lately.
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Thank you for “wrestling with syllables”. I’m headed to journal to try a nonet. Your poem is calming. My favorite line, “I drive home in a silent fog”.
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Thanks. Once I wrote that line, I really liked the dual meaning of it. Glad you enjoyed it, too, and I hope you had fun writing a nonet.
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Molly – You created such a vivid mood. I never thought of poetry as “wrestling with syllables.” I love that!
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Well, I suspect that other people are crafting with syllables, but sometimes wrestling is the word that best captures the process with me! lol
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OMG I love that photo! ”raindrops reign”. There is so much I love about the poem…but it is really about the photo for me. I love the way the fog, the mistiness, the wetness narrows the view creating a sense of intimacy, a place to take a breath. Beautiful.
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Thanks, Kim! That photo was through my car windshield on a recent morning — not the afternoon I was writing about, but it captures the same mood. I was fascinated by the different textures and the hint of the world beyond.
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Mmm… that picture – and the first two lines. “At the end of a day dense with noise,/ I drive home in a silent fog” – the double meaning of the fog, the concrete nature of the noise. I really like this poem. I enjoy working with syllable counts and repetition far more than rhyme or even free verse. This confirms that sense for me. Lovely.
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Thanks, Amanda. I haven’t been writing much poetry lately and this reminded me how much I enjoy the puzzle aspect of writing a poem in a form with syllable counts.
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The repetition of swish and drip, along with the diminishment of the lines, definitely gives the feeling of release — a good kind, like a sigh that relaxes tightened shoulders.
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The shoulders definitely relaxed!
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Your nonet takes us along with you to the end with peace. I am so happy to be on Spring break.
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Yay for you! I hope you enjoy each and every moment of your break. Ours isn’t until mid-April, and I can’t wait!
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Molly, I love the rhythm of the wipers and the drops. And “raindrops / reigns” sounds great together. I love the calmness in the observing.
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Fog fascinates me. All that hide-and-seek drifting. The muffling of sound. It’s so mysterious.
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“a day dense with noise” (sigh!)
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I love this mood piece, this description of a quiet moment in the rain. Lovely and recognizable. Thanks for sharing.
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Ooh, this is so moody. And it evokes Anna Nalick’s “Wreck of the Day” for me. Thanks for this quiet moment, Molly.
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