This month’s Inklings challenge was from Mary Lee. She asked us to find a comment on one of our blog posts and to fashion a poem from it. I loved this idea, and immediately began considering comments as seeds for poems. Such fertile ground! In the end, I opted to use part of a comment that Patricia Franz made on one of my posts. She wrote: “Camera in tow, I stop for moss, for light; this morning it was antelope bitterbrush, its soft, shy yellow flower.” I chose to spin off the beginning of her line.
As day breaks
I stop for moss, for light;
this morning it was plum blossoms
with petals like pale butterflies
aflutter on branches
lit by rising sun
I lean in
keen to focus
on the blossoms so clear
delicately etched
across a canvas
of tender verdant leaves
light scatters
the day cracks open
but gently
like a chrysalis
splitting
or a soft exhale
after one’s breath
has been held
just a bit
too long
©Molly Hogan
If you’re interested in reading what the other Inklings did, check out their sites here:
Mary Lee @ A(nother) Year of Reading
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche (I believe she’s on a family jaunt and opting out this month, but you won’t regret stopping by her site anyway!)
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Catherine @ Reading to the Core
This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Mona Voekel at her blog.
Nix the comfort zone 
Molly, what a gorgeous poem to begin my morning with! Those plum blossom butterfly wings are perfect. And, you land the poem perfectly on the exhale. Well done.
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Every spring I look for the plum blossoms. They are so beautifully lit when the sun rises, but they pass so quickly!
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I love the shape of your poem — like breathing in, holding your breath to focus, taking another sip of air, then that long slow exhale.
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Thanks, Mary Lee. Here’s to long, slow exhales!
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Molly, love how you took the tenderness and wonder of Patricia’s line, and brought us in to witness the moment, step by step Love every line, especially “the day cracks open.” So beautiful, and a great inspiration to witness the tiny moments.
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It was fun to shift her focus from a western plant to one in my own backyard. This really was a great prompt from MaryLee!
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And that, ladies and gentlemen, warrants a swoon. Gorgeous, Molly.
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Thanks, Karen! Aren’t mornings almost always swoon-worthy? Ahhhh…..
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Molly, you made those words more beautiful in your poem! And in your gorgeous photography — lit by rising sun…light scatters. Thank you for sharing them both!
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Thanks so much for your poetic comment which sparked this poem!
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Wonderful!
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Thanks, Cheryl! Wishing you lots of moments of transient beauty and gentle exhales!
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What a stunning photo. And that third stanza is beautiful
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Thanks, Jone! This was a fun challenge and definitely one to “rinse and repeat”!
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Molly, your poem is a morning gem.
I lean in/keen to focus – I am sure that you always have a way to focus while you photograph nature.
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