Category Archives: Poetry

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NPM–PF–Accustomed To Grey

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I’d stepped away from Playing with Poetry for the past week or so, but seeing recent Paint Chip Poems by Margaret Simon and Kim Douillard had me itching to bring out the paint chips again. This time I randomly picked four colors: Reticence, Escape Grey, Lantern Light and Overjoy.

Accustomed to Grey

Her own reticence
was a surprise
She’d thought that
once the door opened
to allow a sliver
of lantern light within
she’d be overjoyed
to escape grey
instead she clung to
the comfort of shadows
and shielded her eyes
from the flame

©Molly Hogan, 2019

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by the amazing Amy Ludwig Vanderwater at her blog, The Poem Farm. During NPM, she’s writing a collection of 30 poems that will tell a story. This project has kept me on the edge of my seat and sometimes on the verge of tears. I eagerly await each day’s installment, and if you haven’t been reading along, I encourage you to go check them out now!

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PF: The Gift of Dawn

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by the warm and talented Irene Latham at her blog, Live Your Poem. This year her ARTSPEAK poems center on the theme of Happy. I’ve loved following along as each day focuses on an inspiring piece of art and her poetic response. Wow!  This is the blog to visit if you want a lift in your day!

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Not long ago, I came across the poem Rhapsody by William Stanley Braithwaite.

Rhapsody

I am glad daylong for the gift of song,
     For time and change and sorrow;
For the sunset wings and the world-end things
     Which hang on the edge of to-morrow.
I am glad for my heart whose gates apart
     Are the entrance-place of wonders,
Where dreams come in from the rush and din
     Like sheep from the rains and thunders.

I read it again and again, and kept it open in a tab on my browser, so I could easily return to it. Something about it resonated with me, and then inspired me to write my own poem, lifting the beginning words, and using the same rhyme scheme.

The Gift of Dawn

I am glad daylong for the gift of dawn
for glowing morning light
by the river’s side with the shifting tide
where birds and dreams take flight
I am glad to roam from secluded home
to cast off my worries and woes
to embrace day’s start with a grateful heart
at peace with howe’er it flows

©Molly Hogan, 2019

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NPM 2019 Paint Chip Poetry, Muppet Style

I’m occasionally “Playing with Poetry” during National Poetry Month and I’ve been primarily focused on writing Paint Chip Poetry. To be honest, some of the results feel more like vignettes than poems. To read more about my basic, constantly evolving process, visit here or here.

Tonight, I opted to choose three colors randomly again, from three different color strands. First, I pulled “Easy Green”. My thoughts immediately turned to Kermit the Frog and his lament, “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” I selected another color: “Smoky Salmon”.With Kermit on the mind, of course my thoughts next drifted to Miss Piggy.  Hmmm…Her skin maybe?  Finally, I selected the last color: “Eros Pink”. Okay, clearly this was a message from the Paint Chip Poetry gods. For better, or for worse, I needed to create some Muppet poetry.

Tune in at about 35:35 to see Kermit refute Miss Piggy’s live claim of an engagement:

Kermit’s Got The Blues

Is there such a thing as “Easy Green”?
Not for Kermit the Frog
vigorously pursued by Miss Piggy
with her smoky salmon eyelids
and thick mascaraed eyelashes
masking a steel will and
wild eros pink libido
a voluptuous pig on the prowl
looking to make her very own
Rainbow Connection

© Molly Hogan, 2019

 

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SOL–Dawn at Scarborough Marsh

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On a chilly morning in April, there is a subdued beauty to the marsh. Filled with subtlety and variation, it’s a sensory feast. The sky transitions from peach to brilliant gold, lighting the mist that lies low over the grassy hummocks and tide-carved channels. The promise of color lies hidden in silhouettes. The rising sun rays brush the low-lying mist, setting it aglow. They light the feathery edges of fern grass with an amber glow and caress the bellies of flying mallards against brilliant blue skies. Gulls call and crows caw. The air is chilly and permeated with the deep rich scent of damp earth and the organic tang of swampy water. Song sparrows rustle and flit from shrub to shrub, intermittently singing their sweet notes. A great blue heron picks its way through the shallows. It’s a glorious place to greet the new day.

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Some people say there’s no magic in the world. Clearly, they have never have walked in the marsh at sunrise.

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NPM Day 7–Classroom Palette

I wasn’t feeling too motivated to dive into more Paint Chip Poetry, until it occurred to me that it might be fun to create my own palette of imagined paint chip colors for different settings. My classroom came to mind. This one’s still a work in progress, but definitely tapped into the Playing With Poetry sense of fun!

Classroom Palette

There’s the streaky hue of
Drying Out Marker
and Dingy White
for the whiteboard,
too long uncleaned
The carpet defies a name
though a few dark spots
scream out Slime Residue
from last year’s craze
The seats are Tippy Green
and my desk must be Speckled Clutter
The bulletin boards boast fabric in
Bright Bargain Batik
while the cabinet wood
is a Peek-A-Boo Brown
beneath various charts
Outside the windows
spring flirts in Come Hither Green
with hints of Zephyr
In this last week before break
amidst Assessment Blue
there must be a shade
entitled Tired Teacher…
I leave it to your imagination

©Molly Hogan, 2019 (rough draft)

 

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NPM 2019 Day 6: Paint Chip Poetry–Spring Celebration

56542052_340056463308408_6240535477623980032_n.jpgOnce again, I made a variation to my ongoing Paint Chip Poetry game. This time I pointed to a random page in the alphabetized index in the back of the pack of chips, and took the three names my finger covered. They were: Jubilee, Julep, and June day.

Spring Celebration

Come sing a song
of jubilee
embrace June days
and julep breeze
Change winter scenes
to memories
Breathe deeply into
spring’s reprise

©Molly Hogan, 2019

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NPM Day 5: PF–Paint Chip Poetry

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This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Karen Edmisten at her blog. She’s sharing a wonderful poem by John Ashbery there. You can also find links to dozens of other poetry-related blogs. Check it out–It is National Poetry Month (NPM) after all!

I accepted Mary Lee Hahn‘s invitation to spend this NPM, or at least some of it, Playing with Poetry. I had access to a collection of paint samples, so have focused my efforts there. So far, it’s been a fascinating process. I’m only five days in, but I’m having such fun! My first effort (here) still makes me giggle, and every day yields challenges and surprising outcomes. Some names come together immediately and others just won’t play nicely. I love the way the paint chip names encourage me to make new and unexpected combinations. 

I’ve been varying the game each day.  Today, I decided to pull one random color strip and choose from amongst the seven possible color names on that strip. I chose these three: Meander Blue, Cloudburst, and Raindrop.

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As Winter recedes
she withdraws her white cloak
revealing the flowing river
reborn in full meander blue glory
with cloudbursts dancing on its liquid surface
birds swimming in reflective depths
and rising fish creating raindrop ripples
that expand into infinity

©2019 Molly Hogan

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I also was tickled by the thought of enthusiastic poets swarming their local hardware stores to score some paint chip samples. With that in mind on Day 3, I wrote this poem highlighting the colors: Sensible Hue, Manitou Blue, and Angora. I’m sharing it here again (with a few changes–it’s still drafty and I’m still playing!).

Meanwhile at the local hardware store…

“Here comes another one,”
sighs the exasperated clerk.
“No sensible hues,” she announces
“I’m looking for exotic names,
or at least some rhyming potential.”
Her eyes skitter across the rainbow
of graduated color samples
Moving closer, she pushes back the sleeves
of her bedraggled angora sweater,
her ink-stained fingers hover, twitch
Lost in thought, she mutters,
like a fledgling incantation,
“Perhaps enlightened lime, euphoric lilac
or maybe this brilliant Manitou blue?”

©Molly Hogan, 2019 (draft)

 

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NPM Day 4–An Autumnal Moment

You know, I just have to say that I really wish there were a better abbreviation for Paint Chip Poetry than PCP. While Paint Chip Poetry has challenged me to think in new ways, I can say with certainty that it hasn’t induced hallucinations or lead to violent outbursts.

At any rate, today I chose these colors randomly from three different color strips: Henna Shade, Brassy, and Wheat Grass. This was definitely the most challenging poem so far. I’m not really satisfied with this, but honoring the idea of playing, I’m sharing it anyway.

An Autumnal Moment

The russet setting sun casts light
through the ornamental cast iron gate
creating intricate henna shade
on the shimmering wheat grass
while overhead, migrating geese
sound their brassy calls

©2019 Molly Hogan

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NPM Day 3: Two Poems for the Price of One

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Ok, I may be addicted. Paint Chip Poetry is just plain fun. I pull three paint colors randomly — I’ve been pulling a color “stick”, pointing without looking, and then doing that again two times–and then I get going. Each time I’ve initially thought, “Ugh. What am I going to do with those colors?” Then somehow I find my way into a rough draft of a poem, or maybe even two!

Today’s colors: Sensible Hue (Yes, really!), Manitou Blue, and Angora

I was not feeling too hopeful with this selection. I decided to start with angora and give myself a character and see what happened. A few more colors made their way into the mix here.

Angora Dreams

Through the finger-smudged glass,
the soft angora rabbit
watched the coloring children
He glanced wistfully at his own sensible hue
and wished for some crayola glamor–
a dab of Razzle Dazzle Rose, a splash of cerise
or perhaps one streak of Manitou blue…
He sighed, hunkered in the corner,
and nibbled on his Burnt Orange carrot

©Molly Hogan, 2019

After spending some time reading and commenting on posts tonight, I was struck by how many people were planning to find some paint chips and try out Paint Chip Poetry. That lead me in this direction, where a few colors from the past two days made a cameo appearance:

Meanwhile at the local hardware store…

“Here comes another one,”
sighed the exasperated clerk.
“No sensible hues,” she said.
“I’m looking for exotic names,
or at least some rhyming potential.”
Her eyes skittered across the rainbow
of graduated color samples
Moving closer, she pushed back the sleeves
of her angora sweater,
her ink-stained fingers hovered, twitched
Lost in thought, she murmured,
“Perhaps enlightened lime, euphoric lilac
or maybe a brilliant Manitou blue?”

©Molly Hogan, 2019

 

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NPM 2019 Paint Chip Poetry

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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!

56157671_2292250211056165_7153227001665421312_nBut… 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