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.
My last poetry swap of the summer arrived this past week and what a beauty it is! Jone Macculloch shared a picture of her west coast ocean with me, using a line from my recent east coast ocean sonnet to create an accompanying golden shovel poem. Her word choice and alliteration are delightful and her fabulous photo captures a heart in the surf. Really!? Isn’t it wonderful? 
The color, celadon!, is just fabulous and one I probably couldn’t have named, but as soon as I read it, I recognized it. I’m also delighted that the photo is neatly tucked into a magnetic frame that now has a place of honor on my refrigerator, in the midst of some other treasures. Every time I see it, I think of the ocean’s splendor and of poetry connections across the country. Thanks so much, Jone, for ending my first poetry swap experience so beautifully!
Nix the comfort zone 