This morning I listened to the spring peepers before the sun rose, and pulled four paint chip colors that turned my thoughts to fall: Mystical Shade, Surprise Amber, Autumnal, and Summer Day.
What mystical shade marks the shift
from summer day to autumnal eve?
Is there a surprise amber
that stealthily permeates leaves,
tints the tips of tallest trees,
then tilts the balance
toward wintry breeze?
©Molly Hogan, 2019 (rough draft)
I picked another three random colors today in my on-again-off-again NPM Poetry Paint Chip play. When I saw the first selection, I thought I was doomed. “Rice Paddy”? Really!? Then I pulled “Topiary Tint” and “Searching Blue”. From some dark corner of my brain, a dim memory surfaced–a life line. Don’t beta fish live in puddles in rice paddies? Hmmm….
Looking up
Below the surface
of the rice paddy pond
does the beta fish wonder at
the verdant topiary tint
of green seedlings
rising skyward,
ever searching blue?
Or does he merely circle,
content with his own rainbow of colors
in his own boundaried world?
©Molly Hogan, 2019
In case you’re wondering what color “Inner Child” is!
I realized yesterday that one of the things I most enjoy about Paint Chip Poetry and about Word Collection Poems, for that matter, is their puzzle-like nature. I see the color names or the words and enjoy moving them this way and that, playing with them, trying out different combinations. It really is like putting together a puzzle when I don’t know what the final picture looks like. Sometimes it can be very surprising!
Today I again opted to choose four colors randomly. My picks were “Nurture Green”, “Midday”, “Glad Yellow”, and “Inner Child.” This poem started one way, upbeat and joyful, and ended up going another.
She yearned to nurture green
to kneel amidst the speared leaves
and glad yellow trumpets
gather them to her
hold them close and
whisper words of encouragement and praise
instead,
while the midday sun
flushed her cheeks into rosy blossoms
she stood still
tap-rooted into convention
and within,
her inner child wilted
©Molly Hogan, 2019
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
Nix the comfort zone 