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
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!
Once 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
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
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!
But… 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
In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s National Poetry Month! There’s all sorts of fabulous, frivolous poetry fun going on. I’m not sure that I’m up for a full month’s challenge, but the prose writing for the Slice of Life Challenge has left me yearning to write poetry. Also, I keep seeing posts inviting me to join in and “Play with Poetry”. Who can turn down that kind of invitation? I believe this particular fun began with Mary Lee Hahn and Jone MacCulloch, but I’m not sure. (Please correct me if you know I’m off-base with this! Update–The idea originated with Mary Lee! She has the best ideas!!)
At any rate, I made my own version of Paint Chip Poetry today. I took a Sherwin-Williams paint chip sample thing-a-ma-jig, that has been tucked in a classroom cupboard for years, and brought it home. I decided to pick one “stick” of colors and randomly choose three names. Today I picked: “cucumber”, “pickle” and “enlightened lime”. Oooookay.
Here’s my very rough, very odd, draft poem. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but every time I read it, it cracks me up. Then I get a little worried. (March really was a very long month.)
A Proliferation of Greens
In the fridge
the dark matte green skin
of cucumbers goosebumps
in proximity with
dull shades of pickle
seen through smudged glass
and murky liquid
but in the fruit drawer
there’s a burst of color
from one enlightened lime,
clearly destined
for my future margarita
©2019 (rough draft) Molly Hogan
Nix the comfort zone 