During your travels today/this week. Listen for colorful words that we all use to spice up our language. Fill your poem with the spectrum of this laguage. It could be a poem about a color, or just some very descriptive adjectives that help say things in a bold way.
WALT’S PRELIMINARY POEM:
WICKER
A wide array of tans and beiges,
all with names that span the range.
It’s strange that all these lighter browns
are found to be so different.
Vinyl siding in all shades has made
me quite perplexed; quite sicker.
My house once green for all these years,
is now a lovely “wicker”!
(C) Walter J Wojtanik, 2014
POETIC BLOOMINGS 
Responses
FLASHES OF COLOR
Yellow afternoon appears
Orange at sunset,
Red at sundown.
Your hair, ebony
In yellow moonlight,
Green in tree shadows.
Blue ocean waves
Lift white caps
Towards solar red.
Blood red lips
Kiss blue princesses
Awake. Gold dawn.
These purple eggplants,
Pale brown, simmering
In gray pan.
I asked Rose
If her brown
Terrier was yellow.
Love’s color red?
if green, thriving;
Black, if unrequited.
#
a great twist on colors. I love the stanza on love
Flash colors – ; ) you do as well as flash fiction.
This could be a crayon ad. Love it.
Nice Sal
Wonderful array of colors, Sal. I love your ending lines.
(OK, I’ll be back with a real poem later but this is a true story told by my MIL about one of her relatives. At least I think this is colorful -don’t mean to offend anyone.)
Ratchet
What’cha doing, Ma?
I’m cleaning the cabinets.
What fer?
I’m cleaning the ratchet.
Well, what’s the ratchet doin’ in the kitchen?
Them dang rats got in the flour agin.
😀
🙂
Hah!
I was looking at the spectrum of colors and decided this was a good place to try a palindrome. . .
SPECTRUM OF COLOR
White begins empty
Sky stonewashed with apricot melon
Boulders of pistachio denim
Brown soil from slate blue plum
Bark on sea green sienna
Black ends full
Full ends black
Sienna green sea on bark
Plum blue slate from soil brown
Denim pistachio of boulders
Melon apricot with stonewashed sky
Empty begins white
That is very clever. Stonewashed sky is a great description.
That was one of those happy accidents. 🙂 Thank you
Palindromes stymie me… great job, Darlene
Amen
I didn’t even try it when Walt gave it as the form, but this seemed to work
Very expressive and delicious poem
expressive and delicious. . .I love and appreciate the description
Your poem is vivid, and I compliment you for using this form. All meshed beautifully, Darlene.
Thank you so much!
Self Portrait in colour
From the top ,
a sickly red squidgy wobbly bit,
not my finest feature;
a wicked eye twinkles in a crinkled face,
a pointy ochre beak
and floppy red dangles
surrounded by silky-smooth auburn
flecked with yellow
and gleaming with health.
My chest swells,
a petrol-blue-green
merging with flanks of copper
descending to scrawny, scaly legs
on unspeakable feet.
My cliché crowning glory
– though at the wrong end –
is a flourish of arching,
waving, polychrome plumes.
What a fine fellow I am.
Sounds proud as a peacock
This could impress a mandarin duck. Wonderful!
Hmm, I can’t quite decide . . .perhaps a turkey?
A cockerel. There’s a pcture with the poem on my blog.
I was also thinking rooster, but the blue threw me off
Wow very descriptive write Viv!
SPICE TO SWEET
I used to be
a homegrown
red hot chili pepper;
spice laden,
and full of zing.
Now I’m stately dressed
in modish blue indigo suit;
antioxidant rich,
and so preciously sweet
as blueberry fruit.
antioxidant rich, and so preciously sweet… love it!
This is cleverly done. Thanks.
Thx William
Perhaps a combination?
Lol! Spicy blueberries!
Tasty!
Yum!
Periwinkle
P urple-blue like the flower
E legant and dainty like a fairy gown
R eminding me of grandma’s eyes
I cy and vibrant
W arm and relaxed
I independently lovely
N ew-song inspiring
K issed by angels
L ovely and delicate
E ndearing, gentle and cheerful
Makes me want to find me a bunch
One of my favorite words – lovely, Connie
Beautiful.
Very peaceful. I like the icy vibrant eyes.
Lovely, Connie!
And this is a subject I’ve had in my idea box for months. . .now was the time
COLOR OF MEMORY
My past is an evolving thing
I cannot trust the paint it brings
The winter white I loved to see
Gave black and blue, arthritic knees
The sunshine yellow childhood hours
Matured to taste both green and sour
The pale horse darkened many times
Blue mountains I learned how to climb
Once I favored pinkish hues
Until a fierce red hat I grew
And now although my hair is gray
The years ahead are golden paved
When oft I slid down rainbow’s arch
I found I must repeat the march
The pot of gold can’t be dismissed
When it is filled with heavenly bliss
Are you wearing purple? I love your poem, it is a comforting ray of hope.
No, no purple today. 🙂 But I do love purple.
I really like those first two lines – they are so true.
I’m glad they resonate
Such a fascinating rainbow of memory.
Love the first line, your past as “an evolving thing,” and the colors you embed it with!
Where do all the
Colors Go?
Sometimes the day arrives
With a dark, rainy night
Slowly giving way to a gray,
Sad-looking world. If I
Have been feeling bad, this
Kind of a morning lets me
Blend right in.
Now I am old. I shuffle
Through the mornings,
Nap in the afternoons
And stay up half the night
Looking up strange stuff
On the internet where
Everything is black and white.
If I am lucky, the sun will rise
And the morning will be blue-
Skied and bright. My houseplants
Will perk right up when I water them
And even in the middle of January
My kitchen windows will be filled
With fresh, green spring.
You’ve captured my volatility of mood to a T.
Wonderful Marian, and your last stanza is a treasure.
This sounds so poignant and familiar. Love it.
Yes, the hope of the last stanza resonates with me, although I’m having one of those first stanza days
Love it. I enjoyed the tone throughout the poem.
I can relate well to this one, Marian.
Me too. This one is easy to relate too…
(Poem w/image: http://lettheballoonssailmeaway.wordpress.com)
Long Held
I am waiting to tell you the
color of my secret. Will it
remain unspoken blue? A fire-
light burning slow and warmly red?
I guess the only thing I know
Is the color of that day will
glow, a brightly, sunshine yellow
Even though a rain is pouring.
Ah, the optimism of youth!
😀 Thank you, Viv!!
the color of that day will
glow, a brightly, sunshine yellow
Even though a rain is pouring… sweet thought
Aww… thank you, Debi… I can just about feel it ❤ 🙂 !!
So uplifting.
🙂 !! Thank you, William!!
What a lovely secret, if it brings light and warmth and sunshine
❤ Thank you, Darlene!!
So lovely Hen!
Aww, Thank you, so much Ben 🙂 !!
Youse made me smile on snow unsmiley day!
🙂 I’m so glad! Thank you, Sara!
I cannot believe I sent you such an unintelligible email. Sorry, but you did make me smile on a rather bad day.
❤ , No Worries, Sara, I understood, and I thank you again 🙂 !!
I don’t know what they put in the water in the Great Northwest, but I WANT SOME!
Cabin
By David De Jong
One room cabin guarding the meadow,
Just past the giant sequoia isle.
Its chimney whispers to the shadows,
While the moon approves with shimmered smile.
Lamp on the mantle, fire in the stove,
Effervescent glow of belonging;
Deep within this timber’s sacred cove.
Roughhewn rails, corral the porch’s deck,
Harboring old, bent, hickory chairs.
Front path disappears into a fleck,
Granite slabs clime up, like back-porch stairs.
Humble luxury, inviting peace.
Silhouette anthems stir through the night;
Tranquility, longing never cease.
New sun embraces horizon’s ledge,
Atoning mist, ceremonial air,
Lightly dance, over the eagle’s edge,
Feathered song breaks silence, everywhere.
The cabin rests, still, soaking it in;
Life at the dawn of creation’s day,
Finding purpose and fitting right in.
How peaceful and comforting this is.
That it is.
Can I go there on retreat? Sigh. It dances, giving peace
Color My World
Color the ocean buoyant blue
and let me sail right across you
color the sky azure and white,
paint the moon tangerine by night
thread garnets, peridot, citrine
hang them like pearls on silver string
round the neck of the milky way
and forever with you I’ll stay,
I’ll stay, ever with you, I’ll stay.
Color the trees in autumn hues
dab the flowers with tears of dew
color the fields brash corn and wheat
with flourishes, bold indiscrete
paint the grass green under our feet
with hues of sage and minty sweet
swirl the wind a cordial cherry
and ever with you I’ll tarry,
I’ll tarry, with you, I’ll tarry
A country lullaby. Lovely.
“color the fields brash corn and wheat with flourishes, bold indiscrete” what a great description of the brightest colors of summer
A lullaby of color, Debi. Love this.
Yes…
SUNNY JIM
Upon a deep-in-winter day,
when winds were blowing chillily,
I spied a snowman, bold and gay,
that set me laughing sillily.
Its ears were red; its cheeks were blue;
its nose was ice-creamed carrot;
with coat of many colors too,
it seemed a blooming parrot!
It wore a hat of cactus ear
and stood in grey-dried sand
with swim trunks tacked upon its rear
and rosebud in its hand.
I laughed so hard, my face grew hot;
my sweat did flow, and verily,
I think the snowman that was not
commenced to laugh, and merrily.
Upon a deep-in-winter day
that could have been a bummer,
I spied a snowman on my way,
and winter turned to summer.
copyright 2014, William Preston
Very cute.
You get a huge attaboy for taking on difficult adverbs as rhyming words (chillily and sillily). Who’d have thunk it would make for such lively style and mood? You…and maybe Ogden Nash. Great job!
I admire the skills and craftsmanship this poem reveals. I love reading it over and over.
Made me smile… even though for me winter is a bummer.
[…] Posted for 100 Days of Summer 2014 (Facebook Group): 71 ~ Purple. Also posted at Creative Bloomings: Prompt #164 ~ Colour My World. […]
PALETTE-ABLE LIFE
When
he feels
his world has
faded to black,
he reaches for his
palette and putting brush
in motion–warmth of yellow,
coolness of blue, passion of red,
green growth, and sacred purple–his world
comes back to life, one color at a time.
2014-08-24
P. Wanken
I think this is wonderful. The shape goes well with the restoration of life.
Thank you, William – yes, I played with a few different forms before settling on Etheree, to do just that…the re-building/restoration. Thank you!
An etheree? I didn’t know the name. But I love the restoration theme, and this works so well
Darlene, the Etheree is ten lines, building from 1 syllable to 10. 🙂
I’ve written that way, just didn’t know the name. ) In fact, the first poem (I think) I posted here was in that form.
And that is why I wish I could paint. Maybe I’ll just get a coloring book – I used to love it when I was a kid. Your colors are uplifting.
Good idea, Debi! I loved coloring as a kid, too. Maybe I’ll get a coloring book, too! I do also go to those paint classes…a step up from paint-by-number! 😉
Just the way life is, Paula.
Sure is. ❤
I can see this and sometimes I have felt my life returning to me just this way. Great title too
Thanks, Jane! ❤
Wonderful!
The Crumble of Lilac Blossoms
I can smell it, she said, and I could, too.
It was in the moss, gauze in the breeze,
an old man’s beard, whiskers rough
and ruffled and stiff as net curtains,
and it was in the crumple of lilac
blossoms, dried and crooked pokery,
an old crone’s finger with accusatory
pointing. And it all sniffed of summer’s
end, smelled of those last few gnarled
days before fog slipped into long months
ahead, and gloom swallowed us whole.
For me, this evokes a nostalgic mood. Your words conjure up odors as well as images.
Musk and dust and musty mould…
And it all sniffed of summer’s end… makes my heart sad to think of the winter coming. I’m going to hold these few weeks of warmth close. You know, I haven’t seen a robin lately. Could they be gone already?
It seems too early, Debi.
Beautiful penned Misk!
Thank you so very much. 😀
Grandma’s Blue Box
She didn’t carry much
in her royal snail shell
under her catalina bed cover
Some ink dipped feathers of memory
2 cotton cloud saris with lavender edges
A handful of ruffled indigo bills
folded neatly in a cerulean pouch
in case of purple rain
A crayola photo album
of iridescent treasured smiles
and emerald chrome salt
Her mother’s sapphire comb
whose silver ragged edges
she mysteriously smelled
every now and then
when she wanted to travel
Slow and steady she breathed
in the colored azury air
of this lapis lazuli chest
like a daily prayer
keeping it unlocked and safe
under her bed
She didn’t carry much
that’s all she needed now—
This is lovely… She didn’t carry much
that’s all she needed now—
Indeed beautiful; very evocative and nostalgic.
A feeling of melancholy. just lovely, Priti.
This is a lovely painting with vibrant colors on each memory. Love it
Love Grandma’s box. For me, it carries much.
Color Me ____
In perusing lipsticks, I search
high and low for that perfect
shade of pink. Ah, there it is,
titled, “Chatterbox.” Knowing
this hue is not indicative
of my verbal verbosity, I still
hesitate before buying. This
appellation is no worse,
than when I select a satin
nail color, which, sans glasses,
reads as, “Serial Killer.”
Happily, I find it is named,
“Serial Shopper”, also not
a description of me–no really–I swear.
Wonder what “cereal chopper” would look like. This is fun to read and say.
Ha! You are too clever, William.
I enjoyed reading this. I always wanted a job naming colors (peach whisper or breathless purple). When I told a friend about a recipe called Angel Lush, she said she thought that was her stripper name 😄
This one makes me smile. thanks!
Whew – Good to know. Don’t you just want to smack that person who comes up with those names?
And…I hear the Opi brand of nail colors are now available at the local paint store. You can have your house match your nails! 🙂 (…in case anyone is interested…)
Let’s hope we don’t have to change the house color every time we change our nail color. . .
Groan.
Yes!
Separation
This pretty piece of glass, well cut,
shaped like a dew drop or a tear,
had many angles, tapered, clear,
suffused with light and color, mute
but speaking many languages
in tones that I had never heard
like bells or morning calls of birds,
like depths where longing languishes.
I held it gently to the light
and watched it bleed its many hues,
colors my heart would never lose,
imprinted on interior sight.
A tiny crystal, born of stone,
taught me the tints white light can hold,
a world of wondrous warmth and cold,
like memories of time that’s gone.
I reckon how life hardens, blights,
but renders crystals in the dark,
then like a rainbow’s lovely arc,
it spills love’s spectrum in the light.
This is simply stunning. The sounds alone are worth the reading (I especially live the second stanza), but images leap from it too, Thanks for this, and it’s good to see you here again.
Lovely, and how hopeful
Gorgeous writing, Jane. I love, ‘renders crystals in the night.’
Truly beautiful — visually and philosophically!
Shades of Red
By: Dr. Nurit Israeli
I choose red.
No, not the crimson red of blood,
though you told me how much
of it was lost during that long
and arduous surgery.
No, not the rebellious red of
raging cells turning your body
into a combat zone, or the
hospital’s Code Red, warning
of some unforeseeable danger.
No, not even the red of the roses
on the side table by your hospital
bed − misfits amid the chromes and
barren whites, their sweet scent
challenging the sterile antiseptic air.
No, not those reds, but the fiery red
of the lipstick you put on once
you ascended from anesthesia:
Bold. Daring. A red stamp of life
on your still pale face.
Yes, this is the red I choose –
the vibrant red of the lipstick on
your sore lips. Like a red sun coloring
the morning sky with the promise
of a new day, your red lips assure.
Masterful!
the story, the pain, the life-affirming red lipstick.. .masterful, as William says
This is a true masterpiece!
A wonderful poem and tribute to courage.
Thank you very much, William, Darlene, Jane, and Purplepenin — for reading and for commenting.
COLOR ME PLEASE
Color me black
and let me dance
effortlessly
with the night
Color me bold
with a sea of massive blue
and observe
unfathomed mysteries
unfold
Color me gold
and bright as day
striking fields
in soft array
like rampant child
Color me smooth
in fashionable satin
sheets
color me worthwhile
with pomp and style
This sounds like Gaia talking. Wonderful.
I love the tone of this, Benjamin.
Thx Sarah
I love this, Benjamin…especially the gold stanza. 🙂
Thx Bud
You’re welcome my friend!
I love your bold colors and the places you take them!
COLOR ME CRAZY
We just painted the kitchen,
which in dogs years is forever
(never to be confused with
refusing to paint).
You see, in my heart
it’s the color chart I fear.
And to be clear, that wheel
just makes me feel tense.
The pretense of picking a shade
to be sprayed on the walls
appalls me.
Should we pick a green
for an outdoorsy scene?
Or a yellow for mellow dining?
Perhaps a refining blue
will do the trick.
And so it begins, I’m getting sick.
There must be way to end this abuse?
What if I would say a lovely chartreuse
would be a good choice?
Could I smile and rejoice
or would we return to the wheel?
I’m starting to reel at the thought
and find myself overwrought.
Let’s paint the darn thing in blacks.
Is this how we get heart attacks?
© Susan Schoeffield
I have a painting problem here too…if I could just will myself to get the layers of nasty border peeled and walls scrubbed then I could BEGIN to think paint and reel on this wheel of color with you…
A friend asked me when I’d been finished with house projects. When? They NEVER finish. Good luck with yours!
Enjoyable read Susan!!
Sorry Susan. My crazy crayon is all used up from all those self-portraits I’ve done lately!
That’s okay. I can wait for you to replace it!
[…] for the 8/24/14 prompt at Creative Bloomings to write a “color” […]
[…] Creative Bloomings- PROMPT #164 – COLOUR MY WORLD […]
Message from the Geode
From what shore did you travel
which steely ledge broke you free
where did your storied journey begin
what tumbled ocean bottom did you tour
how did you arrive here – rock at my feet –
did you meet many others along the way?
Tell me your tale in dappled shades of gray
low spoken saga given in breath of waves…
please, go on – I’m ready to hear you now.
I’ll listen deeply of your smoky quartz lore.
Copyright © Hannah Gosselin 2014
Oh, so I forgot to post the part that explains…I found a geode at the beach yesterday! There’s a picture of it on my blog post if you’re interested.
I’ve been missing poetry and people lately…busy making fun with the end (?!) of our son’s summer vacation. 🙂 I expect I’ll be back to normal blogging etc. soon. Smiles.
Also, this just in… 😉 I awoke with more from the Geode this morning…I hope you guys don’t mind if I re-post the updated version of its message… 🙂
Message from the Geode
From what shore did you travel
which steely ledge broke you free
where did your legendary journey begin
what tumbled ocean bottom did you tour
did you implore of the water-blurred stars
look to lemon-bright constellations
seeking guidance to the closest inlet and bay
or did you ramble the rough-ridged-depths
knowing that it was predestined for you
it was this very trip that would soften your edges,
weather you and wizen you to the way…
how did you arrive here – rock at my feet –
did you meet many others along this sacred passage
did you bump stony shoulders – swap stories?
Tell me your tale in dappled shades of gray
low spoken saga given in breath of waves…
please, go on – I’m ready to hear you now.
I’ll listen deeply of your smoky quartz lore.
Copyright © Hannah Gosselin 2014
Hope so! The sky is less bright without the light of Hannah Smiles!
Well, thank you, Walt!! That brings a smile for sure. 🙂
I like the conversational twist to this piece Hannah.
Thank you, I rather enjoyed that twist too…when I address the rock directly…yes, and turn inward with the calculating of whether I was ready yet to really hear these stories…
Thanks a bunch!
I do too, and I can live with these questions… Beautiful!
A BETTER TASTE OF VIBRANCE
Color this world a better place
where lavish evergreens run wild
Open wide with sustaining grace
the mighty gates of freedom
Liberating her green hills in haste
with the passionate thrill of release
Stand and give
a starving world a better taste
of vibrance it so desperately needs
Be the seeds
of hope
and cloud on the day of rain
captivate a dried earth
from her barren pains
Be a solid rainbow
after the storm
in primary wisdom
illuminate the norm
Color this world
a better place
Stand up
give it a better taste
of vibrance
Benjamin Thomas
I second this! Thank you!