March 30, 2017

Poetry Friday--TLD Challenge: Odes

I'm sure you're all aware of Michelle Barnes' Today's Little Ditty challenges. This month the challenge was provided by Helen Frost.
Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or both.

Participants post their poems to a Padlet. Michelle features some of the entries throughout the month (she featured mine on March 23), and then does a wrap-up at the end of the month, which just so happens to be today!

Since I force hyacinth bulbs every winter, and I hadn't posted a new hyacinth poem yet in 2017 (I posted a poem in November in anticipation of forcing bulbs, click here), I decided to write an ode to a hyacinth glass. Once I had it written, I added it to the March Padlet and then I illustrated it to use today. I'm not sure I directly used all the senses, but there are enough hints throughout. The question is unasked, but the answer is obvious!


© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

Text:

Ode to a Hyacinth Glass

Once crystalline now coated
with the grime of rotted sheaths
and root hairs shed, your new bulb's
nascent roots tickle the water
silently absorbing all it needs
to flower. Jewel tones and heady
fragrance, winter consolation.

I have a second ode, which is more of an advertisement for citrus growers than a poem!


Text:

Ode to a Clementine

Oh, my darlin' thin-skinned citrus!
You fit nicely in anyone's hand.
The rip of your skin, clean. A fragrant
promise of tangy sweetness within each
netted segment, released in a touch.
One is hardly enough, so bring them on!
Love that vitamin C & natural sugar energy.

Amy at The Poem Farm is playing Round-Up host this week, so be sure to stop by!

April is practically upon us, and that means it'll be National Poetry Month. This year I'm going to continue the series of NPM poems I call "Ekphrastic Mondays." Each year during the month of April, I have an ekphrastic (art inspired by art) poem. This is the fifth year. If you're interested in what I've done in the past, click on the label on the right. Last year I featured Childe Hassam's work, and this year I'll be writing poems about Nicolas Tarkhoff's paintings. Tarkhoff and Hassam worked at approximately the same time, and both were impressionist painters. Come back on April 3 for the first Ekphrastic Monday.

21 comments:

  1. Your collection of odes is oh so inspiring. You give me hope that I might try one that works out for me!

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    1. They were fun to write. The hardest part was finding a subject.

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  2. Love the illustrated version, Diane! I agree that those last two words, "winter consolation" really do speak as an answer even without a question. As for your citrus advertisement, I think we have a Clementine gremlin in our house— the fruit bowl just won't stay filled.

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    1. I'm happy to see clementines have such a big following, they really are good!

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  3. I like the illustrations with your odes. They are a beautiful "package"!

    Just so you don't miss it - the Scavenger Hunt poem is up today with your line in it:
    http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com/2017/03/sol-ends-and-poetry-friday.html

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  4. Beautiful, Diane! I too love the illustrated versions, but also enjoy the text alone which allows me to visualize my own image inspired by your beautiful language.

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    1. I started to include the text by itself when Brenda Harsham told me that programs for people with vision problem don't read the text within an illustration.

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  5. "winter consolation" - yes. I love that illustration. You always create such a beautiful marriage of text and image. Focusing on writing from one artist's work must really give a sense that you know the artist in a new way. It is a wise way to go deep. Here's to a thoughtful month full of beauty! x

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    1. Perhaps it's not so much knowing the artist as it is me imagining how an artist might work or be inspired.

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  6. I agree, you always find the best images for fit your beautiful poems!

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    1. Thanks, Linda, I like looking through old books and catalogs (at Gutenberg Project or Open Library) for images to use.

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  7. Both of your Odes make me smile, Diane. I will never look at the clementines on my kitchen counter the same way again. =)

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  8. Oh my darling clementine! What a lovely ode to a juicy little ball of sunshine!

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    1. Actually, "oh my darling" is what got me started on a clementine ode.

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  9. I'm not a fan of hyacinths, Diane, but I did love that ode...the illustrations was stunning, too. You are a marvel.

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  10. I saw your lovely ode on the Padlet, Diane, but love the visual you've created to accompany it. And the clementines certainly fit the bill don't they? And the call back to the song is such fun. I began to sing along!

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  11. What a welcome hint of spring! Lovely odes and illustrations!

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  12. Congratulations on completing these, Diane...I had wanted to write one and just ran out of time. I especially love the first one, as we have a vase very similar to that here, cradling spring near the kitchen window.

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  13. Oh, yum! I can smell both the hyacinths and the Clementines!

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