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.
