Saturday's attempt, day 4

The Barnacle Says

I am a lunar crater on a gray whale’s back,
a lightening bolt on the Bering Sea.
I am hailstorms stinging Pacific swells,
baby fog drifting on hidden lagoons.

I am feathers that tickle el Niño,
a calm morning before the storm,
the wing of a dove as it lands on a branch,
a curl of smoke from distant lands.

I am the silent breath of a slow ride,
the chill in the air, an alpine moon,
a shiny nickel found on the sand.
I am antique paper rolled in a bottle,

faded letters scratched in blood.
I am the tip of a whittled stick,
the thoughts that drift out to sea
and return with the incoming tide.

***

Day 4. I wrote this poem using a few words for colors found on paint chip samples, the idea for my prompt currently up at Read Write Poem. I’ve used this idea before with some amusing results. Sometimes the names for colors on those paint samples are beyond the pale… . I also wrote about an animal for Poetic Asides. dyalns-letter-a

Published by Christine

Christine Swint’s poems have appeared in Calyx, Birmingham Poetry Review, Slant, a Journal of Poetry, Tampa Review, Heron Tree, Ekphrasis, and others. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best New Poets, and she has won first place prizes from the Georgia Poetry Society and Agnes Scott College. Her first collection, Swimming This, was published in 2015 by FutureCycle Press. She teaches first-year composition at a metro-Atlanta university and writes about poetry, art, hiking, and yoga at Balanced on the Edge, https://balancedonedge.blog Twitter @christine_swint

12 thoughts on “Saturday's attempt, day 4”

  10. blythe says:
    Reply

    Gray just might be my favorite color, odd as that sounds, so I loved this. This *is* why I loveAlso, your ability to combine prompts amazes me. It’s like flawless poetry acrobatics.

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  11. christine says:
    Reply

    Catherine, I think I’ll change the title of this poem to “Shades of Gray.” I was already thinking that when I posted it, but I got myself sidetracked with the prompt at Poetic Asides. Ugh!

    Thanks everyone, for your kind words.

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  12. Julie says:
    Reply

    I love it! This stanza is my favorite:

    “I am the silent breath of a slow ride,
    the chill in the air, an alpine moon,
    a shiny nickel found on the sand.
    I am antique paper rolled in a bottle,”

    Thanks for explaining where/how you created the poem. The poetic process is so interesting to me. I love your prompts!

    Like

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