Day Twenty-One on APRIL 21, 2024
Happy twenty-first day of NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo, everybody.
Today’s featured participant is Catrin Mari, who brings us a neatly rhymed appreciation of a little-known
historical figure, Dr. William Price of Lllantrisant, Wales. (With apologies for the late posting!)
Our resource for the day is the website of the Oxford Professor of Poetry, where you’ll find audio files of
the nine lectures given by Alice Oswald across the four years of her appointed term.
And now for our (optional) prompt! Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that repeats or focuses
on a single color. Some examples for you – Diane Wakoski’s “Blue Monday,” Walter de la Mare’s “Silver,” and
Dorothea Lasky’s “Red Rum.”
Happy writing!
Grays Before Blues Before Mauves
I cherish the perennial pause of May
give me grays before blues before mauves
when I mute the brilliance of the day
I let avian friends punctuate me suave
give me grays before blues before mauves
as I listen to the silence of soft light
I let avian friends punctuate me suave
I prefer soft landings and slow starts
as I listen to the silence of soft light
like grays before blues before mauves
I prefer soft landings and slow starts
I let the colors I hear fill the flaws
like grays before blues before mauves
the bell still rings inside the flower
I let the colors I hear fill the flaws
there’s much noise and drama at all hours
the bell still rings inside the flower
so I’m under the tutelage of silence
there’s much noise and drama at all hours
each morn the birds hum and balance
so I’m under the tutelage of silence
in time I reach the depth of my sea
each morn the birds hum and balance
soak me in the balm of nature’s decree
in time I reach the depth of my sea
in the garden, the flowers forget me not
soak me in the balm of nature’s decree
like my grays, my blues, and my mauves
in the garden, the flowers forget me not
I cherish the perennial pause of May
like my grays, my blues, and my mauves
when I mute the brilliance of the day.
© selma
Form: pantoum
An NPM Scavenger Hunt – Poems from Around the World!…Thanks, Valerie.
Malaysia: Pantoum – A form of interlocking quatrains (4-line stanzas) where
lines 2 and 4 become lines 1 and 3 of the following quatrain.
There must be a minimum of 3 stanzas but there is no maximum limit.
The lines can be of any length. The rhyme scheme is a/b/a/b, b/c/b/c, c/d/c/d etc.
To close use lines 1 and 3 of the first verse as lines 2 and 4 of the last verse or use
them as a rhyming couplet
e.g. z/a/z/a or a/a.
We haven’t really touched on a theme of anger –
you pick the kind (jilted love, spurned affections, redirected, red hot,
unbridled, righteous, murderous), all kinds can come to mind…
> I pick ‘non-anger’ < > I pick self-care <
…Thanks for being here with me as I try to work on these first drafts this month.
NOTE: The perennial pause of May is the recurring Golden Week that Japan
observes yearly. And like every year, I will take a needed break from the blog
after NaPoWriMo.
Thanks so much for your readership.
- NPM Scavenger Hunt – Poems from Around the World - April 30, 2024
- Day 30: NaPoWriMo 2024–Mary Magdalene At The Doctor’s - April 30, 2024
- Day 29: NaPoWriMo 2024–Inside Love Incandescent - April 29, 2024
I love your personally expressive poem, giving life to color in such a creative way, Selma. I love your brilliant line:
“I let avian friends punctuate me suave” -sublime.
I loved it!! Beautiful pantoum.
This is a beautiful poem Selma. Lovely use of blending colors.
Beautiful written poem. , Selma in the garden, the flowers forget me not
I cherish the perennial pause of May
like my grays, my blues, and my mauves
when I mute the brilliance of the day.
Selma this is a wonderful Pantoum!! The colors work so well!! (and as always the themes are just suggestions – you are free to employ or ignore them!!!) <3
All the colours are beautiful.
Your words are beautifully captured coloring our day to relaxation💕
This is such a beautifully vibrant poem Selma !
Love strolling through your poetry garden, Selma. 🌼
Peaceful. (K)