I wrote the following poem in response to this week’s wordle at Read Write Poem. But what I ended up with (as well as the outrageous extremes evoked by the words) also seem to fit well with Blog Action Day‘s topic this year: Climate Change.
I figure there are thousands of newsy posts on climate change. Why did the world need one more regurgitation of what those with more knowledge have already made clear? So here’s a lyrical meditation on what’s at stake should some parts of the earth begin to lose their dramatic seasonal changes.
__________________________________
Celebrate Brown
October
Capricious summer
has ceased
her irresistible insolence
I already miss her,
how she chelated
the consonants
out of language,
inspired
vowelized croaks
of oooooohs and aaaaaahs
at cosmoramic explosions
of color –
an investment in progeny
that always
goes
to seed.
Exult now in browns,
I tell myself –
the final thrashings of plant life
before the vehemence
of winter –
and don’t wish that
august old reprobate back
too soon.
___________________________________________
For those interested in more practical approaches to reducing our impact on climate, check out:
For reflections on how humans can get along with other species, explore the many posts in Species of the Week
I love the image of the progeny always going to seed! and the oxymoronic “august reprobate” is delicious.
Yes, fall is definitely here. Love sleeping under layers of thick blankets with my window open to the frost-laden air.
I love fall too, so much that I wonder at the part of me that misses summer. I guess it’s the challenge of being present in the moment.
The way you used some of the words in your poem made me smile. Especially “august which isn’t used much in that fashion anymore. Shame, that…
“Exult now in browns…”
Marvelous.
So glad the words made you smile. I had a lot of fun with them. And yes, it’s a treat to find a place for august.
So much I can agree with, and be surprised by. Wonderful to take those strange spam words and create meaning. (Great BAD09 tie-in!)
I think the stanzas and line breaks were perfect, too — they paced the longing so well.
Thanks, Deb. I appreciate your feedback on the stanzas and line breaks. I’m never very confident about those.
I love every part of your poem’s development. I was born in the fall. Wrong season apparently, my element wood is weak according to Chinese geomancy. Life’s not a silver spoon. I should write an October poem, though there’re no seasons here. You should write more poems Liz. You’re good.
Irene – Yes, the whole idea of four seasons doesn’t really speak to those in tropical climates. Thanks for your words of encouragement. I’m looking forward to a time when I can finish up my prose projects and spend more time on poetry.
Lovely lovely poem and such a clever use of the words.
Thanks, Rallentanda, Cynthia, and Therese. I do enjoy the challenge of trying to make sense out of random words.
you did such a good job with these words! The poem had a beautiful flow and the ending was super! Really nice work!
You did a great job personifying the seasons — summer a dear female friend “her”, august a male reprobate. I took these wordle words literally, as real people, but you took an imaginative leap! This is a fine poem of longing for what is passing away — so many great poems are about the transience of time.
I applaud your decision to not share your poem which was too personal. You are respecting your own limits instead of giving in to the confessional impulse of some poets. Give yourself some time with the poem. Don’t throw it away. Keep it in a private notebook. You may find that after some time, you are ready to share it publicly. You may also discover a way to alter the poem so it’s not directly about you. For example, I’ve read one poem in which the poet describes a historical figure who went through a situation which may actually be the poet’s own experience. But the poet decided to present the situation as the experience of the historical person. There are lots of options for presenting material that’s very personal.
Therese – Thanks for the advice. I’m not much into confessionals. The poem I didn’t share is definitely a keeper though. I like your idea of projecting the experience onto a more remote situation to take some of the intimacy out of it. I’ll have to think about how to do that.
Here in Bakersfield the color of the summer is all too frequently brown… so very hot, everything gets baked to the color of instant cocoa with a lot of sugar.
Love the way you played with the words and the seasons and made them all make sense. I tossed words out of the word pool, ones I didn’t see how I could use them to allow the story the space to be told. You told the story brilliantly with exactly the words given. Brava!
Thanks, Julie. I lived in California for awhile and remember the browns there very well – so beautiful in their own way.
nicely done and thanks for sharing this
Thanks, Wayne.
I really enjoyed the seamless way you worked these words naturally into the piece. Love the idea of “exulting in browns…”
Thanks. I’m grateful for autumn days with a bit of sun. They make the golds and various shades of brown especially beautiful.
This was a great idea to combine the Wordle with Blog Action Day. I think the science has convinced all those it’s going to. Now its up to the poets to win over people’s hearts. I was a bit reluctant to “exult the browns” this year because of our strange summer here in Chicago, but the poem won me over to fall’s cause
.
Thanks, Francis. I agree on the need for poets and other artists to change hearts alongside the scientists, journalists and politicians changing minds. We need everybody to pitch in with whatever talents and strengths they have to reach people in diverse ways. Enjoy your fall.