Welcome to Day 5 of the November Open Write. Thank you to Kim Johnson, Katrina Morrison, and Tammi Belko for nurturing our poetic living this month! If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today’s host, so just read the prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below. We do ask that if you write, in the spirit of reciprocity, you respond to three or more writers. To learn more about the Open Write, click here.
Note: We will not have an Ethical ELA Open Write in December, but we hope you carve space for poetic thinking, being, and writing through the holidays. We will see you back here January 21-25 with Glenda Funk and Barb Edler to welcome us into 2023.
Our Host
Tammi is a middle school ELA teacher, Gifted Intervention Specialist, and Power of the Pen writing coach. Tammi has spent over fifteen years sharing her love of reading, writing and poetry with her students. A mother of three, Tamara resides in Cleveland, Ohio. When she isn’t absorbed in reading young adult literature, she can be found listening to music with her family, enjoying a walk or learning Tai Chi. She is the author of the contemporary young adult verse novel, Perchance to Dream.
Inspiration
As we continue to recover from the trauma of Covid, I believe it is imperative to forge strong connections with students. Through reflection, poetry provides the perfect medium for developing these bonds. Color Personality poems are an engaging way for students to reflect and express themselves creatively.
Process
- Take a color personality test. Here , Here, Here. Or here for adults.
- Determine your color and highlight the characteristics of that color.
- Use those characteristics to craft your poem.
Your poem can take any form. Students can utilize this template.
Tammi’s Poem
I am Blue
and constantly searching
for answers to life’s
essential questions.
I am Blue
and desire quality time
with those I love.
I am Blue
and drawn to symbolism and expression
and books,
dogged eared and dusty,
classic and new.
I am Blue
and reelings guide my decisions.
To myself I must remain true.
Causes and ideals I am committed to.
I seek harmony and unity.
I am Blue. © 2022
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.
Blue
I think it fits —
Dependable
worker.
Open-minded.
Quiet.
Dependable
freethinker.
Loyal.
Caring.
Dependable.
I hope it fits.
Another late post so I chose to use the Skinny Poem form.
Thank you Tammi for this fun prompt; I’m going to dive deeper in the days/weeks to come.
I think for December, since we won’t have Open Write prompts, I’m going to spend some time with the poems I’ve written in previous Open Writes and tighten them up. Maybe reimagine some in a new form.
thank you to all our hosts this month.
Jennifer — The skinny poem form works well here. Love the bookends “I hope it fits”
I connected with this part of the stanza: “
…and books,
dogged eared and dusty,
classic and new.”
I love a good book.
Thank you for the prompt today. I just admit I have a difficult time with quizzes like this. Either because I’m all the choices or none of the choices and I’m forced to choose. But after taking this one, I cannot tell a lie. This is me.
Good as Gold
Seems a little Royal,
But dependable can be my second middle name.
Rule follower, but don’t always accept the Rule Giver.
Predictable is not always good, but a sense of security satisfies me.
Prepared for disaster like organized chaos.
Care too much, love to help
so much so I overbook my calendar
that I always forget to check.
But I put myself last which stresses me out.
I love to hate me.
Jessica – that last line –“I love to hate me” — wow! I hope you find time to rest, rejuvenate, and love yourself during Thanksgiving break.
Thank you for your words Tammi! It’s been a difficult eventful week, but I hope what you spoke comes soon. There’s always Winter break!
Okay, so I really kind of enjoy these quizzes. I was blue in one, purple in another. But I’ll stick with purple (fun fact–the “specialty cocktail at my wedding was a concoction we called “Purple Rain”). It seems to suit me! Thanks Tammi for the really fun prompt and wonderful exemplar poem!
Purple
The blue and red clash in me
The calm, the distance, the water sign,
The fire, passion, and close breath of urgency
to make–
Purple,
Like the bunting that hangs above the door
of my father’s firehouse.
Purple
like Prince
strutting the stage
soloing under the searing heat
of the spotlight
Purple like the regalia of royalty
from history and literature
power and responsibility
weighting a King’s cloak,
the heaviness of the crown
Or purple
like Grimace or Barney
awkwardly and unironically
dancing to the tune of a
children’s song,
offering innocence and joy
in a jaded, jaundiced world
Purple
like an amethyst–
Semi-precious,
reliever of stress and strain
fear and anxiety
More grape soda
than grandiose garb,
I remain purple,
purportedly.
Dave — Purple makes me think of Prince and Purple Rain, too. Love these lines
“More grape soda/than grandiose garb”
Dave, I love how you made the clashing of blue and red to make purple. And what a great mixture! Royalty, Prince, Grimace, and Barney, i think they’re all connected in some mysterious way…what great descriptions!
I took two of the quizzes and both declared me green, so it must be so.
If you were to ask,
I’d say I was purple,
my favorite color,
but that’s not the
type that I am.
I am green
like the growing
grass, trees,
moss, flower buds, and
weeds in the path.
I am green
like the foods I eat:
lettuce, spinach,
asparagus, kiwi,
basil, and grapes.
A green personality
likes to learn and discuss
abstract ideas and
philosophical concepts–
and so I do.
Independence is another
precept of greenness,
which I couldn’t agree to
more strongly, let me be me,
if you please–or not.
Like the quiet process
of photosynthesis,
I need time to recharge,
to process the events
and people of my world.
While I’d rather be a
sharp but beautiful
amethyst geode or a
Lucifier hummingbird
whizzing through the sky,
There is truth in the
verdant verisimilitude
of the yearning for
knowledge and caring
within my being.
Cara,
This poem is beautifully written. It is totally you, even if you’re not purple.
Cara — Love the rhythm of your poem. I especially like this stanza
“Like the quiet process
of photosynthesis,
I need time to recharge,
to process the events
and people of my world”
I like the reminder that we all need to process events around us at our own speed.
Wow Cara, you sell green! And I am not a science fan, but you so eloquently described photosynthesis in this stanza: “Like the quiet process
of photosynthesis,
I need time to recharge,
to process the events
and people of my world.”
It makes much more sense when you explain it. It’s a process and one that you embrace well. I love purple too, but sometimes we have to be true to ourselves. Thank you for sharing!
Cara, I love your last stanza! “There is truth in the / verdant verisimilitude / of the yearning for / knowledge and caring / within my being.” The sounds are wonderful and aesthetically I just really like the “alphabetic movement,” meaning the “t” to the “v” to the “y” and then backward from the “k” to the “c” and then resting on the “b” of “being” at the end. I don’t really know how to explain that, but I just really enjoy it, so thank you!
I am BLUE
That means I am…
dependable
practical
rule-follower
long-enduring
tenacious
staunch
loyal
trustworthy
I am BLUE
It also means I am…
reliable
pragmatic
conformist
durable
firm
stalwart
faithful
honest
I am BLUE
Which further means I am…
good
realistic
traditionalist
enduring
determined
committed
devoted
sincere
I am BLUE
Donnetta — I love the way you used the stanza as progressions that build upon each other. Ending the traits with committed, devoted and sincere wraps everything up perfectly.
I love the reiterations of your blue points. You know it, but it’s like you’re having to explain to that one person why you are like you are. See previous stanzas. Love it! I also love that you say you are and not that you’re like. You are BLUE! Thank you for sharing!
Tammi, strangely enough, I love these little quizzes. Thank you for this great idea!
If I am green,
and I must be,
for an online quiz tells me so,
If I am green
then I cannot be red
or royal blue or yellow.
If I am green
because I would
a Japanese garden see,
If I am green
because to me
a party might only be three
If I am green,
well, it’s OK.
The brightest green I’ll stay.
I’ll be the grass
of the emerald isle
in the bonnie month of May.
I’ll be the green
of the limiest lime
upon the brightest lime tree.
And you will smile
and be at peace
whenever me you see.
Katrina — I love the matter-of-fact tone you create here. It says this is me and deal with it! Love it!
This stanza made me smile and reminded me of a Dr. Suess story.
“I’ll be the green
of the limiest lime
upon the brightest lime tree.”
Katrina, I’m with Tammi here. I loved your tone and your playfully inverted sentence structure throughout! “I’ll be the grass / of the emerald isle / in the bonnie month of May” is a favorite moment of mine because it is both direct and implicit at the same time! Thank you for sharing your greenness!
Orange Personality
There are so many colors.
Personalities are complex.
Whittle mine down to one?
Who determines the specs?
I‘m orange it’s told.
How can that be?
Color of fruit I dislike,
wrinkled and hanging on a tree.
But with health and vitality hidden inside.
I can display that with pride.
A color of extremes
hues of polarizing teams
between red and yellow.
Love it, nuturing and mellow
or hate it as a prison uniform
that certainly isn’t warm.
Orange full of optimism, friendly too.
Indeed that’s a better view
of a message positively seen
to relieve tension.
Can I grab your attention?
I’d really stand out next to blue and green.
And if you are crimson, we make good allies
together fighting the wrong we see with our eyes
and maybe win a humanitarian prize.
Given these “Orange” facts that I see
it’s not so bad a personality to be.
Susan — Love the rhyme and rhythm and the way you brought in the allied color of crimson. I agree “personalities are complex” and hard to “whittle” down.
Tammi, thank for for this opportunity to reflect. Like you, I am BLUE!
I am the sky, the great
connector of all nature
and people. Highway for
the blue heron.
I am the ocean whose
waves gently kiss the shoreline
in harmony with our moon.
I contains multitudes.
I’m able to turn
tumultuous in a moment’s notice
due to built-up pressure.
Guilt. Faults.
I am ice; slick,
chilling, and cool
soothing the pain
of any sting.
I am the iris, a harbinger
for spring. Your hopeful
reminder. I’m a meadow
of blue bells, swaying in the wind
offering flexibility while firmly
planted and gazing at the
blue heron.
Rachelle,
I love all the different blues you aline yourself with here. Can’t decide is I love the stanza about the moon or the stanza about the sky best. Thank you for sharing.
Rachelle– love the blue images in your poem:” blue bells” and “blue heron.” I especially like the power of this line: :”I contain multitudes” Cheers to being blue!
I am swimming in the punctuation of the first lines of each stanza. “I am the sky, the great” so powerful, such a declaration and then followed by the greatness not in individual but relational. Love that.
Rachelle,
Your poem is so lyrical and yet weaves in all the personality traits so seamlessly. Beautiful!
I guess I’m more
of a bumblebee
or honey instead of,
say, Cadmium or
Eggnog, more “Oh Snap”
than “Sun, Sea, Sand
in My Pants.”
I guess, really,
I can see myself
as an “Exotic Birds
Do Not Tweet”
sort of guy,
and sure,
caution,
betrayal,
and cowardice
are this color,
but so are
optimism,
enthusiasm,
and warmth,
and maybe
I can be
indecisive
at times,
I guess,
but I’m also
incredibly kind
according to
The Color
Personality
Test, so that
should count
for something,
right? I mean,
you can totally
disagree with
me and that
would be ok,
because
I am also
supposedly
a people pleaser
as well (which
totally checks
out) and I want you
to be comfortable,
so, hey, if you want
to finish reading this
poem, cool, but if
you’d like to stop
here, that would
work, too, I’m just
saying, please, don’t
show me the website
that has 145 different
shades of this color
and ask me to pick one
because that’s not
helping at all,
unless, of course,
you want to,
and that would
be alright, too.
___________________________
Thank you, Tammi, for your poem and prompt today! I enjoyed finding out my color and the various personality traits that did (and did not) apply to me! (Or at least to my “self perception.” Lol). I can totally see this as a fun activity for students.
Scott – This was so fun to read! “an “Exotic Birds/Do Not Tweet”/sort of guy, ” had me laughing. I totally wanted to ” finish reading” your poem. They never disappoint!
so, hey, if you want
to finish reading this
poem, cool, but if
you’d like to stop
here, that would
work, too,
Scott, this is where I started giggling. And then I read on, all the way to the end…
Scott,
So enjoy the way you/your speaker acknowledge the reader/listener sitting alongside the poem. This is a lovely way of stirring intimacy and relational being. Thanks for the permission to “stop/here” and “unless, of course, you want to” because some of us here are also “people pleasers.”
Yes! “People pleasers” of the world unite! (if, you know, we can find a place that works for everyone, and if we can agree on everyone’s various schedules and whatnot….Lol)
Scott, I seem to look to your poems for a break from all of the seriousness of our world. I love the way you lean into your color here with phrases like, “unless, of course, you want to, and that would be alright, too.”
Scott,
As always, I just love the voice and character in your poems! This is wonderful and has so many twists and turns that simultaneously paint a picture of you.
Tammi, I think this poem would be very fun for students. It’s so accessible. I just used the words in the description. Am I orange? Maybe, but what color would I be tomorrow? Who knows. Thanks for your good mentor poem about being blue. I especially liked your description of the books you are drawn to: “dogged eared and dusty”
I am Orange,
optimistic and friendly
Yes, let’s do it.
I am Orange,
perceptive and nurturing
What do you need?
I am Orange, and
need to practice self-care
OK, I need a break
I am Orange
Denise— I am fascinated by each of our renditions of our color traits! I think I would like to be near to your orange self!
Thank you to our hosts this week: Kim Katrina, Tammi. Although I didn’t post yesterday, I did write! This has been a busy month, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to write poetry during NCTE and ALAN.
Tammi, I really like this prompt and the opportunities it offers students. I didn’t want to pick only one color because I love so many.
tie-dyed human
the painter’s
palate splatters
streams across
life’s canvas
the way
jackson pollack
dripped rainbow
ribbons: color
to create
abstract
expressionism
ain’t life like that:
mottled
anxious
ambiguous
totemic
changing:
a canvas
trimmed
shaped
spattered:
painted
tie-dyed
human.
—Glenda Funk
November 23, 2022
Ooooh, Glenda, this is brilliant. Yes to all the colors, all the emotions, all the life and living, all the colors that make us who we are.
Glenda — This is brilliant! Love this — “jackson pollack/dripped rainbow/ ribbons: color/to create/abstract/expressionism” — it really captures life and human personalities!
Boy, isn’t that the truth. That’s what I thought when I read these lines:
I love the idea of us as tie-dyed humans. Beautiful imagery today!
A little bit of every color—- what we all aspire to!! Love this!
Thank you, Glenda. I love anything reminding me of painting but your poem has said so much more about the mix of beautiful colors we hard. How can anyone be only one color but instead ribbons of color.
I hope the formatting works when I post this. I chose to write two Golden Shovel poems since one test said I’m gold and another one said I’m green.
This is for the Gold in Me
You know how I hate suprises
rarely does the unexpected
do the thing better than
anything expected or known
that is why I’m a planner who
is certain of what I’ll wear and where I’ll be
unpredictable people bring chaos
or confusion and all that
unplanned mess just leads to unnecessary stress
This is for the Green in Me
If I receive an invitation to go with you
I will not say yes when I need
to say no. Your
company soothes me but my private
space to breathe, rest, and reflect provides time
I deserve to take each
chance I have on any given day.
Putting all my heart in to
daily tasks and duties requires me to recharge.
©Stacey L. Joy, November 23, 2022
Oh well, the formatting changed. The second poem was right-aligned.
Stacey,
I love how you aligned you poems, even if formatting didn’t save on your second poem.
I love that you are honest with yourself, saying no so you can keep your calm quiet space it great. I need to learn to do that better. Often people forget extraverts need alone time too.
Stacey, YES to saying no when we need our time to recharge. I love what you did here with the golden shovel and the colors. And I also love that you are gold with one of your favorite forms! You rocked the writing today, friend!
Stacey, loved the opposite alignment idea, and also loved the first poem that urged us to read down the left first. These were fun to read, creative, revealing, and just awesome. <3
Meant to give props to how the second poem does the same with the end-words. ❤️
Stacey — Love this — “If I receive an invitation to go with you/I will not say yes when I need/to say no” understanding what one needs is so important to one’s self care. I also love the way you wrote the golden shovel with the first word highlight and then the last word highlighted.
Stacey,
These poems are gold. Gilding takes time, so for me the color has symbolic meaning. We’ll envision the formatting, which I know you planned meticulously. I like how the spacing in the second poem evokes a need for space. Lovely poems.
The golden shovel was such a clever form to use with the descriptions in our color personality tests. I love being able to read what the test said about your personality and then your riffing on it. I like the internal rhyme of mess and stress. I, too, can appreciate the need to recharge!
This form works so well for the prompt. And I kind of like the zig-zag of the second poem. It knew it’s own mind, just as you do!
Your style of the golden shovel works perfectly even though you are unhappy with the alignment. I love the contrasts of each personality color and again as Glenda remarks in her poem we are each a rainbow of colors.
Stacey,
I love these! I came out as green on two tests, so your second one describes me, too. The contrasts and similarities between the two are like a beautiful brocade of you.
Stacey, like you I am “green,” and I can completely relate to your need for rest and quiet. “Putting all my heart in to daily tasks and duties” definitely “requires me to recharge.” Also, I just LOVE the golden shovel poem! Thank you!
Love your poems, Stacey! The formatting didn’t change your thoughts. I smiled reading “unplanned mess just leads to unnecessary stress” because I saw myself saying these words 🙂
In the “green” part, the idea of recharging is so valuable! We have to remember that more often.
Tammi thank you for this fun prompt. I will be honest and say I took the color test twice. There is NO way I am green. Ask anyone who knows me. I honestly feel like covid has skewed my answers. Crimson is a better fit.
I am Crimson
My friendliness
Does not make me week
It strengthen me
I am Crimson
I love deep and wide
However if you cross
Watch out!!!
I am Crimson
I follow my passion
I’ve made mistakes
However I learned from them
I am Crimson
Very much a social animal
I enjoy small talk
Getting to know new people
I am Crimson
I am an extravert
Some might say
I am an extra extravert
I am Crimson
I still enjoy my quiet time
Alone to read it knit
That does not make me Green
DeAnna — I have wondered about the accuracy of the colors too. The first time I took it several years ago I was blue. That’s when I wrote the poem. More recently I was yellow, but maybe that just reflects how we change. Love your second stanza:
I am Crimson
I love deep and wide
However if you cross
Watch out!!!
Even though I’m not Crimson, I’ve had moments of Crimson.
DeAnna,
I see you in every line of this poem–friendliness, love, passion, extroverted social butterfly who still revels in a quiet moment to knit. Perfectly you!
We are driving across
several states today,
so color surveys were
a welcome break from
Sirius scrolling.
I am green, and
my spouse is blue.
We share shades
in our shared spaces.
Living different
dimensions when apart
noting how others
illuminate selfs we
temper for marital
tranquility.
So grateful for the past days of poetry fortifying my heart for upcoming encounters with distant family. Thanks, Kim, Katrina, and Tammi.
This so captures marriage for me. Lovely sentiments, Sarah! And Happy Thanksgiving! <3
Sarah,
I feel this “illuminate selfs we temper for marital tranquility.” It’s so much easier w/ one’s soulmate than w/ those w/ whom we share DNA across the miles. I know poetry will be your friend as you travel and visit and “temper for tranquility.” Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for giving us here in this community so many reasons to give thanks.
Sarah,
If your husband is as kind and compassionate as you are, then you both have found life’s greatest gifts! I love that you know the value of what needs temperance in marriage.
Safe travels and don’t forget to rest. You deserve it.
Sarah — Love the feeling of harmony that exudes from your poem and these lines:
“We share shades
in our shared spaces.”
Have a great trip, Sarah! I love how you took time to write on the road, and included your partner in the test-taking.
I love this phrase: “selfs we temper”
I love the concept of your overlapped selves and the differences when apart. Isn’t that what a good relationship does for us?
“Living different dimensions when apart noting how others illuminate selfs we temper for marital tranquility” is such a rich thought and sentiment. There’s so much there! This really captures the idea of not losing oneself in a relationship and the beauty of appreciating a partner’s unique personhood and the ability to appreciate other people “illuminating” them.
Tammi, thank you for a fun prompt and a new challenge for me today. Also, thank you to our other hosts this week (The 3 K’s: Kim, Kyle, and Katrina) who made November’s Open Write warm and enjoyable.
Tammi, I tried your adult test and tried one other I found online and can’t come to a final conclusion so that must be a new color “confused” for me. LOL. I will work on a poem to post shortly.
I love your poem and these lines resonated with me because I am also kinda blue!
?
Before I even start to get my thoughts going to write for today, I must thank Kim, Katrina, and Tammi for their prompts, poems and inspirations this month. As usual, these prompts are a challenge but so, so healthy!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Tammi, this exercise is completely captivating! When I was a child, I tended to name abstract things by color – such as, “My turn is pink!” I don’t know what that says about me… nevertheless, I find this activity an incredibly valuable tool for reflection, self-awareness, wellbeing – all things the world needs so much more of at present. I love the sense of peace emanating from your poem, the calm meditation; i can hear my own breath as I read it. … thank you for this great inspiration!
I did the test, started with the form, and then my poem went running in this direction…
True Color
I am
the three bands
on the ring finger
of my left hand:
one worn by
my grandmother
engraved with
her initials
and my grandfather’s
alongside
their wedding date:
December 12, 1936
(the day after
Edward abdicated
for Wallis)
one worn by
my mother-in-law
a 1953 engagement
between a widow
and a widower
with two children each
with the long reach
of duty in Korea
calling
one given
to me
on the day
I married
thirty-seven years
two sons
and two granddaughters
ago…
a poet
named after
fleeting morning ice
may say
nothing gold
can stay
but I endure
because
that is what love does
I am gold
Oh, this was just lovely! Loved the chronology, Fran, and the images and sentiments made me teary. This acknowledgement was so rich:
“December 12, 1936
(the day after
Edward abdicated
for Wallis)”
And I loved the stanza about Frost.
Your last sentiment:
“but I endure
because
that is what love does
I am gold”
…was just beautiful, and the whole piece had such a soft feel about it. Loved it. 🙂
Fran, love permeates your stanzas this morning. The connections binding you to past loves and present, the engravings, the references to historical loves (with losses), are just beautiful. You are gold, indeed.
Fran, beautiful touching poem. I love the depth of detail about each band. Sharing the love behind each ring. Something to cherish.
Fran, you and your poem ARE gold! I was in awe at the three bands and the stories they hold. Congrats on your longevity in marriage, I believe it’s affirming how golden you are!
Gorgeous!
Fran, those sentimental rings and the neverending circles of love are precious. I love that, like your rings, you are gold.
Fran — This is beautiful. I love the nostalgia and love that is shown your words. The reference to Frost is perfect here (one of my favorites), and I especially love the ending
“but I endure
because
that is what love does
I am gold”
Wow. So much love, historic and current… I’m glad you detoured!
Tammi, thanks for the fun color quizzes! There was only one quiz whose results were way off, so I couldn’t resist writing about that one. I loved your poem and the imagery in this line especially: “and reelings guide my decisions.”
___________________________________
“Crimson?”
“Popularity is key: your place in society and how people regard you is extremely important to your identity.”
“Everything needs to be efficient, clean, and, most importantly, sleek.”
“You’re the life of the party and the face that brightens up the room.”
“Extraverted is an understatement.”
Laughs, indeed, this quiz invites,
comparing it to me.
For nothing like me does it match
in personality.
I don’t give two hoots for the squawk
of popular opinion.
I’d just as soon nest in my bed:
My room is my dominion.
With cars and bars and movie stars
I could just take or leave ‘em.
I’d sooner set my own true goals
And battle to achieve ‘em.
“Sleek” is a word that’s probably
the last I’d use to fit me.
Comfy yoga pants and tees
are so much more a bit me.
“You brighten up a room!” it screams
I’m left to ponder: Which face?
It can’t be mine – more oft accused
of pulling resting b$#*& face.
And so I take today’s cute quiz
With just a grain of salt:
relishing individuality,
relinquishing gestalt.
(P.S. The other colors quizzes were much more accurate!)
Good morning, Wendy. I’m also a misdiagnosed crimson, rejecting the face lighting up the room because of the RBF truth. I do, though, like being labeled as friendly. I’ll take it. And adventurous. I’ll take that too! Woo hoo! Clinking glasses with you for the love of who we are as people and as writers.
Wendy, I love the color crimson – but like you I would prefer nesting in my bed, in the dominion of my room, mostly because it’s ever so much more peaceful. Your lines are wonderfully humorous, and the last two, fabulous zingers. This was such fun to read!
Wendy, you approach this in a flipped way, the prepositional phrases front-loading the sentences, which suits your questioning the color result. The self-deprecating humor just adds to the fun of this!
Love those last lines especially “relinquishing gestalt”! I feel like that would be the title of a great book.
Wendy,
Your fun poem almost makes me regret not doing something like for green. Just because I need time alone once in a while does make me Green. Thank you so much for sharing and showing a fun side to not agreeing with your quiz outcome.
Wendy, this is so funny! I’m glad you chose to write about this color that doesn’t suit you, “with just a grain of salt” Brava!
Wendy — Love the way you took prompt and made it fit. This was a fun poem to to read.
This stanza had me really chuckling:
“I’m left to ponder: Which face?
It can’t be mine – more oft accused
of pulling resting b$#*& face.”
Wendy— yet another Crimson protestor! I fought it down, but gave in as I thought it through…
tammi— this is great! I took the quiz, and fought back against the evaluation. Not what I would have thought. Thus, my protest poem…
Crimson?
Crimson?
Really?
(Even the second time,
when I changed some answers
looking for a milder color?)
I couldn’t be a crimson.
Crimson is so…loud-ish.
Okay.
I admit that possibly, possibly —
OK, probably—
I MAY have some Crimson characteristics.
Definitely friendly. I
would talk to an ear on the ground
if it seemed open to a chat.
Grocery shopping has built in baking aisle chat time.
Is conversation an Olympic competition?
I could compete…
and don’t ask me for an opinion unless you want the truth.
I have been accused (once or twice)
of being just…a bit…bossy.
But brash? That’s strong.
But there was that ONE time…
OK, brash could—possibly— fit.
maybe more than once…
I have upset a…few…people.
Occasionally.
But they needed to hear the TRUTH.
And they did ask (or maybe I just thought they did…)
I didn’t offend them on purpose,
so that has to count, right?
Crimson?
I hope you like bold colors…
Please,
say you like crimson.
Gayle Sands
11/23
Gayle, this made me laaaaaaugh!! Love the tone and structure, the conflict and grudging acceptance/acknowledgement of “crimson” as your color — this was fun to read and gave me a smile this morning; thanks!
Gayle, I am a fellow crimson resister. Your lines
maybe more than once…
I have upset a…few…people.
Occasionally.
But they needed to hear the TRUTH.
spoke to me. Yes, I do this. Did it just this week already, I think, with Dad, who is having a hard time being in over his head managing his life and not wanting to admit it. Tough love, truth, whatever we call it…..maybe I need to tone it down, be less abrasive/combative/truthful/brash. I might really be crimson…….ugh!
I love crimson, Gayle! I also love the questioning in your poem and how own own that you might, you just MIGHT, have some crimson characteristics. Your pace with the unfolding analysis of these POSSIBLE crimson traces are a joy to read.
Gayle, this is the joy I needed this morning – the image of you talking to an ear on the ground! And I love the meandering around you do to get at the adjectives of crimson. (I’ll admit – crimson is a favorite!).
Gayle,
So love that I can hear your voice throughout this poem. The question marks are perfect.
Sarah
Gayle,
I have been know to ask do you really want the truth? You may not like what I have to say. I have a few friends who will call and say, I need your honest opinion because I am too close to the situation. They don’t always like what I say, but they keep coming back.
Gayle,
I like crimson. Really. And I like the stream of consciousness in your poem, but my favorite lines are these:
“would talk to an ear on the ground
if it seemed open to a chat.”
Those lines made me LOL!
Gayle — Thank you for this fun poem! I love the back and forth self conversation about whether or not you are truly Crimson.
Especially loved these lines:
“But they needed to hear the TRUTH.
And they did ask (or maybe I just thought they did…)”
I mean, it’s not beige (at the risk of offending any beige-ish folks)! This was a fun poem to read. I love the outrage and the crimson descriptions that populate the poem!
Gayle, I love this! So funny! “Even the second time, / when I changed some answers / looking for a milder color?” and “Definitely friendly. I / would talk to an ear on the ground / if it seemed open to a chat” are two of my favorite moments. I love your voice and humor and wit, and I’d like to think (color aside) we are definitely cut from the same cloth! (I say that as a way to elevate myself, lol).
Tammi, what fun! You put a whole new spin on writing and getting to know each other through our colors. I love that you are blue and seek harmony and unity. Somehow I ended up crimson.
OMG!
I have become
my mother
who always wore red.
I don’t even like red
except at Christmas
and on teardrop campers.
But here I am,
a Crimson INTJ
bold, direct, adventurous ~
out here killing it.
Apparently I’m friendly
at least on paper
because the truth is?
I’d rather be boondocking
on a rural mountainside
writing by campfire
No other people around
just my 3 schnoodles,
the love of my life,
and me.
Kim,
OK — what is up with all of these false crimsons? XD
I loved your pushback — and especially loved the last two lines which created such a pretty picture and resonated with me, also a “very much not crimson.” 😉
WAIT – you’re an INTJ? Guess what?? ME, TOO!!!! THIS. EXPLAINS. EVERYTHING. For the record: let me say I love crimson. It’s a rich, royal color. Your mother loved red, my Grandma Ruby loved red, and Christmas is her season…their crimson flows in our veins, girl. I am not so much the outdoor adventurer that you are (I savor the experiences vicariously) but oh, I am ever your kindred in carving out time with my small family and our dogs. This IS the stuff of life, these rich crimson-and-gold moments stitched with the eternal thread of love. -I have never written by a campfire. It is now a goal <3
Kim, teardrop campers are my favorite and red might be perfection. Like you, I prefer campfires and mountainsides with the company you are also keeping. Kindred spirits!
Kim,
That “boondocking” is a perfect image to contrast the connotation of the crimson.
Sarah
Kim,
Maybe you’re an extroverted introvert because you sure seem like someone who loves to socialize. I totally get this because it’s how I am, too. We are myriad colors, my friend, like each day. And it’s okay to be red against a white schnoodle!
Hey- we Crimsons need to stick together! What is it about being crimson hat makes each of us so uneasy??!! I read this right after I posted my crimson protest— our poems often overlap. But I think you have more right to protest than I do…?
Tammi, one test was blue, another green and so I opted to study colors, which led me far from where I started. Thank you for this inspiration today.
an american battlefield:
a personality study in color
First Frame:
students enter,
mill in hallways,
they wear the red splattered spray
of friends
like Axe,
(cloying,
heavy),
and grief
like a climate change downpour,
umbrellas open for luck
Close Up:
a cold war era sign
indicating fallout shelter,
a remnant
Second Frame:
students talk over an announcement,
good morning, warriors
today’s lunch,
hot dogs, apple pie
congratulations on another victory
pep assembly at two
stand for the pledge
and justice for all
Close Up:
a textbook,
spine unbroken
pages crisp, white
edge-painted in red
title war and peace
(barely visible)
Third Frame:
students sleep,
a teacher drones,
a fly butts against the window
Close Up:
doodles in black and white
swastikas,
a little heart
dots the i
Fourth Frame:
students shift into motion
as a bell rings,
hallways fill
rooms empty, refill,
empty,
a time-lapse
Close Up:
the fly overturned
on the window ledge
Fifth Frame:
students pause,
sound ricochets
against cement block halls
the chatter stops
Close Up:
a phone, screen cracked
Jennifer– I really love the direction you took with your poem and the concept of the classroom being reflective of a battlefield was on the nose. I especially loved your close ups and ending: “a phone, screen cracked.”
Jennifer, I love how the fly overturned on the window ledge and the phone screen ends up cracked. This is a fabulous way you’ve done this, the scenes and closeups, kind of a freeze-frame in photos of life’s moments, against all the colors you are. I want a retake myself – – I think I’m misclassified as a Crimson. I need the rural version of this test, where there are no corner windows with blackout shades as a choice for one who sits in a cubicle in a cinderblock office building without windows in a tiny town…..I am going to do what you did and do a retake. I’m in major denial. I need more frames – – like yours!
Jennifer,
This was completely arresting. I really appreciated the way it roller-coastested my emotions, making me bark a little laugh at one line, then immediately turn sober with the next. So much truth in this piece, and I wondered if you’d used the last two prompts to fuel the “photo,” filmic structure. Really effective.
Jennifer,
When I got to the end of your brilliant poem, it’s as though the “respond” invitation read as though it’s part of the poem. The frames are an excellent trope directing our reading and reminding us of the myriad things happening around us.
Jennifer— there are so many layers here. I love the frame/ close- up contrast, and you have caught a day in the life of a school so perfectly. Wow.
Wow, I’m completely rapt. I can feel the pulse of the movement of the images. You capture a creeping menace that really seems to underlie our every day experience in school. Those last three scenes are so chilling.
Tammi! This is way too much fun. Thanks for this morning’s inspiration. I love it. And, I like how the personality test I took highlighted positive aspects of someone’s personality. Middle School students will love this! Your poem is so…BLUE! It really suits the personality test. Thank goodness for folks that seek peace and harmony. Bring on the blue peeps.
I used the ‘I am’ template.
I am green
growing , growing, growing
Evergreen
Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring
I am keen
to learn more and more and more.
I am green
always busy, always seen
using every minute of each day
reading, writing, searching for ideas to be
even greener than the day before
Linda, I am drawn to the greens, the growing, learning, seeing, using. The energy here appeals on a somber wintry day and reminds me of what will return.
Linda — I love I am poems too. The structurr works really well here. I love green as a metaphor for growth. Especially like the energy and rhythm of this line. “always busy, always seen.”
Linda, I want some of your green. I want to be your color. I like the way you used the I Am form to write your color personality. Trees. Oxygen. Nature…..you have beauty in your wheel.
Linda,
Fabulous word play w/ green/keen/seen. Happy tone makes me seeing green in my dreams.
Linda, loved this. Your poem made me see the color with the different emotional and visual treatments you give it. Lovely poem!
Linda, I love and can identify with your lines: “I am green/always busy, always seen/using every minute of each day/reading, writing, searching for ideas to be/even greener than the day before.” I guess that is a ‘growth mindset?’
I did one of the tests and came out yellow, and found myself writing a push-back poem.
Kevin
I am not, today,
that Yellow –
the sunshine,
the banana peel,
the faded-out
brushstroke of
evening’s solace,
the brightly-lit place
where smiles reside
when pushed aside
I am not primary,
with Sister Red and
Brother Blue,
the Sunflower petal
falling in slow motion
from the vase
as I sit here
beside you,
I am not just another
colored spectrum cog
on a spinning wheel
of science,
for when I am down,
I am more Green
or Brown
and I am not, today,
that Yellow
Kevin, I appreciate the push-back against a label (with capitals weighing in). I like that it’s still there, becoming a part of the piece, as much what you aren’t as you are (and hiding in both green and brown).
Kevin- I love this! Showing what you are not reveals what you are. I want to experiment with this push back form now. Especially loved these lines beautiful lines …
“the Sunflower petal
falling in slow motion
from the vase
as I sit here
beside you,”
Kevin, I want to join the push-back movement, too. I love what you’ve done here – denying the color. I think I’m actually some sort of custom hue, a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but not Crimson or any true primary color. Did you ever read Billy Collins’ Banana School poem? This reminds me so much of his humor in that poem. Cheers to tossing the peels!
Kevin- I love the imagery in this and the refusal to be pinned down. The “colored spectrum cog on a spinning wheel of science” is my favorite!