Paint chip poetry took me on a journey to a place far away.
With my students, I randomly grabbed a paint chip. On the back of each paint chip I had written an unrelated word. The instructions included using the given word, the color, and the color name in a poem of any form.
When my selected paint chip gave me “Oceanside” and “traverse”, I wrote a septercet. A septercet is 3 lines of seven syllables each. Jane Yolen created the form. Learn more about this form on Today’s Little Ditty.
Ocean liner traverses
Waves along the deep blue sea
Opening horizons far.
–Margaret Simon
With my second group, I chose the paint chip “Blue Nile” with the word “periwinkle.”
I wrote another poem with them, but soon saw how they could be combined into one poem.
Ocean liner traverses
waves on periwinkle seas
opening horizons far.Come with me to River Nile.
Touch the shores with tender toes.
Dream an impossible dream.–Margaret Simon
Jasmine doesn’t often choose to write with us and even more seldom shares what she writes, but today was different. This exercise worked for her. The given words and colors allowed her to express something hidden deep within. Poetry is like that.
My Friend, Out of Reach
My friend, out of reach
Periwinkle, the color of her hair
Her eyes, sparkling blue Nile
Out of place, she is in this cruel world
Different sides of the river
We can never cross
For she is my friend, out of reach.Jasmine, 6th grade
Reflections on the Teche 