Today’s photo is a sign of the season, a lit up Christmas tree yard decoration in my neighborhood. I’m an early morning walker and the combination of the darkness and the cold drew my eye to this yard filled with lights. I know the couple who live there, so I was also comforted by their presence, too, inwardly thanking them for this photo opp.
Recently I learned about a new-to-me poetry form, elfchen, from Mary Lee. It’s a fun form to play with, similar to a cinquain, yet each line answers a question. Another word for this form is the elevenie. Being a fan of the number 11 (my birthday and my father’s fall on the 11th), I wanted to give the form a test run.
Row | Words | Content |
---|---|---|
1 | 1 | A thought, an object, a colour, a smell or the like |
2 | 2 | What does the word from the first row do? |
3 | 3 | Where or how is the word of row 1? |
4 | 4 | What do you mean? |
5 | 1 | Conclusion: What results from all this? What is the outcome? |
Moss Ghost Tree
lights
Margaret Simon, draft
colorfully twinkle
brighten winter’s darkness
with a firefly-tree
delight
How are you handling this winter’s solstice? Do you put up lights in your yard? Take this invitation to write about your own traditions for this time of year. Leave a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers with your responses. Thanks for your dedication to this weekly practice.
I will not be posting next Wednesday. I’m taking a family trip to North Georgia. This Photo will be back in the New Year. Have a Happy Holiday!
The elfchen is new to me, too. Love the image of a firefly tree and that you see those lights in the morning. Our tree lights turn on in the early morning also, and there are candles in the windows.
Window Warmth
candles
offer comfort
in darkened windows
welcome with warm light
peace
I like your alliteration and candles offering comfort, all builds and invites peace, thanks Rose!
Thanks, Michelle.
Ah, the welcome light of candles! So much lovely alliteration.
Thanks, Margaret.
Rose, candles do offer comfort. I have my house filled with luminara candlelights.
Thanks, Carol.
I’ve been practicing the elfchen too, though the directions I found didn’t cover theses questions, and I appreciate this extra layer. I like the whimsy the fireflies capture in your poem, it’s fun and adds to the light, magic, and mystery of the season!
Here’s a new elfchen,
SOLSTICE
Light
Begins growth
Lengthens each day
Tingles our hearts with
Hope!
©️Michelle Kogan, draft
Don’t you love how the form forces specific word choice that leads to a conclusion? I love from light to hope!
Tingles our hearts is such a good word to choose for this poem.
Yes–brevity coaxes us on, thanks!
Michelle, I meant the response underneath Margaret’s response for you.
Thanks Carol!
“Light begins growth” flows so nicely together.
Thanks Rose!
Margaret, I love the holidays with lights that bring excitement. I have been playing with elfchen poems all month. I always think about the lights as I drive into our community. Thanks for sharing the lights and offering your poem. Fire-fly tree is a great image.
lights
glitter in
December’s cold darkness
bringing brightness and cheer
luminescence (maybe illumination)
draft, CVarsalona
Nice, Carol. I like the alliteration of lights and luminescence. “illumination” works, too – hard to choose.
My poetry book I did with my father’s Christmas card art was titled Illuminate. Such a good word for this poem.
I like the contrast of glitter of lights with “cold darkness” it really warms the scene, and I like the luminescence too, especially luminescent birds!
[…] morning I had written an elfchen about light inspired by Margaret Simon’s photo that she captured on a morning walk. In this week of the Winter Soltice, I was reminded of the […]
[…] I wasn’t planning to post for Poetry Friday today, but I’ve been playing with the elchen form (also known as elevenie), a challenge from the Poetry Sisters. Mary Lee shared the Wikipedia definition of the form. I wrote one last week for This Photo Wants to be a Poem. […]