elfchen | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘elfchen’

Poetry Friday: Word of the Day Elfchen

Posted in being mamére, Gratitude, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Travel, Writing, tagged #Poetrypals, Dahlonega Georgia, elfchen, mountains on December 29, 2023| 17 Comments »

The Poetry Friday round up is with Michelle Kogan today.

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.

While my family has been vacationing in the mountains of North Georgia, coincidentally the words of the day in my email inbox have worked for elchen play.

slippers
warm toes
on cold mornings
this winter’s saving grace
hygge*

Word of the day: hygge- A quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).

Pack
suitcase, car
drive all day
family voyage to mountains
viator*

*Word of the Day 12/26/23 Viator traveler, wayfarer

Light
still shines
in your eyes
sea glass blue joy
luminaria*

*Luminaria is a lantern typically used at Christmas.

Wayward
wanders hopeful
small mountain town
ice cream with sprinkles
gallivant*
*Word of the Day 12/29/23 Gallivant: Go around from one place to another in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: See the Lights

Posted in Photography, Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #poemsofpresence, #Poetrypals, #smallpoems, elevenie, elfchen, holiday poems on December 20, 2023| 21 Comments »

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.

Moss tree with twinkle lights by Margaret Simon

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?

From Wikipedia

Moss Ghost Tree

lights
colorfully twinkle
brighten winter’s darkness
with a firefly-tree
delight
Margaret Simon, draft

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!

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