A Jewel Blue Eye: 2014 Poetry Project

It’s our second to last day of the Pantone® Poetry Project, Writerly Friends. What overlaps do you see in today’s jewel-toned verse?

Our Day 27 colors are:

Day 27 Peacock Green
Pantone ®  16-5431

Day 27 Blue Jewel
Pantone ®  18-4535

F0r more information about what we've been up to during the Pantone Poetry Project, visit thispost.

Several pieces of response writing today mention dreams, religion and myth, and Ancient Greece. Let’s start with a haiku by Linda Baie of TeacherDance.

the peacock’s tail

flashes iridescent green

like a night parade of fireflies

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

Those lovely eye-feathers invite comparison to other images: eyes, lights, stars, fireflies.

Read about structural coloration at Wikipedia.

Margaret Simon (Reflections on the Teche) gathered so much information and pre-writing for her poem, she decided to use a poetic form. Sometimes big poems need a container to give them shape, which Margaret does to great effect here.

Jewel

By Margaret Simon

            a ghazal in the style of Robert Bly (http://www.robertbly.com/r_p_dawn.html)

Memories of our days together form

Teardrops upon this promise ring.

The gem reflects the color of our baby’s eyes.

Dreams rock the child gently on the Aegean Sea

Awakening to the sound of rushing waves,

This guardian of beauty, her eyes.

Focused on the dimming of imperfections,

Outshined by inspiration’s glorious sky,

Gold can purify in fire, turning ashes to eyes.

The jewel carries immortality and value,

Sees her for who she really is, momento mori

Written on her brow above her eyes.

We weep for we know we die, again and again.

When we can’t find heaven, there are always peacocks

Fanning regal feathers topped with resurrection eyes.

Your gift, dear Margaret, is in the gentle alto tone,

A voice raised to praise on Sunday mornings,

Mother’s requiem in your golden brown eyes.

I learned today that peacocks are associated with both the resurrection of Jesus, but also with resurrection in the form of the mythological Phoenix. My poem today was almost titled "Phoenix on Earth."

Where did I pick up this info? I found an informative site (The Art of Mourning) that touched on the peacock’s symbolism in mythology, alchemy, and Jungian psychology. Whew – that was a lot of information. My brain kept wanting to escape and write about something less high-brow, but the poem I ended up with surprised me. When I revise, I may follow  Margaret's example and try a poetic form to contain these ideas.

Bird Alchemy

by Laura Shovan

Alchemists named

the moment of transmutation

Eye of the Peacock—

when lead begins to understand

its golden nature.

But I’ve been reading

too much myth today.

Jung’s symbols have me so

addled that Australian penguins

from this morning’s news

swim close, scatter peafowl

as if their tails were not made

of shimmering feathers,

but of oily pools. These penguins

must be washed of oil and dried.

Then they need wooly sweaters

to keep their bodies warm.

I want to knit them jumpers

with whorls of peacock green,

sapphire blue—penguins covered

with the hundred eyes of Argus,

each eye watching for the moment

of our understanding.

It's real and you can find
the pattern right here.

I have to admit, I read Patricia’s poem for today before I wrote mine. She must have talked me into committing mythological allusions without a license.

Peacock Green

By Patricia VanAmburg

On a green sward beside the ruins

peacocks are screaming at Knossos

just as they screamed long ago

when the blue jewel Aegean

swallowed the ancestors of Zeus.

Patricia adds, “The Prince of Lilies fresco from Knossos has peacock feathers--though I could not find a very good image--and the restoration has been very controversial.”

Let’s end today with a mysterious poem (Jung would approve) by Diane Mayr of Random Noodling.

Speaking for the Peafowl of Princes

by Diane Mayr

You complain

when your sleep

is interrupted

by our calls.

You complain

of our many eyes

that find their way

into your dreams.

You brought us

here where we

do not belong.

I say, you get what

you deserve.

I must say readers -- and especially writers -- for a set of poems about color, this month has been a feast.

What will you bring to the table on Friday, when we celebrate the end of our month-long Pantone® Poetry Project with the color below? Whether you've got something sweet, savory, or spicy -- leave it in the comments and I'll include your poem in Friday's post.

Day 28 Tandori Spice
Pantone ®  18-1444