Monday, March 27, 2017

DMC: "Ode to a Pink Dress" by Karen Eastlund




ODE TO A PINK DRESS

Sweet as cotton candy, you gathered me into a cloud 
     of pink confection
Where sheer and taffeta rustled lavishly
Each seam scented with anticipation
I slid my fingers around your slippery satin sash
My girlish twirls blossomed like peonies

You remember me after all these years?
Like silk stockings in a parade of bobby socks.


© 2017 Karen Eastlund. All rights reserved.


Helen Frost has challenged us to write an ode poem this month, following these instructions:  
Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or both.
Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."

Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:






8 comments:

  1. Such a charming poem, Karen! I especially love "My girlish twirls blossomed like peonies" and "Like silk stockings in a parade of bobby socks."

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  2. I guess many of us wished for a "slippery satin sash", Karen. What a sweet poem, and like Michelle, I love "twirls blossomed like peonies". Beautiful memory!

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  3. Oh, yes! Remember twirling fast enough so your skirt would fly out? What a lovely memory...and a fabulous ode!

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  4. I love this.Every line is so inviting. You can see how much this dress was loved.

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  5. Beautiful flowery poem, I love your ending that flips all backward!

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  6. Thanks for all your comments, friends. This dress was a flower girl dress in my oldest brother's wedding. Later my mother shortened it so I could wear it again, but I don't remember doing so, other than for "dress up." But that was a long time ago... ;0)

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  7. I especially love it that the dress answers, and in such a clever, vivid way.

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