Photo by Sebastian Bjune on Unsplash
A dark green shadow cements
a soft green streak
to the casuarina and a white fence
that keep company with a creek.
.
Home to a feathered menagerie
let loose to wing and wade
they colour-in the canopy
from crimson through to jade.
.
A blue wren flits nervously
in the absence of its mate.
A kingfisher sits furtively
pleasured by its wait.
.
There's more to this than space and time;
it's colour gives this place its rhyme.
.
© Tim Grace, 24 September 2010 (Revised: 4, July 2021)
About the Creator
Tim Grace
A first impression has a lasting effect - it makes a notable difference. In a subtle way that’s who I am as a poet. A ‘first impression’ looking for the gentle ‘twist’ that draws attention to a novel observation.
Comments (1)
To the reader: Waiting in space and time, keeping company with self, watching a menagerie of birds occupy a green dell; a copse of sorts. The image is pleasant, but there's an underlying tension, as the verdant space is in constant dispute. The nervous twitch of a wren, the furtive posturing of a kingfisher, all signs of trouble in paradise. Unresolved shadows steal the certainty of green. To the poet: Descriptive poetry relies on a strong visual scaffold. There needs to be a solid structure from which the scene can emerge as worthy of note. In this sonnet, the childhood memory of colouring-in washes over the text with a thin pallet of greens, blues and a white fence to both divide and contrast the scenery. The mix of colour and message gives the poem a satisfying tonal blend of imagery.