Poetry IdeaCan rain taste green? It does to me, in springtime. Try some experiments. Bite into an apple. What color does it taste like? Listen to the crickets at night or the wind blowing through trees; what color does that sound like? You are using “synesthesia”, or a mixing of the senses. To write a Synesthesia Poem, try the following:
1. Choose a color you really like. It can be a simple color (red) or it can be something fancy, like chartreuse or magenta or indigo.
2. Using each of the five senses, write about your chosen color: “Yellow looks like the sun beaming through a window. Yellow smells like toast with honey on it . . .” etc. Try to be as specific as possible: not just “yellow feels like butter” but “yellow feels like a single drip of melted butter trickling down your chin from an ear of corn.”
3. End your poem with a line that includes your own emotions about this color: “On my yellow days, I snuggle with my cat, warm and cozy on the windowseat.”
Every once in a while, I come across a poem that I want to share. Read this one and see if you like it, too. Then, for a writing challenge, look at the "Poetry Idea." I'll change this poem every few months. If you want more writing challenges, go to the Poem Starters page.
Copyright 2007-2008 Joyce Sidman. All rights reserved. Please ask permission before using any text or images on this website.
Green is new
in spring. Shy.
Green peeks from buds,
trembles in the breeze.
Green floats through rain-dark trees,
and glows, mossy-soft, at my feet.
Green drips from tips of leaves
onto Pup’s nose.In spring,
even the rain tastes Green.
from Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, by Joyce Sidman
