Persnickity Plum
- Cathy Stenquist
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 23 hours ago
The first box of 8 Crayola Crayons was sold in 1903. Ever since, they have become an iconic part of so many young children's lives.
Each September, I headed off to school with a new green and yellow pack and tucked it into my school desk. There was nothing like a new, fresh pack of 8 crayons to spur the imagination. I loved coloring because it was very meditative and a way to escape into my own little world for a while. I dabbed and layered the 8 colors to make new ones, pressing hard to get richer, darker colors and lightly to get softer ones.
And then the most life-changing happened....
I received a box of 64 crayons for my birthday. Not only did this 9-year-old now own every color imaginable, but the box came with a flip-open top and a built-in sharpener. Wow!
The possibilities for creation seemed endless.
Since our last Poetry Friday (read more about what Poetry Friday is HERE), I have been pondering the OLW (One Little Word) that each poet has been choosing for their focus this year. It brought to mind a tradition at Highlights where we each choose a word that rings true to us. My word this November was GRATEFUL.
Then this week, I spent some time writing brief poems about colors and enjoyed it quite a bit. I think COLOR feels like a good word for me this year for many reasons:
The drab of winter has me longing for colorful blossoms in the spring and the cheerfulness they bring.
Color makes me happy. When I am around colorful things, my imagination soars, and so does my gratitude for the beauty I see in the colors of the sky, in my grandchildren's drawings, even in the vegetables in my soup.
Color is everywhere. Since it is all around me, I cannot help but notice and think about it.
Thinking about "COLOR" this year will help me to find the color in my own world, which at times can feel a bit gray.
Inspired by Irene Latham's weekly poems, I am going to go through the box of 64 colors from my childhood this year and see what poem each one inspires.
Here is my first one:
Thank you to Jan at Bookseed Studio for hosting this week. Her post reminded me of a long-forgotten song from my childhood. Hope you will stop by.
Wow! A 64-box Crayola gift! I loonngged for one as a child... And I still see Burnt Sienna and Periwinkle in my mountains and skies. :). What a great poetry goal -- to write poems for the crayons! That's a PB poetry collection in the making!
COLOR is a fabulous word. I look forward to seeing how you two play this year. Plum is a great way to begin. Oh, the persnicketyness of Ms. Plum. ha!
Cathy! I love this! Love COLOR. What a great word. So cool that you got to go to Highlights. So sad not to make it this year. Marcie Flinchum Atkins
What a great idea, Cathy! You are off to a great start with Persnickety Plum.
What a great word and a fun intention! I look forward to your poems, and I am sitting with the memory of the scent of new crayons for just a minute (bonus happiness!)