WriteOut Color Palette in Poetry

WRITEOUT DAY 3

Again, I walked Guthrie at our usual spot in North Dam Park –in the rugged areas of the small grove of old elm surrounded by bushes and bushes of rabbitbrush. The sun, low in the sky, cast long shadows and an evening palette over the area, highlighting not only its power, but that of man’s electricity and sun’s possibilities nurturing the foliage that feeds the creatures and people of the world. As I reached the canopy of small American elm trees, I stepped beneath it, startling the valley quail whose low whisper of a flutter, flutter startled me. I captured the moment and jotted down my field notes:

COLORS OF SUNSET

I wondered what caused the colors at sunset. I’d often thought they were caused by dust in the air. That’s not exactly right. What does cause the colors of a sunset? NOAA explains in this article: The Science of Sunsets. The colors are caused by the scattering of sunlight by the air’s molecules. Here’s a brief explanation from the article, which also explains that the dust or smoke in the air actually reduces the brightness of the colors. Bright sunsets represent cleaner air at the surface! Have read to learn more.

PREPPING FOR THE POEM

I opened my pdf of the WriteOut for the Planet  Choice Board— and chose the “4 leaf palette” because it fit my notes and thoughts of the evening colors on the walk. 

I watched the video in which Kim Ruffin, Associate Professor of English at Roosevelt University and an Outdoor Afro leader, explained how to create a crayon etching of four leaves to create the October palette of nature on which to write one’s poem.

As I digital artist, and since I hadn’t grabbed a few leaves from the elm, I created my etching with digital crayons of elm leaves I drew using the photo I took as reference, applying the yellow orange that is the autumn color of the American elm tree. These trees are often affected by American elm disease, which you can see in the browned holes and edges of the leaves. 

THE POEM

I digitally molded the leaves over a frame to surround the photo and added the poem I composed based on the photo’s color palette and my field notes of the sun setting on the park. 

The Planet’s Evening Palette

yellow-orange,
the sky—
sunset’s scattered light
brushed over pale clouds
stretched across the blue;
cold grey of steel towers
hum with power
flowing through its arms of wires
extending miles over
blue-green sage and yellow rabbitbrush
around American elms
riddled with Dutch elm disease
yet still growing out, still shading
with dangling yellow leaves
nourished by summer’s golden rays
as valley quail flutter, flutter, flutter away
when I step into the frame of fall’s landscape
and autumn’s evening palette,
colored with the powers
of sunshine, electricity,
and nature’s foliage.#writeout
Sheri Edwards
Photography/Poetry/Art
10.15.24

YOUR TURN

Have you made a crayon etching lately? Give it a try and write your own poem about nature in your area.

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JOIN IN!

This post is part of the October WRITEOUT adventure, October 13 through the 27th, partnership of the National Writing Project and the National Park Service — a chance to enjoy the outdoors with poetry, prose, and parks for Write Out 2024. Organized as a public invitation to get out and create, supported by a series of free online activities, Write Out invites educators, students, and families to explore national parks and other public spaces. The goal is to connect and learn through place-based writing and sharing.  Check out this infographic for the flow of the this week and the Choice Board to get you started for WriteOut’s Poetry for the Planet.

Learn more and sign up: https://writeout.nwp.org

This is my seventh year with WriteOut with all my WriteOut posts here.

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Cross post at What Else