My First Love-lol


Kim at Poets United asked us to write a poem about the word, Committed.   Yes, I thought about relationships, Valentine's, family, and love.   Then I remembered my first love, Crayons.  Yes, those bright, vibrant tools of imagination, tucked in a box.   I can remember getting my first box of 96 and how I took care of them, after each use.  Now the box comes in 120 colors!     Do you have a favorite color?

I also loved their names.  For example:   Sunglow, Wide Blue Wonder, Sea Green, Mango Tango,  Inch Worm, Purple Mountain's Majesty and Timberwolf.   I laughed,  when my son received his first set.  They had renamed some of them, "Let's color with Macaroni n' Cheese and Wild Watermelon."  My daughter was all about pink, Tickled Pink.  She told me when she grew up, she was dying her hair that color.  She was a Barbie girl and three years old, at the time.  Her favorite color now is her birthstone-Aquarmarine. 



photo via bookgrl





Spring Green, Cotton Candy and Robin's Egg Blue
redraw my lines
muse wakes as
silvery webs cascade,  fairy dust is sprinkled
and the colors of the melting sky
tickle her.
The wind
tells her
it is time to play
at last...



She dances among the trees
outlined with stardust
as the nightlight Moon
pats her head.
Sometimes Morning Glory will
wake her and she will run out the door
to snap a Cardinal, a Daffodil or a spider web
with her box of light 
she can play with shadows.


She hears words like crazy, odd, weird, 
buzz by her
she use to care...
Now, she laughs
knowing her secret-holds magic
too bad some do not see 
beyond the ordinary


Who is weird?
the ones that dance in a sea
of green imagination or those
who lock their dreams in a
gray box
tis sad they have lost 
the key! 



© Ellen Wilson



Comments

Very nice!
Some odd names they gave those crayons. i guess just plain old 'blue' wasn't enough.
And my favorite was black.
Ella said…
Alex-I would of guessed Midnight Blue-but black is a portal to new worlds! ;D I know it seems blue, pink and purple were most of my friends fav colors! It all makes sense, Ninja Captain! :D
Unknown said…
Love Crayons too! Thought one of the coolest things was when they started making metallic colors. :-)

Happy Valentine's Day Ella!
Unknown said…
Beautiful and colorful. I also loved my crayons, but never really took care of them. Too bad. I am much more careful with my supplies now.
kaykuala said…
I like crayons when toying around to get likely ideas. It'll just flow easier and one can move it around easily. Once I've an outline in mind I'll take a fresh sheet. I'll follow it in other medium, pastel or water-color. I'm currently trying to take on ink on paper with color wash. With this media I can emphasize lines with minimum of colors. Your narration is also a nostalgic journey for me.
Thanks for sharing Ella!

Hank

Sherry Blue Sky said…
I so love this. I adored coloring as a kid! Love the names!LOVE "colors of the melting sky tickle her". Yes! Time to PLAY!
LTM said…
yep, I was the SAME way about the Mac & Cheese crayon--LOL!

ooo, I just love this poem. My favorite lines:

"She dances among the trees
outlined with stardust
as the nightlight Moon
pats her head."

and

"Whose weird?
the ones that dance in a sea
of green imagination or those
who lock their dreams in a
gray box"

gorgeous! Hope you have a lovely V'day, my friend~ <3 555
Lolamouse said…
I still love the smell of crayons! Remember when the light tan was called "flesh?" Political correctness and Crayola! Your poem was great! I've been called 'weird' because of my "creativity." I think it's a compliment! (BTW, I think 'whose' in your last stanza should be 'who's' )
This seemed magical to me--your choice of subject matter, the language used, and the rhythm of it--I loved how this made me feel!
Mary Ann Potter said…
Oh, Ellen, your poem is crazy Crayola perfection! I love these crayons - their color names and their fragrance (makes me want to get a fresh box and just open it) are so appealing. No locked-away imaginations for us. No gray boxes.
Ella said…
Mary Ann-lol, thank you! I love them, too! I went in my daughter's room, to find some! ;D No, our imaginations are wide open!!! @>------

Audrey-Thank you so much :D
Hope you day is filled with charm~
@>--------

Lolamouse-Yes, thank you Miss Mouse-you are correct! :D
I know, that bothered me! I think it is a compliment, too! (thanks again) @>------

Leigh-Happy V-day to you <3 555!
I will be by-I bet you are doing the kissing blogfest?! ;D
I like being weird, lol Thank you!
@>-------

Sherry-I thought of you, when I mentioned the sky ;D Thank you so much @>--------

Hank-I loved all that you shared!
YOU are so talented! <3 it...thank you so much! :D

Ispy-I am so happy you kept on with your creative inner child! They do hold our magic and keep it close~ Thank you! @>------

EJ-Me, too! I was fascinated with them! I loved to iron the crayon shavings in wax paper! ;D Hope you have a wonderful <3 day! Thank you~

rch said…
Nice, I almost always like the use of colors in poems and this is no exception, very vibrant.
Mary said…
Love the imagination in this poem, Ella. And the last stanza really resonates with me!
Renee said…
Love the instructional video but the poem is truly wonderful. It really embraces the feelings involved when you open a brand new box of crayons. I love the last stanza too.
Anonymous said…
interesting concept of the weird ones being the ones who dance at sea

journey with a new friend
L. Diane Wolfe said…
I'd like to know what they renamed colors like "mauve." I can't even think of anything that color. Except walls.
Ella,

A whole rainbow of recognition and memories, with this great poem...Reminds me of days with my children and now with my grandson:)

Eileen
Unknown said…
Isn't it wonderful to find inspiration in such a simple thing? And aren't you gifted in your ability to convey that. Nice, Ella!
Ella said…
Zongrik-I think a lot of artistic types are branded with that word! Yet, creativity sets them free. Those who do not listen to their inner child, seem to grow old and bitter. Every one is creative-some do not listen to their muse.


Renee-Thank you so much Renee for sharing this concept! :D YOU rock!
I love crayons and color does set us free... @>-------

Mary-Thank you! YOU are a teacher and know where the key is! ;D @>-------

RCH-Thank you! It does help our words to reach and connect emotionally! Color does open our eyes wider ;D










Jennifer Wagner said…
Aren't those new crayon names funny? I especially love your second stanza...a lovley bit of magic in there! :-)
Yolanda Renée said…
Beautiful, so well done and around such a lovely memory.

I too loved the crayons, such fun coloring was.

Thanks for sharing, and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
DEZMOND said…
mango tango LOL, such delight :)
Ella said…
Hi Dezzy-It does sound fun, doesn't it!
It sounds like a dance we should make up, lol ;D @>-------

Yolanda-Thank you! I hope you had a wonderful <3 Day @>------

Poet Laundry-Thank you! Magic n' crayons pair well together! @>------

Kim-Hi, didn't see you, lol
Thanks, I think it my inner child's humor~ @>------

Eileen-Thank you! enJOY those memories those made and the new ones you are creating~ @>-------

L.Diane-Prom dresses? Pepto...no, that is more pink! Magenta and Red Violet are close to that color! lol
@>---------

lucychili said…
great celebration of colour and expression. love the whimsy of macaroni cheese.
Ella said…
Hi Lucychili-I love your name and just thinking of mac n' cheese whimsy makes me smile :D

Thank you!
I never noticed the wacky names in Crayola crayons when I was a kid. Maybe they've changed since my day. The craziest we had back then was Indian Red.
Ella said…
Hi Nigel-Yes, they are still wacky!
I remember that and thought how odd~