Precious

Rubies leached from sunlight
disappear into the night-
dark shadows of the sea.

Red is the first colour
absorbed by seawater.

Diving in those depths,
undisturbed by boats and nets,
they are dragons of the sea.

Red is the first colour
absorbed by seawater.

Riding the ocean’s swell,
twirling their curly tails,
they are bright flames of the sea.

Red is the first colour
absorbed by seawater.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

Image found on www.esf.edu

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meeting the Bar I’ll Say It Again (and Again and Again)

Congratulations to Victoria and her husband, who are celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary! She has been thinking about how, in life, repetition plays a pivotal and useful role. In the case of marriage, it helps to keep love and commitment alive. She reminds us of cycles of the moon, seasons, birthdays, holidays—so many ways to add a little flavor to the unfolding of our lives that are lived out, for the most part, in ordinary times. And since poetry is such a reflection of life, repetition has a significant role to play there, too. She shared a definition of the word and a prime example of repetition from the first 9 verses of Psalm 136.

Repetition can occur in a number of ways: a single word, a phrase, a sound, a line beginning or ending, or use of a refrain for example. The use of repetition creates intensity, unifies the poem, reinforces or takes the place of meter, adds emphasis and emotional response–just a few of the reasons to employ this useful technique.

So for today’s prompt Victoria has invited us to delve into the technique of repetition and bring it with us to the bar.

41 thoughts on “Precious”

    1. Thank you, Victoria. I am very taken with new discoveries in the natural world. I wrote a poem about a coelocanth some time ago, which I submitted to an anthology but it was rejected.

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  5. Sea dragons are our salty cousins, if one subscribes to the notion we started our time on this planet having gills. You rocked the prompt for sure. As beauteous as the poem is, I feel a tinge of sadness lurking in the depths, conjuring for me the smell of red as sharks hover gnashing their teeth.

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  20. I love the refrain and I also felt the repetition of the consonant sounds in many of the lines which give an added depth to the poem….diving depths, undisturbed, dragons….twirling, tails.
    And congratulations on your anniversary today! Late I am to reading but timely for your special day!

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    1. Thank you, Lillian! I enjoyed the prompt very much. Thank you so much for your kind congratulations -it’s next week but I might not be around on Monday. If I am, it will only be for a while as I’m off to stay with Ellen and her husband until Mum’s funeral.

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