Tucked into a shallow
bowl of shady hills,
a gun-metal grey
saucer of a lake
reflects the silhouette
of a small bird of prey
hunting on wings back-swept,
shadowing skylarks and pipits,
playing tag with cumuli
scudding their own penumbrae.
Kim M. Russell, 2017
Image found on britainandbritishness.com
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics – Seeking Some Shade Today? and linked to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform
Lillian tells us that they have had a number of heat waves in Boston this summer, officially described by meteorologists as at least three consecutive days when temperatures reach or exceed 90° F / 32.2° C. She says that when she was growing up, they used to say you could fry an egg on the sidewalk on days like these. Her dad always said It’s a hundred degrees in the shade! Which got her to thinking about that word, shade and sayings such as:
‘Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?’ Benjamin Franklin
‘He’s a shady character!’
‘Every shade of feeling finds its expression on a face.’
Lillian says that there are shade trees, window shades, shades of color, shades of difference, and shades of improvement. Synonyms include shadow, blackness, coolness, dusk, gloominess, semidarkness, obscurity, cover, and a wonderful word that rolls off the tongue, penumbra! She has also shared one of my favorite all-time songs,’Whiter Shade of Pale’.
Lillian would like us to write a poem that includes the word shade, or a derivation of it. We may add a synonym if we wish…but the poem must include the word shade.
ooooh loving this! And most especially those last two lines! Penumbra made better by its plural: penumbrae. I love this word! 🙂
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Yes, some words are especially magical!
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“Scudding their own penumbrae” .. is that like chasing their own tail? (smile) I grew up with the phrase 100 degrees in the shade too…and spent many a steamy summer afternoon in the shade of an elm tree in our yard reading the books of Zane Grey given me by a cousin!
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Reading under the shade of a tree – perfect!
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I like to see those dive bombers working. I don’t often see them working since I moved to the burbs, bummer! You more than did them well
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Thanks Walter.
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😀
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Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous work done, Kim!💖
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Thank you, Sanaa!
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I liked the description of the valley as a “bowl”. Nice reflection in the photo.
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Thank you, Frank!
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Nice imagery here. I can feel the motion very well. Nicely done.
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Thank you!
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“playing tag with cumuli
scudding their own penumbrae.”
Meteorologically magical… and accurate.
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Thanks Charley!
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I love that description of the lake and this:
shadowing skylarks and pipits,
playing tag with cumuli
scudding their own penumbrae.
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Thank you, Grace.
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Absolutely stunning…and I was carried along in the momentum too.
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Thank you, Jael!
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Welcome 🙂
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You’re kind of a genius, aren’t you …
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Thank you, Lilly, I don’t know about that! I just love writing.
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This is a really good response to the D’Verse challenge, and adds a ghostly silver to “shade” in birds that are “playing tag with cumuli / scudding their own penumbrae” there in the reflection of a lake.
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Thank you very much, Brendan.
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Oooh.. that last line is just spectacular. Your imagery conjured the scene far better than the actual picture.
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Thank you, Kerry!
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Su h an Extraordinary scene! 😎😎😎🥀🥀🥀
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Kim, your skill in describing is always a joy to read. I so would love to visit your area of the world. As I once said to Xenia about Scotland, you should work PR for travel to England.
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Thank you, Victoria!
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Delectable description!
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Thanks Rosemary!
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Oh what lovely shadow play… Fantastic description
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Thank you, Susie!
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Brilliant. A true treasure trove of words and imagery.
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Thank you!
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Interesting… before I read your notes I was visualizing the Quabbin Reservoir while reading this, a man-made lake in central MA that provides water to the city of Boston. Cool!
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I really enjoyed this. A really rich visual poem with a beautiful image.
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Thanks Alison!
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so beautifully painted…!!!
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Thank you, Sreeja!
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! Oh what endearing dark looseness… antic description
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Thank you!
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