Sketches of Delft

The Dutch master at his canvas,
holding palette and brush,
is bathed in February gold.
Delft rooftops are drenched
in the light of the golden dawn
dripping like honey
from a golden goblet.
Skaters on still-frozen canals
become ice follies
painted in the lemon beauty
of the sun’s split corona,
a celebration of the fragility,
the thin veil between winter and spring.

Kim M. Russell, 12th March 2024

File:Johannes Huibert Prins - Wintergezicht op de Waterslootspoort te Delft - 0097 - Rijksmuseum Twenthe.jpg

Winter landscape with the Waterslootse Poort of Delft by Johannes Huibert Prins (1756-1806)

Merril is our host for this week’s Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub, with a seasonal prompt: Daffy for Daffodils, Sprung in Spring.

She reminds us that we’re almost halfway through March now and, in the northern hemisphere, the calendar will soon say it’s spring. She has given us an extract from a poem by Emily Dickinson, which sums up spring light beautifully. Merril says that light is very special and means spring green and first flowers, crocuses, and then daffodils. She writes about the different types of daffodils that range in colour from bright yellow to pale, almost white.

She has provided names of daffodil varieties, from which to choose at least three words/phrases to use in our poems, with no required form or length. Our poems do not have to be about daffodils or spring, and there is no restriction on style or subject. 

Also shared on NaPoWriMo on 21st April 2024, where the optional prompt is to write poems that repeat or focus on a single colour.

34 thoughts on “Sketches of Delft”

  6. A perfect artwork to go along with your poem. I especially like these last lines: “painted in the lemon beauty
    of the sun’s split corona,
    a celebration of the fragility,
    the thin veil between winter and spring.”

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. That light in your poem is so luscious, Kim. I can almost taste it. You’ve expressed so well the time and place and spring, “a celebration of the fragility, the thin veil between winter and spring.” Beautiful!

    Liked by 1 person

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