Petrichor

Posted byChristine BoltonPosted inBlog, NatureTags:, , , , ,

Petrichor

Brazen colors of molten lava
streak across the canvas
of a smoldering sky 
The sun still a bursting yellow-pink guava
The heat of the day a lingering memory
while dark clouds form 
Red heat lightning flashes silently
like muted fireworks 
Twilight closes in cooling the sand
as the first rumble of thunder rolls
Large raindrops dot the beach
indenting miniature craters in slow motion
before the clouds empty in buckets
and a tsunami of beachgoers scatter
The coolness of the rain
douses the fiery heat
that had drained my sweat
and given me thirst
until I became light-headed and faint
Now cleansed and refreshed
by the pleasant, dewy petrichor
of the post-rainstorm
My work is done



Copyright © 2023 Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing
All Rights Reserved



Kim from Writing in North Norfolk is hosting Poetics at D'Verse and has prompted us as follows: (My choices are italicized)

Choose ONE word from the list below (I’ve given definitions in brackets):

anachronism (the placing of persons, events, objects, or customs in times to which they do not belong; a person or a thing out of place in time and especially the present time)

filipendulous (hanging precariously – usually by a single thread)

limerence (an involuntary state of intense desire)

petrichor (a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather)

pulchritudinous (beautiful)

symphonia (musical unison)

Now USE YOUR CHOSEN WORD AS THE TITLE OF A POEM, in any form of your choice, which explores that word in one (or more) of the following ways:

anthropomorphise the word (give it human qualities)
use zoomorphism (give the word animal qualities)
objectify the word (describe it as an object)
write the poem ‘through the eyes’ of the word – put yourself in its shoes
write a stream of consciousness or ‘abstract’ poem about the word
write an acrostic of the word

Published by Christine Bolton

I have been writing poetry since I was a child and it has helped in the good times and bad times. I am always looking within to find the answers to life's problems and to write thought-provoking poetry and prose. Thanks for checking it out. Christine

18 thoughts on “Petrichor”

    1. Oh thank you so much Lisa. Nature is where my muse was hiding. I should have found her here sooner 🙂

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  3. You have become one with petrichor in this poem, Christine, empathised and morphed into a post-rainstorm scent! I love the use of colour, brazen, smouldering, bursting and flashing – so much action! I especially love these lines:
    ‘Red heat lightning flashes silently
    like muted fireworks’;
    ‘Large raindrops dot the beach
    indenting miniature craters in slow motion’;
    and
    ‘…the clouds empty in buckets
    and a tsunami of beachgoers scatter’.
    Wonderfully visual and yes, your work is done!

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    1. You are so kind Kim. I really wasn’t sure how to conclude. Thank you for your very kind comments 🙂 It was really a wonderful and challenging prompt.

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  4. This is gorgeously rendered, Christine! I especially resonate with; “The heat of the day a lingering memory
    while dark clouds form.” ❤️❤️

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    1. Thank you, Sanaa. I’m so happy you liked. I hope you are doing well, my friend. ☺️💕

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