City Sounds
By Carlyne McGurk
liquid gold leaves a trail
from the wooden window panes
to the ivory bedside.
as the afternoon gives away,
tinting the cream room
a shade of honey happiness.
the lilac pink sky
fades into a tangerine
as the yellow sinking sun
dips his head beneath the sunken earth.
leaving way for his silver sister to
peak her head over
the sleeping French Quarter.
music dances through
the indigo sky,
slipping in through the walls.
sounds of the city
slowly fall into a sleep.
wow that is wonderful. My husband read your post and wanted to know how old is this person. Your use of the colors and painting of pictures in the mind are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI love the recurring use of colors here, and the lovely ways in which their varied shades are described. It's a beautiful description of a sunset, and the incredible hues that make it up. I'm extremely partial to personification, so I love how you've written the sun and moon here as brother and sister (and how you don't even have to employ her common name to explain what she is).
ReplyDeleteYour word choices for all the colors are particularly effective. My favorite line: a shade of honey happiness. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful piece! The imagery starts off so warm, it’s almost jarring when the word “silver” appears because it provides such stark contrast. Part of what lends the poem such calmness is the absence of people; it is the music that dances, and the city that falls into a sleep (also interesting that the only capitalized words are French Quarter). I agree with Ranger Renee that my favorite phrase is “honey happiness”!
ReplyDeleteHey Carlyne, like I said in class, this poem is really great! The imagery that you created feels very poetic but not forced. I especially like how the sky becomes kind of this mirror for the city, like you see the city in relation or within the context of the sky, like everything is intertwined.
ReplyDeleteHI Carlyne;
ReplyDeleteI must say that in your poem "City Sounds" that you did an effective job of drawing the reader into your work with the descriptions of ''The Music dancing through the indigo sky." and the " yellow sinking sun dips his head into the sunken Earth" . I suddenly feel as though I have been transported to the French Quarter. Great Poem.
Hi Carlyne,
ReplyDeleteI love your use of imagery in this poem. Through my mind's eye, I can see and feel the "honey happiness" of that room. Thank you for this delightful work.