Paint Chip Poetry Prompt #51

It’s week 51! We’re almost to the end of the year and the final prompt of 2020. I’m still noodling on what to do for the paint chip prompts in 2021. Suggestions are welcome. What kind of prompt would you like to see?

The Challenge

This week I decided to pull our theme from a book of poetry titled Light Rooms, Dark Rooms written by one of my high school teachers Brent Goeres. My sister found this slim volume at a Friends of the Library book sale and bought it for me.

I confess that I’m not thrilled with the title of the particular poem the random number generator landed me on. I pulled the paint chips first and thought they were awesome. But the connection to the theme poem title is tenuous at best. It will be a challenge, that’s for sure.

It’s a very cool poem, and I’ve included the first half of it in this photo, but the title, “Baptismal Gowns Upstairs,” is a strange one for a prompt theme.

I suppose you could write about family, which is what this poem is about, at least two members of Brent’s family. Or you could pull a thread from the lines of verse themselves to spin your yarn in poem form.

Now for the paint chip words and phrases: cream of the crop, blue suede shoes, cave, ember, zest for life, sagebrush, and porcelain. I’d like you to use at least five of these words and phrases in your poem. I know some of you will be overachievers and use all seven, and for that I commend you. I may not be able to pull that off myself.

My Poem

I’ll be writing a fictional tale today. You might even find my fictional country parson from paint chip prompt #48 in these lines. I hope you like it.

The Baptism Gowns of a Country Parson

He always kept a cache of baptismal gowns upstairs
in a cave-like parsonage closet, to give to those in need.
His zest for life eternal, the promise of baptism and faith,
offered to all. No need for blue suede shoes or fancy clothes.

The gowns were the cream of the crop, they were always
clean and porcelain white. And free for the asking.
No family under his tender care would ever have to
delay the dedication of a child to the Lord, not on his watch.

If the cache ever dwindled, and oh the happy days that 
made it so, he would traverse the sagebrush desert to
the next town over, where Mrs. Sweeney the seamstress
stitched the sweetest gowns in every size he would need.

She knew the cost of each was borne by the parson alone.
She knew his modest income couldn't bear the cost, and so
he never paid full price, though he was unaware of her 
beautiful generosity that burned like an ember in her heart. 

Her gift to God became his gift to God, and together they
blessed a humble country community with simple faith.

Your Turn

You’re up next. What will you be inspired to write by the baptismal gowns upstairs and these interesting paint chip words and phrases? Whatever you write, please share. Either post it in the comments, or if you have a blog, post it on your blog and share the link in the comments. And don’t forget to share your ideas for what I might do with this paint chip prompt to shake things up in 2021.