Can you guess from the title of this post what entry in the S section of the poetry dictionary I’ve selected for our challenge today? If I had pulled the paint chips first, I might have picked a different entry, but there’s no going back now.
The poetry term or concept we are working with today is simile, defined as follows:
SIMILE (sim’-uh-lee; Latin, “like”) A comparison that uses some linking word (like, as, such as, how) to make the likeness clear. A kind of metaphor (though a true metaphor does not use linking words).
In mathematical symbols, a simile would require an approximate sign (≈), meaning “similar to.” In Dylan Thomas’s “Fern Hill,” there is a “fire green as grass,” and the poem ends:
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.A simile generally sounds more casual, and less emphatic, than a metaphor. Instead of a leap, it provides a visible bridge linking two things, indicating one likeness among many differences. It gives both pleasure and information.
the poetry dictionary, pg 285–86.
The Challenge
You challenge, dear poets, is to write a poem using simile. Sounds easy, I know. But here’s the catch: for every simile in your poem, one of the paint chip words or phrases must be on one side of the linking word. That means the number of similes in your poem depends on how many of the paint chips you choose to color with.
The paint chip words and phrases you have to choose from are bluebird, sweet ‘n’ sour, taxi, deep dark wood, vintage turquoise, ultraviolet, and sparkle.
I’m only requiring you to pick one, but as usual you can pick up some useless bonus points if you use them all. And a gold star if you can figure out how to put two of them on opposite sides of your simile linking word.
My Poem
A Paint Chip Is Like . . . Her singing is like a bluebird's melody Soft and sweet on the wind I listen intently as she sings in the night Each note as lovely as a sparkle star As mesmerizing as ultraviolet light As soothing as a deep dark wood
Your Turn
Now it’s your turn to create a simile or seven. You can share you poem in the comments, or you can post it on your blog and drop a link in the comments. Or both. Be sure to read the other poems that are shared and let the poets know their poems are like taxi taking you to destinations unknown, or something like that.