Dusk’s Feathered Patience

Posted bywordsandcoffee1Posted inPoetry, W3 PromptsTags:, , , , , , , , , 
Pause here a moment under
sunset's stillness, under
the cover of dusk's feathered 
patience.
Trace the lingering pink
tendrils that pool and
wane into faded blue
skyline, simmering another
moment, bathing in the 
glow of yesterday's 
memory, and leaving just
an echo of quiet.

I wrote this poem for the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt #178. This week’s prompt was provided by Jaideep, who asks us to do the following:

  1. Write a poem that starts and ends in silence.
    • The first and last lines should directly evoke or describe silence.
    • It could be the literal word silence, or imagery that suggests quietness, stillness, or absence of sound.
    • The point is to frame the whole poem between two moments of silence.
  2. Use enjambment to sound like a heartbeat.
    • Enjambment means carrying a sentence or phrase over from one line to the next without a pause.
    • The short, broken flow can mimic a heartbeat: steady, pulsing, slightly uneven.
    • Think of each line as a “beat” that pushes into the next one.
  3. Keep it to 12 lines, like 12 heartbeats.
    • The entire poem is only 12 lines long.
    • Each line equals one “pulse,” so the poem itself becomes a heartbeat sequence.
    • The brevity forces intensity and rhythm.
  4. At least once, use a one-word line that makes the reader pause.
    • Somewhere in the poem, have a line with only one word.
    • This acts like a pause or a sudden strong beat in the rhythm, making the reader stop and notice.
    • That single word should carry weight—emotionally, visually, or sonically.

Another sunset poem for me! Whenever I’m lucky to witness a beautiful sunset (which is quite often, considering we’re blessed with windows that face the southwest over a wide-open field), I feel like there is a moment of quiet that settles over the earth. It’s oddly peaceful, which is probably why I was immediately drawn to this photo I took earlier this year when I read Jaideep’s prompt. I don’t think I quite mastered the “heartbeat” but I do enjoy enjambment, and I look forward to seeing what others have created this week!

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