Thursday, March 17, 2022

Musing on Wind and a Poem


 Windstorm

Today's photo shows us trees and a car coming down a road in a windstorm. Wind opens the door for some interesting, descriptive writing. 

Think about the sensory details of these two trees bending in the wind. You see what the wind is doing to them, you can hear the wind, you can feel it on your skin if you are outside when it is blowing. What about smell? Or taste? Probably not so much. But three out of five isn't bad. When you write about wind, use these sensory details to bring your reader into the scene.

Wind can set up a great scene in mystery, when someone is being chased, or when a child is missing. The winds of a hurricane can actually become a character in the story. Might be a stretch but possible. 

What about making a comparison between wind and a breeze? What words would you use to describe each. 

For wind:  strong, writhing, whipping, terrible, wild, blustery

For breeze:  gentle, wisp, whispering, soft, slight

Wind and the storms that come with it can play a big part in a story. Practice writing descriptive paragraphs about wind and what havoc it can bring. Use as many descriptive words as you can.

I'll close today by sharing a poem I wrote about wind on one of our many windy days in Kansas. It was fun to find many words that described the wind and what havoc it created.

Portrait of the Wind

blow winds blow,
sweep the leaves
from the earth,
don't fan the fires
in our western skies,
let the aspen
trees shimmer,
ruffle our hair,
tease our skirts,
send up a shiver.

blow winds blow,
show us your might
and flippant attitude,
laugh as papers
dance down the street,
applaud when 
trash can lids
roll and clank
across the road.

blow winds blow,
bend slim branches
to the ground,
make colorful kites
dip and swirl through
a cerulean sky,
send frigid sleet,
gust after gale
to ping on winter panes.

blow winds blow,
gust after gust,
until simple exhaustion
overcomes your wont 
and suddenly you glide 
into gentle autumn breezes.
 (C)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Book Review: Addressing Widowhood

Christina Hamlett has been a Guest Blogger here numerous times. An accomplished novelist, playwright, interviewer, former actress--the list ...