A random color
Pulled from the crayon box
Draws out memories.
The green beneath my iron
As it slides back and forth
Over my military husband’s uniforms-
An olive green labor of love
Olives with pimientos
Scattered across a silly card-
The message inside:
Olove you!
An olive green valentine
Grocery in Greece
Trays and trays
Of olive varieties
So many tasty choices-
An olive green nibble
Parque Los Olivos
A city park encircled
By an olive grove
With pleasant paths to walk-
An olive green refuge
Olive green memories…
Isn’t it amazing how a single color can host such a mix of memories? I pulled dandelion the other day and went swirling back in time—still haven’t recovered! “An olive green labor of love” 🙂
Nice!! I love the pun (color … draws ) in your first lines. I connected with the line “The green beneath my iron” and anticipated the reference to “military.”
One simple color, so many associations and memories.
Every year, my wife’s Christmas stocking is heavier than everyone else’s because there’s a can of olives tucked into the toe. Sometimes she doesn’t even unwrap it until it’s time to eat them–that’s part of our joke. That tradition, along with olive drab being part of my own “work wardrobe” for 21 years helps to make this a fun poem for me to read. Thank you for sharing it!
It is fun to hear the connections that come up for readers! Love the Christmas stocking olives!
Love the idea of pulling a crayon from the box and seeing where it takes you. I enjoyed your poem.
http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/
That’s the address to Amy’s blog where she is doing this every day for Poetry Month.
Wow….you broadened my view of “drab” olive green! This looked like you had a great time doing this.
It was fun- except it has been a long time since I was at Parque Los Olivos in Lima…when I looked it up online, I found it now has skateboard ramps in it! Not quite the same as my memory.
Very nice idea to inspire a poem and well executed.
So many nice lines, and I liked your summation lines for each verse having the same construction.
You made me feel fondly about a color I don’t think much of!
I loved learning about olive trees in the Middle East. They are such a powerful symbol of resilience. Beautiful pathways in your poem.
Love your olive green memories! Who knew olive green could express so many emotions?
Love your olive memories. Color is such a strong thought-provoker. You have described that so well.
This is lovely! I can picture the color and the meanings you found in it.