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Alternating lunes, Bernadette Meyer, Grapheme Color Synesthesia, Philip Good, Synesthesia, Synesthesia in Poetry, Synesthesia series
Hi everyone! Grace here hosting the first of the Synesthesia series as part of our tool kit for writing.
Can you imagine words and numbers as colors and textures?
Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sense leads to automatic, involuntary experiences of a second one. There are over 80 types of synesthesia described by science. Nearly every combination of sensory experiences or cognitive concepts is possible.
Seeing music as colors is one form of synesthesia. Perceiving letters as personalities is another one, or seeing numbers in color. Even hearing colors or touching smells.
Alternating lunes
amaryllis comes in many flavors
snow sometimes slants
when will politics make improvements?
strawberry amaryllis walks right in
snarling at snowfall
saying flowers don’t abuse women
female rabbi demands ancient answers
untranslatable tablets found
there’s more knowledge in flowers
aren’t all rabbis ancient females
snow’s setting in
untranslatable strawberry soufflés, first course
ancient untranslatable second course arrives
edible flowers abound
distant whale sounds sing loudly
singing memories of the future
they thought so
singing, singing, never stopping singing
echo above sea level roads
people ponder protest
extreme weather patterns manifest warnings
swim swam have swum under
and in soufflés
until willows swill scotch seltzers
no tree left behind pleas
a branch fell
right into the money jar
no money have I none
neither do you
so together we’ll be bereft
piles of words mound high
counting moon phases
feathers flew across our minds
consult the feather field guide
mostly about toucans
and birthdays and cookie monsters
we live in the country
they wonder why
the thin place is nearby
it’s a wordy country here
full of vegetables
each word is a pea
lots of potatoes with eyes
carrots without tops
one frozen leek left behind
carrots have eyes too, y’know
you can sit
on a mushroom, never ginger
some folks sit on rocks
large, smooth, flat
and shakers made fine furniture
some rocks start to shake
like a quaker
I’ve never dated a dentist
dating a dentist really bites
tooth-growing oysters
what a very weird universe
s is a yellow letter
in my synesthesia
I mean my synesthesia scheme
can you hear sunrays?
see trumpet calls?
taste the shape of words?
if you spell synesthesia with
an a (synaesthesia) everything
changes because a is red
synesthetes come in many colors
snow sometimes slants
when will untranslatable make improvements?
if you stick with me
what everything does
will be the backwards opposite
improvements make untranslatable demand flowers
hear, see, taste
everything will make sense again
you’ve got another thing coming
I see people
nothing will ever make sense
nonsense to making sense again
the mysterious mind
memories within time plus space
do you know the future
will be there?
time might go backwards, sir
if only pleasure were limitless
beyond the mind
a tiny speck of sand
if only you knew how
limitless pleasures can
be like little engine dresses
yes the small pleasures roar
like mighty engines
here sometimes they are jets
you mean nuclear jet engines
like the speedway’s
oh save us and the trees
more trees will save us
air moves through
we hear maple sap drop
trees taught us to breathe
sap rises up
we see windy voices say
nothing is really real tonight
the wind laughs
oysters jump on our plates
Vladimir Nabokov was a famous synesthete — in his autobiography, he writes of having “a fine case of colored hearing,” perceiving each letter of the alphabet as corresponding to a specific color:
“The yellows comprise various e’s and i’s, creamy d, bright-golden y, and u, whose alphabetical value I can express only by “brassy with an olive sheen.”
For today’s synesthesia series, we are going to focus on Grapheme Color Synesthesia. Grapheme colour synesthesia is the most widely studied and common type of synesthesia. An individual is able to associate number or letters with certain colours. However, it is important to note that no two individuals will report seeing all alphabets or numbers in the same colours. It is however possible for most individuals with color graphemic synesthesia to report the same color for certain letters, like the letter “A” is unanimously reported as “Red”. Source
The writing challenge: Today we will write about color from the perspective of a synesthete. Pick one color or several colors. Create your own Dictionary of Color. All sounds have color. The alphabet has color. Days of the week have color. Each day has a color and a certain shape.
Grace said:
Hello everyone! Hope you are safe and well. I hope you enjoy writing to the rainbow of colors. Tell me what is your favorite color? Mine is mint green.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I wrote something blue today… but my favorite color is probably turquoise followed by pink
Grace said:
I also wrote about blue Bjorn 🙂 Those are gorgeous choices for color.
msjadeli said:
Hello Grace and All. Very interesting video on synesthesia. I particularly like when they say it’s “a trait rather than a disorder because there’s nothing wrong.” Do you think poets can be said to possess a trait defined in the same manner as synesthesia? I think so. Great prompt, Grace, and thank you for teaching me something new.
Grace said:
I think its just being creative with how we use and see our senses. I am glad you enjoyed writing to the prompt. Though we have used this in the past (in our archives), we can always go back, and write something new. I hope you are well!
msjadeli said:
I do also. I think many poets assume everyone tunes in to their senses and are able to express them in a creative fashion. Life experience tells me not the case, which is why creatives are so valuable in the world.
Good to know we can revisit ideas that have been used before 🙂
msjadeli said:
p.s. my favorite color is leaf green
Grace said:
Can I guess that spring is your favorite season? I love all things green!
msjadeli said:
Yes, I love late spring, and I love any season when the sun shines. Makes me think I was a plant in a former life…
Ingrid said:
Thank you for hosting, Grace: what a fascinating prompt! I think I’m a little jealous of people with synesthesia. Maybe that’s why I have trouble creating the type of metaphors you can taste. I’ll see what I can do…
Grace said:
Hi Ingrid, I am looking forward to it. Just be creative and go with your imagination.
calmkate said:
morning Grace … finally got the time sequence worked out = rosey pink!
My favourite colour changes frequently … at the moment its watermelon or coral. This poem is really amazing, thanks for such a different and fascinating prompt! Onto it …
Grace said:
I love that shade, like a gemstone. Looking forward to reading it. I hope you can join in our next OLN Live then!
calmkate said:
tech stuff is not my forte Grace, I did try last time but who knows … and frankly I am not comfortable reading my own work
kim881 said:
Good evening all! Thank you for an inspirational synesthesia prompt, Grace, and for hosting this Thursday. As you are probably aware, not only is it Bonfire Night in the UK, it is also the first day of our second lockdown. So far, there have been no fireworks nearby, for which I am thankful, as I really don’t like the noise they make and it frightens animals. I will post, read a few poems, and come back in the morning, as my study is freezing. I’m off to cuddle one of our cats!
Grace said:
Hi Kim. I feel for you and I hope you are okay. Cuddle them tight. We are slowly easing restrictions here as we have been very careful with masks and distancing. I have also signed up for Contact tracing app, that tells you if you have been near someone who has tested for COVID19. As I am working from home 100%, its been good. Take care.
kim881 said:
Thanks Grace, and stay safe and well.
sarahsouthwest said:
Great prompt, Grace – very informative, and I love the poem. My favourite colour is a particular slightly purply blue you see on faded shutters in France.
Grace said:
Purply blue, looks divine in a painting. Great to see you Sarah.
Laura Bloomsbury said:
Oh this challenged my imagination Grace – feel quite stretched now 🙂
Favourite colour is probably cerise though I rarely wear it
Grace said:
That’s a lovely shade of red. Looking forward to your poem Laura.
Ron. said:
Thanks, Grace, for the prompt. I know a few of these synesthetics, and find it fascinating, wish I shared it.
I’m a Purple sorta guy, but I wrote red today. Back to read/comment later. Cheers.
Grace said:
That is a bold color Ron. I look forward to reading it. Cheers!
Ali Grimshaw said:
Grace,
I so appreciate this fascinating prompt. It is a great distraction from our current election. I will be back later to read what the dVerse crowd comes up with in response.
Take care,
Ali
PS. My favorite color today is the flaming-peach of the leaves in my front yard.
Grace said:
Yes, poetry is always a good distraction. That is a lovely shade of leaves. I have mostly faded burnt yellow and red maple leaves in my front yard.
robtkistner said:
This is wild Grace! I am going to have to read a few of the other poets to get a feel for this one. Thank you for this fascinating challenge… 🙂
Xan said:
Hah– I always keep myself from reading everyone’s so I don’t end up copycatting!
Grace said:
I find that reading other poems get my muse going, if I don’t have any idea. Perhaps an idea here or there, can bloom fully with your tender care. Take care!
Xan said:
Interesting and challenging prompt. I have a sort of perpetual attempt at explaining dyslexia poetically, as it runs in my ylimaf. So this is kind of along the same lines, how perception shapes one’s outlook.
Grace said:
Interesting thought process. I look forward to reading your poem.
revivedwriter said:
This is a fascinating prompt! That said, I have absolutely no idea where to begin….
Grace said:
Choose a color, smiles. If you like, you can read a few poems to get you going, smiles.
sanaarizvi said:
Thank you for the glorious prompt, Grace! My favorite colour is red 🙂 I fell asleep soon after supper .. and woke up shortly with a poem in my head. The muse works in mysterious ways 💝 Just posted. Now going to read and comment. It’s a beautiful morning.
Grace said:
I love it when my muse is cooperating too. Enjoy your day!
sanaarizvi said:
I will! Thank you 🙂
rothpoetry said:
I think I will have to pass on this one. It just does not click with my brain. I can visualize things having color, but colors do not stimulate a particular sensory thing for me!
rothpoetry said:
After reading some of the other poems, I think I will give it a try.
-Eugenia said:
A fascinating prompt, Grace. This brought on a mesh-up of memories for me and even though my favorite color is black, I graffitied my poem with colors.
Grace said:
Thanks for joining us. Black has a universal appeal as a color.
-Eugenia said:
My pleasure, Grace!
Tricia Sankey said:
Thanks for the prompt, Grace! This took me a minute to wrap my mind around, but once I got started it really was fun! Never heard of this condition, but it really intrigues me!
Grace said:
Thanks for joining in. Good to be open and learn new things. Have a good weekend.
D. Avery @shiftnshake said:
I think I missed the mark, synesthesia is not my thing, but I went with what came to mind. I have met with people who think/see in this way . It’s a cool prompt, thank you for it.
Grace said:
I have not met one yet so this prompt has always intrigued me. Thanks for joining in.
M Jay Dixit said:
I gave it a try and I very much enjoyed the process, even more so than the finished poem. Thank you for introducing me to this interesting concept!
Grace said:
You are very welcome. Have a good week!
merrildsmith said:
Hi Grace and everyone. I just couldn’t do yesterday. 😏 I’ve just added mine. I often feel like I can taste colors–maybe not like true synesthesia, but my senses do often blend. Fun prompt.
Grace said:
Hi Merril. Having senses blending together would be a great. I love your poem.
merrildsmith said:
Thank you!
pvcann said:
Such fun, thank you Grace, something to dig into. I’m stronger at hearing and feeling colour so this was certainly a challenge.
Grace said:
What a gift to hear and feel color. Thanks for joining in. Have a good week.
pvcann said:
Indeed I agree, my pleasure.
memadtwo said:
Thanks Grace. (K)
Grace said:
You are very welcome.
whimsygizmo said:
Grace, I LOVED {and could not resist} this prompt! Thank you!
Grace said:
I am happy to read this and your poem. Thanks for playing along. Enjoy your week.
robtkistner said:
I missed the boat because I was delirious with joy and in frenzied celebration over President Elect, and Vice-President Elect — Joe Biden & Kamala Harris! Finally the intelligent adults have been let back into the White House!!! 🙂
Missed Mr. Linky — but here’s mine: https://www.image-verse.com/seduced
Grace said:
I was hooked to the election news for the last few days so it is all a relief. Congrats USA! And thanks for playing along Rob.