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Hello dear poets!

‘Tis the season for quadrilles!

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TINSEL

You either love or loathe it. Glorious or tawdry? I’ll leave that to you.

I was surprised that the word offers us much more to play with…..
 
 

NOUN

1 : threads, strips, or sheets of metal, paper, or plastic used to produce a glittering and sparkling appearance in fabrics, yarns, or decorations

2 : something superficially attractive or glamorous but of little real worth disfigured by no gaudy tinsel of rhetoric or declamation— Thomas Jefferson

ADJECTIVE

1 : made of or covered with tinsel

2a : cheaply gaudy : tawdry

b : specious, superficial tinsel promises

VERB

1 : to interweave, overlay, or adorn with or as if with tinsel

2 : to impart a specious brightness to

www.miriamwebster.com

Original tinsel was invented in Nuremberg, Germany in 1610 from actual strands of silver. Other metals were added to avoid tarnishing. By the 19th century, tinsel began to adorn Christmas trees, reflecting the light of candles…..yes, candles. Don’t do that.

It was during the early 20th century that aluminum based tinsel was manufactured. Fast forward to the 1950’s where we embraced the idea of tinsel and tinsel garland, often instead of lights. Why? Because it was a safer option when placed upon the popular but flammable aluminized trees of that era. Tinsel contained lead for decades and thankfully was eliminated in the 1960’s. Today’s modern tinsel is made of polyvinyl chloride with a metallic finish.

I have fond childhood memories of decorating our Christmas tree with tinsel. What I remember the most was the tedious task of taking one strand at a time out of the box and placing it just so onto the tree until our patience (or maybe just mine) wore thin. What came next involved generous handfuls, a good aim and lots of laughter.

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Your poem does not have to incorporate a Christmas theme.

Just throw some tinsel into your quadrille and make it shine, shine, shine!

To join in:

  • Write a poem of exactly 44 words (excluding the title) including the word “tinsel” and post your poem to your blog or website.
  • Click on Mr. Linky and add the direct URL and your name.
  • Add a link to dVerse so that others can find us.
  • Read and comment on the work of others.
  • Pop into the pub to comment or say hello!