Three poems of choice
- Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Color: Gold, pale green, maybe soft brown. The gold represents beauty and things that don't last.
Shapes: Small leaves, flowers, circles, or delicate organic shapes.
Lines: Thin, delicate lines that could gradually fade or break apart.
Textures: Soft, delicate, textures like leaves or petals.
Space: More vertical/stacked, because the poem moves from the first leaf/flower down toward decay and loss.
Symmetrical or asymmetrical? Asymmetrical. Nature isn't perfectly organized, and the poem feels like something changing or disappearing.
Pattern: Repeating leaves or flowers that gradually become less detailed or disappear.
Overall garment idea: A garment that starts with bright gold/green near the top and gradually becomes darker or more muted toward the bottom.
- In Blackwater Woods by Mary Oliver
Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders
of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned
in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.
Color: Deep green, black, blue, brown, and warm orange/gold.
Shapes: Trees, branches, leaves, flames, waves, and circles representing the ponds.
Lines: Long flowing lines for the trees and river; branching lines for the forest.
Textures: Rough bark, soft leaves, flowing water, and maybe something slightly burnt/charred.
Space: More horizontal/vast space, because the poem feels like you're looking across a huge landscape.
Symmetrical or asymmetrical? Symmetrical. I just feel like this needs like a solid forest idea to it
Pattern: Repeating trees, leaves, branches, or waves. The repetition could represent the cycle of life and loss.
Overall garment idea: A flowing garment that looks like a forest or landscape, with darker colors representing loss and lighter colors representing light/salvation.
- Token Loss by Kay Ryan
To the dragon
any loss is
total. His rest
is disrupted
if a single
jewel encrusted
goblet has
been stolen.
The circle
of himself
in the nest
of his gold
has been
broken. No
loss is token.
Color: Gold, black, dark red, maybe deep purple?
Shapes: Circles, jewels, scales, sharp geometric shapes, and a large circular shape representing the dragon's hoard.
Lines: Mostly short, sharp, controlled lines.
Textures: Hard, metallic, shiny, rough scales, or jewel-like textures.
Space: More vertical/stacked, especially because the poem itself is visually narrow and compact.
Symmetrical or asymmetrical? Mostly symmetrical/contained, because the dragon wants everything kept within its controlled circle.
Pattern: Repeating jewels, scales, circles, or geometric shapes.
Overall garment idea: A structured garment covered in jewel-like shapes or metallic details, almost like armor, showing how the dragon surrounds itself with possessions.
The first and third poem I feel like would translate a lot better onto a garment
