On the colour yellow and yielding

I love the warmth and depth of the colour yellow, the soft pastel touch of its hue. It’s one of the primary colours and yet it’s so subtle. Of course it can be zingy and bright, vibrant and lively, but with the promise of spring, it’s just that soft elusive hint one looks for, budding up amidst the green shoots, as winter yields her grip.

I searched my mind for some other meaningful words starting with ‘y’ and felt that ‘yearning’ was just too strong a notion for me to tackle today and it doesn’t really tie in with yellow. But how about ‘yield’, yes, I think so, as one season yields to the next, some more reluctantly than others.

I have had a go at a couple of different poem formats about spring (bearing in mind, it’s not spring here, so these are from long ago memories with a bit of imagination thrown in) –

a Haiku

Snatches of iced snow

Yellows glimpsed in the melting

Daffodils are there.

Pantoum

Yesterday I watched as snow fell all day,
Yesterday dull grey clouds glowered overhead;
Yesterday my heart yearned for no more snow,
Today the clouds have lightened and lifted.

Yesterday dull grey clouds glowered overhead;
Today I feel the present hope of spring;
Today the clouds have lightened and lifted,
Today I can imagine the season is yielding.

Today I feel the present hope of spring,
I notice a spike or two of green beneath a tree;
Today I can imagine the season is yielding,
Today there is a hint of yellow daffodil.

I notice a spike or two of green beneath the tree
I spot a primrose cup unfurling
Today there is a hint of yellow daffodil
When will there be a whole parade?

I spot a primrose cup unfurling
One more yellow trumpet turned to the sky
When will there be a whole parade?
If I walk along the path I may find spring.

One more yellow trumpet turned to the sky
Another shy bud is seeking the light
If I walk along the path I may find spring,
A few short days and winter will yield.

There could be a mistake in the pattern, but I think I got it right!

The letter ‘y’ has a strong sound that is easy to pronounce and it is similar to the ‘j’ or ‘g’ to write, starting with a ‘u’ shape on the line and the stick going down below the line and curving to the left as usual. Not a lot of 3 letter CVC words start with ‘y’, but everyone quickly learns to write ‘yes’. The capital letter is is usually written as two diagonals above the line and a short stick down to the line.