Poems from my Merriam-Webster Word of the Day project. For more information, look here.
redolent: full of a specified fragrance
Natatorium
Air redolent of chlorine
A steady beat of
muffled echoing splashes
Monday night swim team practice
tanka 304 : 6/18/22
short shrift : quick work — usually used in the phrase make short shrift of
then her instructions:
short shrift the situation
toot sweet make of it
nothing from something I knew
what to do: heave splash sink gone.
tanka 387 : 1/22/23
effulgence : radiant splendor : BRILLIANCE
Maybe it’s tiny
this cheap trophy that I won
in the club swim meet
but back then it dazzled me
the effulgence of goals met
tanka 329 : 8/30/22
Attributions:
“Redolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redolent. Accessed 18 Jun. 2022.
“Short shrift.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/short%20shrift. Accessed 22 Jan. 2023.
“Effulgence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effulgence. Accessed 30 Aug. 2022.
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
Meeting those goals always shines, no matter how small. (K)
I was the Most Improved Swimmer on our team when I was 11. I still have the trophy 50+ years later. So this poem…right out of my own life!
Even better.
These were all accomplished swimmingly!
I like the word “redolent.”
I like how you again kept to a theme. I would have been dazzled, too. It was an accomplishment.
Thank you. I try to group these so that they have something in common, I think it makes it more interesting, and also, I then see how certain themes do recur in what I write. I have many many swimming memories and being a competitive swimmer was a role that has continued to be important to me. As for the trophy, I won a lot of them over the years, but my most important one (that I still have 50+ years later – Most Improved Swimmer on our team for 1970. I was so proud of that recognition.
You’re welcome.
I can understand why you were so proud.