Eau-de-nil

Along the idle rows of lily-white, I lie here -

Below a canopy of cloud, and bird, and sky.

Can it be I’m only moments shy of knowing? The

Daffodils peruse my prayer and sigh.

Eau-de-nil is what I see and feel (when I) dream of you:

Filigree of bud and bloom, pale green. For

Green alludes to hopeful fields of lucky clover, a

Honey bee to chauffeur pollen to my roaming, meadowed being.

I know you're real (and just) a breath away from breathing.

Just a drop of blue and yellow: oh, please be! (In a)

Kaleidoscope of colors, I will always choose you:

Little peony, unblossomed,

My Eau-de-nil, my meant-to-be.

Nile rivers run forever, and

On unending shores of ember-onyx, I shall wait for thee.

Pastel - your tiny heart - un-lost in

Quaint and tempered aquarelle of me. Oh,

Rows of lily-white elude my worry. (I wish amid)

Stargazer castles - swaddled in all springtime reverie.

Tiny sprout of tasseled leaf and pinwheel:

Unearth potential unto wistful, earnest me.

Veiled in fragile tendrils, pea, I see you.

With tender stir, your skin against my own stems purpose: clarity. I’ll name you

Xyris - for you’re my bud and core, and I shall be the Isis of your journey:

You’re yellow, dyed with

Zaffre rarity. Reveal yourself from all my flesh, and zeal, and meadows: my Eau-de-nil, my dearest meant-t0-be.

***

-Gina C. 🧚‍♀️✨

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Author’s Note: Isis of Egyptian Mythology was known as “Great Mother Isis”. Among much else, she was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife.

This is my 100th Vocal story! I know I originally said that I’d be publishing a collection of my Tiktok love poems for my 100th, but I’ve decided to save that for Valentine’s Day. ☺️

One of my Vocal goals for 2024 is to start drawing more of my own images. (I toyed with the idea of writing about this for the #200 Challenge, but it felt more authentic and fitting for me to reveal this here.) Though I’m far from a trained and talented sketch artist, I’ve enjoyed drawing since I was a little girl. Nowadays, I'm also able to get a good deal of practice creating things for my students in the Kindergarten classroom. :)

On the theme of Kindergarten, I feel vulnerable yet so honored to share the ABC’s of my heart with the Vocal Community. Thank you so much for taking this Abecedarian journey with me! 🤍 Below, I hope you'll be entertained as I embarrass myself by reading this poem into the camera. (I decided to post this poem to Youtube instead of Tiktok. I am new to Youtube and currently have zero subscribers. 🫣)

Some notes about pronunciation - if you're interested!

"Eau-de-nil" is obviously a French word which has been adopted by the English language. Its most common definition is "a pale green color" that can be used as both a noun and an adjective. However, in French, it literally means "water of the Nile".

While writing this poem, I struggled greatly with its pronunciation. The pronunciation respelling that English dictionaries display for this word is: /ˌoʊ də ˈniːl/ or "oh-de-kneel". With hope that my audience will read this poem the way I intend it to be read, this is also the pronunciation I used here and that the rhyme depends on.

Of course, different dialects will pronounce Eau-de-nil in various ways. A quick google search of this word will bring up its Oxford Languages definition and pronunciation, where it is pronounced as "oh-de-knee". The first version of my poem (which I actually like better than this one) was based on this pronunciation. However, after doing some research, I don't believe this pronunciation to be correct (in English OR in French). Therefore, I decided to alter the poem so it reads in a more universal way.

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Thank you so much for all your support! 🥹 I'm around a little less these days, but I'm still here and am still trying to read all your wonderful work when I'm able to. 🥹