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Cow on a Flatbed? [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here.  On my way to a drum corps show a couple of weeks ago, we passed by this interesting object on the highway. Yep, that’s a giant cow butt.

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capitol building behind tree

Building Growing Out of a Tree [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here.  Randy and I often walk to a small park nearby and play Scrabble. The other night, I looked up to see the tip of the Minnesota State Capitol

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Chair circle

It’s the Circle of…Barstools? [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. Last week was my dad’s birthday, the anniversary of my mom’s death, a medical emergency for my dad, the arrival home of my daughter Maddie for a 7‑week

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Heat Is a Lemon Lollipop

Heat Is a Lemon Lollipop — a Triolet [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was a triolet on the theme of heat. I’ve been buckled under a number of deadlines and didn’t think I was going to make it. But on Tuesday, I carved out one 25-minute writing session, and

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Waterfall [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here, especially on a holiday like today! Happy 4th of July!  This image makes me think of several things:

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Sneakers [15 Words or Less Poems]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here.  This image makes me think of several things:

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Lion of the Sky

Poetry Blast and a Riddle-ku #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Hello! I’m on my way to Washington, DC, for the annual ALA conference! I hope to maybe see a few of you there? I’m attending to take part in the Poetry Blast, an annual poetry celebration organized by Marilyn Singer and Barbara Genco. So, Saturday

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Chandelier Jellyfish? [15 Words or Less Poems]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here.  I love public art. When I walk through a building or a square and there are interesting and unexpected shapes, forms, and colors, I feel happy. This image

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Coral Reef

Coral Reef [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here.  It’s another mall photo. Seriously, you know I’m not getting out enough when several weeks of pictures in a row are coming from mall-walking before Weight Watchers one

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Equationpoems from Young Authors Conference #PoetryFriday

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) [My husband had shoulder surgery yesterday, and in the confusion, I posted this Poetry Friday post Wednesday night instead of Thursday night. Oops!] The week of Memorial Day, I taught at Success Beyond the Classroom’s Young Authors Conference–something I look forward to each year! This

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A skinny poem by Laura Purdie Salas

Skinny Poems with the Poetry Princesses [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was a skinny. I was excited because I saw some of these at Margaret Simon’s blog a while back and wanted to try them. A Skinny has 11 lines, and lines 1 and 11 can be

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Fruity Bath? [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here.  I have missed you guys a lot on all these various weeks I haven’t been home to comment! Can you tell what this is? This image makes me

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Formerly Known As… [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here.  Prince’s death was a HUGE deal here in Minneapolis, and while walking around the mall before my WW meeting last week, I saw this large artwork (filtered here)

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Three Days of Poetry at Isanti Intermediate School [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Last week, I was honored to spend three days with 4th and 5th graders playing with poetry. We wrote 15 Words or Less Poems, Paint Chip Poems, Things To Do If You Are… Poems, I Am Poems, Found Poems (using pages from National Geographic that

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Who Will You Be Today? [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here.  Thank you all for your poems and kind words last week. Though I was teaching (more about my poetry residency tomorrow) and couldn’t respond, I did read them

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