Photo: Laura Purdie Salas
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)!
This week’s image makes me think of:
1)?Scuba diving
2) Bat wings
3) Wading in Lake Superior and feeling the sharp rocks right through my water shoes
And here’s my poem first draft:
My Feet
need gentle things:
rainy springs,
rippling rings.Come, fuzzy socks,
for splintered docks
and jagged rocks.–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
Oops, I cut it all I could and still sort of maintain the rhythm, and I’m at 16 words (titles don’t count:>) Oh well. SOME people (you know who you are!) have gone over egregiously in the past, so I’m just going to give myself that one extra word! :>)
Now,?what does this picture make YOU think of??Take any quick idea and jot down a 15 Words or Less poem. It doesn’t have to rhyme or describe this picture. This is just a jumping-off spot. And this is just a fun exercise–don’t worry about creating a polished poem right now!
120 Responses
Laura- I’m glad you posted your poem even if it “break the rules.” I relate to your fuzzy socks stanza. I like my thick fuzzy SmartWool socks for cold floors on winter mornings.
Dressed Wrong for the Party
Oh, dear,
my head just reels.
I wore flats
when I should be in heels.
Thanks, cindyb! Our main level where I usually work all day is tile, so I’m now into sock season:>) Love the voice here. The phrasing of those first two lines gives me such a sense of character!
Ha! This is wonderfully funny!
This made me smile.
I like your rhymes and the voice of this poem.
Laura- I’m glad you posted your poem even if it “break the rules.” I relate to your fuzzy socks stanza. I like my thick fuzzy SmartWool socks for cold floors on winter mornings.
Dressed Wrong for the Party
Oh, dear,
my head just reels.
I wore flats
when I should be in heels.
Thanks, cindyb! Our main level where I usually work all day is tile, so I’m now into sock season:>) Love the voice here. The phrasing of those first two lines gives me such a sense of character!
Ha! This is wonderfully funny!
This made me smile.
I like your rhymes and the voice of this poem.
how different
our crockery & cutlery
would be
our sandals
with toes & fingers
webbed
Ha–love that second line, the sound and the pictures it puts in my mind!
Yes! This brings up sci-fi images.
“crockery” makes me think of Monty Python and giggle!
Different, indeed! I’m picturing all kinds of unusual things right now… 🙂
how different
our crockery & cutlery
would be
our sandals
with toes & fingers
webbed
Ha–love that second line, the sound and the pictures it puts in my mind!
Yes! This brings up sci-fi images.
“crockery” makes me think of Monty Python and giggle!
Different, indeed! I’m picturing all kinds of unusual things right now… 🙂
16 words? Oh Laura.…you are living on the edge today! I love it! And I love your poem. Very cozy sounding. I can just see a smiling duck with fuzzy socks!
Duck & Shore: The Moment of Truth
?Though you rock,?
said Duck to Shore?
It?s the lake that I adore.
~Penny Klostermann
Oops.…I accidentally hit something and entered my poem before I completed my formatting. I meant to include more quotation marks, as follows:
Duck & Shore: The Moment of Truth
?Though you rock,?
said Duck to Shore?
“It?s the lake that I adore.”
~Penny Klostermann
Love this, Penny!
ditto
Great poem!
Yeah, I am a rebel, aren’t I:>) Oh, this is wonderful! I love a good pun:>)
Love it Penny!
I love this one, too. Clever!
16 words? Oh Laura.…you are living on the edge today! I love it! And I love your poem. Very cozy sounding. I can just see a smiling duck with fuzzy socks!
Duck & Shore: The Moment of Truth
?Though you rock,?
said Duck to Shore?
It?s the lake that I adore.
~Penny Klostermann
Oops.…I accidentally hit something and entered my poem before I completed my formatting. I meant to include more quotation marks, as follows:
Duck & Shore: The Moment of Truth
?Though you rock,?
said Duck to Shore?
“It?s the lake that I adore.”
~Penny Klostermann
Love this, Penny!
ditto
Great poem!
Yeah, I am a rebel, aren’t I:>) Oh, this is wonderful! I love a good pun:>)
Love it Penny!
I love this one, too. Clever!
I’m new to this… and 15 words or less is really hard! But here’s what I was wondering:
wouldn’t it be strange instead
to have our feet upon our head?
Fun rhyme.
Welcome, Susanna! I like your joke/riddle poem–and YES, it would be!
Oh Susanna — I can hear an entire Seuss-like poem starting from this! Love it!
I agree with Cathy ~ it does sound Seuss-like, and I can imagine it going on to talk about other strange things.
I’m new to this… and 15 words or less is really hard! But here’s what I was wondering:
wouldn’t it be strange instead
to have our feet upon our head?
Fun rhyme.
Welcome, Susanna! I like your joke/riddle poem–and YES, it would be!
Oh Susanna — I can hear an entire Seuss-like poem starting from this! Love it!
I agree with Cathy ~ it does sound Seuss-like, and I can imagine it going on to talk about other strange things.
Love all the “r” sounds, Laura!
HIGH SCHOOL
Acutely aware
of ears, a trip
to the bathroom
always involves
a check of feet.
© Diane Mayr
Thanks, Diane. Not because of who might be listening, but I still find myself checking under bathroom doors constantly to see if they’re occupied, to see where my daughters are, etc.! I thought I’d be done with that by now:>)
How true.
Love all the “r” sounds, Laura!
HIGH SCHOOL
Acutely aware
of ears, a trip
to the bathroom
always involves
a check of feet.
© Diane Mayr
Thanks, Diane. Not because of who might be listening, but I still find myself checking under bathroom doors constantly to see if they’re occupied, to see where my daughters are, etc.! I thought I’d be done with that by now:>)
How true.
Duck Feet
Orange stars:
super strong,
I scull along.
Can?t beat
duck feet.
–Kate Coombs (Book Aunt)
Love scull and stars–wonderful!
I like all the “s” sounds at the beginning and then the rhyming ending!
Duck Feet
Orange stars:
super strong,
I scull along.
Can?t beat
duck feet.
–Kate Coombs (Book Aunt)
Love scull and stars–wonderful!
I like all the “s” sounds at the beginning and then the rhyming ending!
Looking down
my feet are bare.
Wonder what else
I forgot to wear.
Love yours, Laura. Especially the first verse.
Love it!
Ha! Don’t look any higher up:>) And thanks!
Too funny!
Looking down
my feet are bare.
Wonder what else
I forgot to wear.
Love yours, Laura. Especially the first verse.
Love it!
Ha! Don’t look any higher up:>) And thanks!
Too funny!
My wide webbed paddles
work better underwater.
On land, when I wander,
I waddle.
Oh, I love the alliteration and the tongue-twistery effect!
^ Me, too! 🙂
My wide webbed paddles
work better underwater.
On land, when I wander,
I waddle.
Oh, I love the alliteration and the tongue-twistery effect!
^ Me, too! 🙂
Mama ducks feet
While not very sweet,
Make a comfortable seat
For ducklings.
Sorry I didn’t get this in sooner, I just got home from school. Everyone is very creative and funny today! Great pic.
No worries, Amelia! Love the chant‑y meter you’ve got going here…and the humor, of course!
Great Amelia!
Cute poem!
Mama ducks feet
While not very sweet,
Make a comfortable seat
For ducklings.
Sorry I didn’t get this in sooner, I just got home from school. Everyone is very creative and funny today! Great pic.
No worries, Amelia! Love the chant‑y meter you’ve got going here…and the humor, of course!
Great Amelia!
Cute poem!
Duck Chasers
Along the sand, she quacks and quacks.
We follow, waddling, in her tracks.
But when she hops onto the rocks
We lose the trail of where she walks.
I can picture this happening.… I like your rhymes!
Better catch up, little ducklings! Cute story/poem!
Duck Chasers
Along the sand, she quacks and quacks.
We follow, waddling, in her tracks.
But when she hops onto the rocks
We lose the trail of where she walks.
I can picture this happening.… I like your rhymes!
Better catch up, little ducklings! Cute story/poem!
Great poem, Laura! My feet need soft, gentle things, too.
Not the Same
Waddle-waddle.
Walk, walk.
Quack! Quack!
Talkety-talk.
Fly! Fly!
Oh, my.
You lucky duck!
Sigh.
Sigh.
~Janelle (Blue Sky, Big Dreams)
Hmmm… I tried to format this differently, but it all came out like this when I posted it. Lines 1, 3, and 5 are supposed to be on the left-hand side, and all the others on the right-hand side.…
Either way, I love it, Janelle–and so will kids!
Thank you!
Yeah, formatting in WordPress is hard. This is lovely. I especially like the ending, with that double sigh!
Thanks, Laura!
Great poem, Laura! My feet need soft, gentle things, too.
Not the Same
Waddle-waddle.
Walk, walk.
Quack! Quack!
Talkety-talk.
Fly! Fly!
Oh, my.
You lucky duck!
Sigh.
Sigh.
~Janelle (Blue Sky, Big Dreams)
Hmmm… I tried to format this differently, but it all came out like this when I posted it. Lines 1, 3, and 5 are supposed to be on the left-hand side, and all the others on the right-hand side.…
Either way, I love it, Janelle–and so will kids!
Thank you!
Yeah, formatting in WordPress is hard. This is lovely. I especially like the ending, with that double sigh!
Thanks, Laura!
Today’s posts are hilarious and so much fun! Here’s a try:
Webbed are you — caught up in your own feet.
Webbed: Are you caught up in your own feet?
I like the idea of using punctuation to alter meaning. Does anyone know if the second expression is correctly punctuated? I think it’s ok, but I couldn’t find a source to confirm it.
It *is* interesting how punctuation can change the meaning of something so completely. As far as I can tell, the second one is correctly punctuated.
I agree, Hannah Ruth (do you go by Hannah or Hannah Ruth?). That’s part of the fun of making the kind of found poem, too, when you take the exact words from a source but play with their meaning by spacing and punctuation. Have you seen Marilyn Singer’s wonderful Mirror Mirror? Punctuation is KING in those terrific reversos. For that second one, I think it’s correct IF you are tablking directly to someone or something and you’re addressing that being as “Webbed,” as if it’s the name. Or…if you’re defining Webbed. I like your two variations!
Today’s posts are hilarious and so much fun! Here’s a try:
Webbed are you — caught up in your own feet.
Webbed: Are you caught up in your own feet?
I like the idea of using punctuation to alter meaning. Does anyone know if the second expression is correctly punctuated? I think it’s ok, but I couldn’t find a source to confirm it.
It *is* interesting how punctuation can change the meaning of something so completely. As far as I can tell, the second one is correctly punctuated.
I agree, Hannah Ruth (do you go by Hannah or Hannah Ruth?). That’s part of the fun of making the kind of found poem, too, when you take the exact words from a source but play with their meaning by spacing and punctuation. Have you seen Marilyn Singer’s wonderful Mirror Mirror? Punctuation is KING in those terrific reversos. For that second one, I think it’s correct IF you are tablking directly to someone or something and you’re addressing that being as “Webbed,” as if it’s the name. Or…if you’re defining Webbed. I like your two variations!
ducklings in the muck(ling)
little webbed feet
in mud so slick,
little webbed feet?
go kick, kick, kick!
I love the title and the fun rhymes!
Love that title, Julie!
ducklings in the muck(ling)
little webbed feet
in mud so slick,
little webbed feet?
go kick, kick, kick!
I love the title and the fun rhymes!
Love that title, Julie!
Here’s mine,
Feet leave webbish tracks
Bills exclaiming quacks
Dive for doughy snacks
Water beads off backs
I really like “webbish tracks” and all of your rhymes.
Lots of great info in this…little kids would love it!
Here’s mine,
Feet leave webbish tracks
Bills exclaiming quacks
Dive for doughy snacks
Water beads off backs
I really like “webbish tracks” and all of your rhymes.
Lots of great info in this…little kids would love it!
DUCK SOUP
Two gossamer pads
waddle into salt water
time for morning bath.
© Charles Waters 2012 all rights reserved.
DUCK SOUP
Two gossamer pads
waddle into salt water
time for morning bath.
© Charles Waters 2012 all rights reserved.
MR. DUCK PREPARES
Two webbed
gossamer pads
waddle into ocean
for afternoon bath before his
big date.
© Charles Waters 2012 all rights reserved.
MR. DUCK PREPARES
Two webbed
gossamer pads
waddle into ocean
for afternoon bath before his
big date.
© Charles Waters 2012 all rights reserved.