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 glad you’re here.
Here’s a picture taken out my window.
This image makes me think of:
- soldiers standing at attention
- what it would feel like to be trapped in a box of pencils/crayons
- an old fortress
And here’s my first draft. I recently wrote a short story that was set in a field trip to a crayon factory, and I did some reading and video viewing about the manufacture of crayons:>)
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count)
38 Responses
A palace of branches
An old stone throne
Stick fort standing patient
to protect
imagination
Lovely Amelia. I especially like the stick fort and its patience.
I love the sound of “an old stone throne”.
I was going to say that!
Lovely, Amelia! The palace of branches especially appeals to me:>) It’s kind of sad to me to see all the prefab or plastic playhouses and such. Even though I would have loved one as a child. But my friends and I made do with plenty of forts and palaces of the most rudimentary materials, like bushes, and branches, and such. :>)
They look like train tracks that stop suddenly -
Off Track
“The tracks stop here”
The engineer said.
“We’d best turn back
We’ve been misled.”
Good rhyme Donna. Not only was the train misled, the tracks were “mislaid.” Clever.
Oooh, good idea! …maybe I’ll try adding to this one.
You know, this feels like an opening to an adventure story, like the characters are going to ignore the engineer and bound into the great unknown!
Landscapes full of weathered, wooden fences; as nostalgic as the old wooden barns. A good photo for a dark, dreary, rainy morning (not complaining, we need the rain). Cute take on the crayons Laura. I feel their pain!
An Ages-old Quarrel
Weathered wooden soldiers
stand at attention
dignified
agreeing to disagree:
grass greener on whose side?
Ha! I like the question at the end.
Thank you Cindy. And I like the “connectedness” in your poem. I saw the off-set lineup, front/back, and tried to come up with something related to that. Settled on the greener grass scenario instead.
Perfect! Love the image of standing opposing and debating who has the greener side!
Nice alliteration in here, Martha, and I really like the thoughtful take on this. It does take a lot of wisdom, it seems, to agree to disagree…
A few months ago the fence at the side of our house fell down, so I thought of that. Bad fences make bad neighbors? 🙂
Neighbor’s Dog
When the fence fell flat
a sniffing knight breached
the ramparts of our yard.
—Kate Coombs
I like the tackful way in which you described the problem. I like to think that our fence is keeping harm from coming to the neighbors, and not that we’re trying to keep the neighbors out.
Ha! Love “sniffing knight” and “breached the ramparts”!
I love this, Kate–partially because our own 21-year-old wooden privacy fence leans and staggers like a drunken army troop, and partially because it’s just a delightful extended metaphor! Ramparts of our yard–genius!
Thanks, guys! Is your dog Captain Jack, Laura? He would make an excellent knight.
Yep–Captain Jack Sparrow (we let the girls name him any name they could agree on, and the P of the C movies were big when we got him). To us, he’s just Jack or Jackie or Jackaloni or Bad Boy. :>)
I like your poem about crayons. However I’m looking at this picture sideways and probably because I’ve been cleaning this week, it makes me think of venetian blinds.
Venetian Blinds
Privacy at night,
streaming morning light.
Beautiful sight!
But there’s dust I must fight.
The truth about blinds for sure- always fighting the dust. I like your rhymes.
Yes Pat; and you just reminded me how far behind I am in arming myself to fight the dust on my blinds!!!!!
Yes! They are Venetian blinds, too! So many ways to view this image — and all fun! Great rhyming!
Oh, Pat. Yes. Yes. Yes. I like the buildup of three good things, and then the downside:>)
Great crayon poem, Laura.
CALL TO ARM IN ARM IN ARM„,
I gave a call
and one and all,
friends came over
to play Red Rover!
These poetic images are so delightful today! What a variety! Yes, Red Rover, Red Rover…and break through those arms!
Thanks, Cindyb! What a punny title–so clever. Brings back great recess memories.
Laura I love the you poem and the tital
poem By Jessica Bigi
Wooden tracks
I lay them down
driving trains
of imagination
tapping pictures
to life window
Jessica, I like your imaginary trains and the thought of laying down the wooden tracks.
Love “driving trains of imagination”, Jessica! I saw wooden train tracks, too.
Not a scary image this week, right? Love the trains of imagination. I think I can, I think I can… I wasn’t sure what that last 2 lines was supposed to say? Maybe I’m just misreading.
Beyond the Open Gate
Scents summon
Grass woos
Mud welcomes
Squirrels insist
Adventure calls–
Hound bounds
Oh, love your title! That open gate… all awaits just beyond!
Fun! Captain Jack, our beagle, gives this a howl of approval! Ar-ooooooooooooooooooo!
Will not explore the fence
or even look to the right.
She thinks she’s trapped.
I love the way the shape of your poem boxes her in, too!
We used this as our writing warm-up in my creative writing club today…this time of year, all I could see looking at this fence is the way everything is neat and lined up…nothing like what life in a middle school looks like in the fourth week of May!
Middle School in May
Rigid rules
Beg to be broken
Silly fools
No thought unspoken
In schools–
Much jokin’