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 I took while my husband and I were walking our beagle down by the lake. These barren branches leaning over the water caught my eye, but the pic was…eh. So I used a filter to reverse it.
This image makes me think of:
- Antarctica (ooh, and The Thing, an excellent horror movie set there)
- my sister Patty’s darkroom when I was about 9, and I would look at film and reverse images
- when lightning makes the world go all strobe light‑y
And here’s my first draft.
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count)
18 Responses
She dives in,
ignoring the crowd-
the “Look at that old woman”
comment too loud.
This is awesome. The straightforward and direct language totally portrays the personality of the woman–whom I like already:>)
Before Jonson & Johnson
Each morning
she avoided
the brush
with tears;
Nothing could
alleviate
her fears.
This reminds me of my daughter’s hair when she was little. My daughter’s hair was so fine as a little girl, it would mat on the back of her head each night into a terrible tangle that could barely be brushed through, leaving me frustrated and her in tears. It took so long to do and it always hurt, no matter how careful I was. Ah, but then I discovered Johnson & Johnson’s No More Tears”! What a lifesaver!
“Avoided the brush with tears” was meant to be read either way.…
this I beautiful and I remember those days of fine hear I hated when my mom would brush my hear it felt like she was polling it out
That title makes the whole situation perfectly clear, Donna, which is awesome. Nice wordplay, and I love the backstory. My older daughter, Annabelle, has hair at least as thick as mine, but curlier, and we went through gallons of detangler at our house:>)
Clever idea Laura. The mundane made beautiful — it’s cathartic to see the beauty in everything. An acrostic comes to mind.
The Water Nymph
Ageless
Graceful
Illusive
Lithe
Ethereal
your poem is wonderful I love these word used together and love the tittle
Ooh, these are great words. I always love acrostics, but I especially admire the one-word-per-line ones where the words really work–aren’t just shoehorned in there!
(I’ve given up on having the first line line up with the rest…)
crickle crackle
pop and hiss
static snaps
sounds like this
reaches, spreads
electric kiss
Fabulous–electric kiss! And that first line works great–hiss/this/kiss are all you need!
I love how odd the reverse image looks.
ghostly branches
gracefully glimmer
pooled in moonlight
Isn’t it bizarre? Oh, this is lovely. I’m picturing a formal gala at a big country mansion in an old black and white movie…
Willow Branches
Arched over the lake
unburdened by leaves and blossoms
yet weeping with winter’s weight
Oh, that’s so sad, Buffy! Love the alliteration…
poem By Jessica Bigi
blue popsicle wails
swim marmalade seas
giant splashes
icicle tails swishes
fountains of lemonade
I love everyone poems today
poem By Jessica Bigi
blue popsicle wales
swimming marmalade seas
giant splashes
icicle tails swishes
fountains of lemonade
Oh, the icicle tails–love that!
Sprays of silver moss
Hang over Mr. Cypress
Like leftover hair.
© Charles Waters 2016 all rights reserved.