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 building just visible over the top of a tree. It reminded me of the image of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda that is on our kitchen calendar right now.
This image makes me think of several things:
- that pagoda
- a kite stuck in a tree–or a building stuck in a giant’s tree
- a landscaper who gets everything wrong!
And here’s my first draft. The chronology doesn’t quite work, and I initially had 16 words. But I kind of like getting rid of “birdie flies” and replacing it with “surprise!” This would need more work, but that’s one example of how different poetic forms or even just word limits can force our brains to come up with new (sometimes better) options!
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)
31 Responses
Harvest Time
Genetic engineering
At its finest
Homes for picking
In prefab forest.
By Donna JT Smith
This is great, Donna! I love the juxtaposition of science and nature!
I like this too.…kinda silly but kinda true.
Fabulous concept, Donna! I just watched a baking show last night where bakers had to create a farm that exist only in their imaginations. Now I’m picturing a crop of pre-fab homes!
Clever Donna. It may be upon us before we know it!
I love how you so beautifully and concisely captured a mother’s wise and loving nudge, Laura! To me, that’s the essence of the best kind of parenting.
Here’s my take on the image:
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
Leafy branches
rippled screen
Royal tower?
French lily flower?
Seat of power
lost at sea?
oooooh, nice touch with the French reference.
Thanks, Suzanne:>) I don’t know if I get all the French allusions, but I like your list poem of questions. I love seeing the possibilities in one thing!
Suzanne, thanks for prompting me to go to the dictionary. Your words are a perfect description of the picture.
Ha, that pagoda! I can just imagine that as a refrain in a fancy garden amongst the grounds keeping staff.
I went in a spell casting direction:
Aurora’s Temple Spell
Seek
half past
seventh moon
Iris bloom
faerie rune
shadow tune
proven true
come
soon
This has such a magical sound to it, Linda–perfect for a spell!
Love the mystery, Linda!
Laura, your verse sums up the prolific (or so it seems) production of fledglings we have witnessed for some months now. Love the colors in the photo.
Monet’s First
Plein air
Abstract
Imagery
Nature
Trompe‑L’oeil
Shucks, treetop too concrete.
Hahaha–even Monet had to start somewhere. Great acrostic!
Surprise is a great word!
Pink sky
Purple blooming tree
Steeple in the distance
Peeking out at me.
Margaret
I really like the last line.
I love the simplicity of this–and I feel like you could use it as an action poem!
Margaret, I like the words “steeple peeking.” Cute!
Taking A Risk
Brave knight makes way
to the castle.
A princess awaits,
worth the hassle.
He hopes.
That last line is hilarious.
Love the pause before “He hopes.” I used this wry voice a lot in my Fairy Tale Garage Sale collection, and it really appeals to me:>)
I like your bird poem, Laura, esp. the “surprise” ending.
Take a Break
by Dianne Moritz
Tie a hammock in the trees.
Daydream, imagine, gently sway.
Let all worries drift away.…
How lovely. Thanks for transporting me to a hammock.
Thanks, Dianne, and thank you for your lovely little vacation of a poem!
What a great place to play scrabble! Your game inspired my poem (which has some pretty low-scoring words in it!)
Tree Scrabble
Words sprouting from an oak:
trunk
branches
twigs
nest
buds
leaves
squirrel
acorn
sky
Ooh, but a triple-word score for a creative concept, Buffy! Wouldn’t this make a lovely concrete poem?
once I was the tallest—
first to feel sun’s smile
last to see it go
Oh, I love the tone of this, Liz. I wrote a poem called “Prince of the Prairie” about big bluestem for my 50 State Poems book, and it says, “Bison thundered through, And men on horseback, And I rubbed shoulders With them, proud and tall.” Your poem gave me the same feeling I was trying to capture in my poem:>)
Beautiful stoury of your love and pic
A Game Of Scrabble
Poem By Jessica Bigi
If
you
spell me
The words of
your heart
Make shore
They spell
Love
Trees parks
Summer Days
You Me Us
Oh, this is lovely. Such a heartfelt voice to it. (I think it could have ended on “Love” and been just perfect.)
sopry my poem is longet but this is the pome I wrote