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.
While in DC, Randy and I admired these gorgeous bas relief (maybe?) sculptures for the various branches of the military. They featured fabulous dramatic scenes, including this Coast Guard rescue at sea.
This image makes me think of several things:
- Grand Canyon helicopter rides, which look thrilling and scary
- when my sister was shot and was taken by helicopter to the hospital
- my dream of riding in a 1,000-footer across Lake Superior
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.)
21 Responses
um…that time your sister got shot? Yikes! Those words got me.
1.
That time
my sister got shot
when wavesof fear
then
rescuecovered
me
2.
Enemy
He never did say
what happened
after the charges
at the mouth
of the cave
were set
3.
storms and winds
to punish or to save
cannot defeat
our coastguard
from sailing
strong and brave
What a powerful trio of poems! I really like the words running together in overwhelm in that first one. And that second one feels like the start of a novel. And the third, it’s like a jingle for the brave folks of the coast guard. Very cool!
Oh no, Laura, you stopped me with your comment about your sister. There’s a larger story there that I am curious about. Your poem has my heart beating a little stronger this morning, or maybe it’s the coffee.
When my oldest daughter, now 34, was 4 months old, we were helicoptered to New Orleans for what they thought was a heart condition. Turned out, she had pneumonia. Any sight of a helicopter takes me back.
First Flight
Steady drumming beat
of my heart against hers
matching the rhythm
to helicopter rotors-
Life!
Yes, it was a horrible time in our family’s life. And I was in Minnesota, and she was in Florida, so I wasn’t there for the helicopter or anything. But just knowing it and imagining it means a helicopter brings that back to me too. There is nothing more terrifying than a very ill infant. We had a horrible horrible scare at Chuck-E-Cheese one year during one of our daughter’s birthday party, when our nephew stopped breathing in his infant carrier. All turned out fine, and he starts college this fall. But that night is etched on my heart. Love is vulnerability, isn’t it? Thanks for your beautiful poem.
Laura, how scary for your sister and family! Ditto on the Grand Canyon comment, not something I have ever wanted to do.
Springtime 2019
Epic flooding
‘cross mid-plains
water rescues
and still it rains.
Bas relief,
Life’s relief.
Martha, I love how your poem actually is about the sculpture itself, or actually references it. I have loved our snowy snowy winter, but the devastating flooding that is happening is just horrible. Epic is just the right word for it.
The floods have been terrible. Your poem is lovely.
Laura, you used few words but they painted the picture!
Storm at Sea
The sea is raging,
causing fear.
Vessels dip
and reappear,
but rescuers
will persevere.
Cindy, the rhythm of this is just right, so steady and reassuring.
Wonderful rhyme, as usual. I love dip and reappear — gives me the scope of “raging.”
Suspended
a tug
a pull
a churning wheel
outside
my limbs
inside
I feel
I love the first three lines, Suzanne–very physical. I wondered what the narrator is feeling at the end…
Perfect rhyming Cindy!
Vietnam Vet
by Dianne Moritz
WHOP! WHOP!
Helicopter blades whirl overhead,
bringing old horrors back home again and again.…
That last line is stunning, Dianne. Wow.
Laura, I love your line “hopes rising.” simply elegant!
The picture and today’s tragic stories inspired my poem:
helicopter
countless rescues
countless lives
saved by its inventor
Um, still wondering how your sister came to be shot, Laura. Wow! I tend to associate helicopters with the police (especially in L.A., where I used to live), and the news.
Waves
Metal waves flowing,
cold lava wrapping
around metal ships
in a clanging storm.
—Kate Coombs
I true story
sory it had to be moor word to tall the story
When my Friends Son Served
cold shark infested waters hadn’t stopped vigor’s from swing to ships with trousers for food
three glass eggs sitting on my friend table a sons gift once treaded for food
Wow. Really evokes danger and experiences most of us never have.
vigor’s should be Villagers