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.
Hello, poets of all kinds! It’s a rare unfiltered photo this week! But…still a mall one.
This image makes me think of several things:
- drumsticks
- a mass pencil fight, Matrix style
- a falling-apart beaver dam
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.)
24 Responses
Oooh, I love this. Your mall has the most interesting art installations. And, they make me think of First People’s lore in some way.
Casting Call
Rain dance
sky drum
thunder sticks
*non-union
*dawn to dusk audition window
*immediate call backs
I can hear and see this, Linda. Very nice!
Linda, I love the juxtaposition of those first three strong, nature-based lines and the last three very human-based qualities/characteristics!
The roads not taken
sometimes
dance a jitterbug
in my head.
I love that you incorporated the spatial idea of those sticks overhead into your literal head in your poem. And those roads do have a way of getting your attention, don’t they?
Oh, yeah. So true…but artfully so in this. Nice
Your poem has great drumming rhythm! “And for the finale” reads just like a drumroll! All these sticks together reminded me of the saying, “Sticks and stones.…” and here’s my very quick knee-jerk response draft–
Troubling Times
Since names can’t do it right
sticks and stones unite
gathering to fight
Love how tight and tense your poem is, Molly Beth!
but names can NEver hurt me! la, la, la
Yes, so direct, and tight. The short lines and rhymes work so well.
Good morning 15 WOL. Laughed at the “mess” thunder made of it. Took me right to a childhood game that I loved, one we called Fiddlesticks.
Mayhem at the Mall
Secure child’s space
allows mom to shop
rogue magnetic force
sends pick-up-sticks atop!
Those kiddie playspaces were a lifesaver when my daughters were little, Martha. Our grocery store had one, and I would drop the girls off and then sit with a Diet Coke and my notebook for 20 minutes and write before I started actually grocery shopping. Boy, did your poem take ME back!
How to Build a Nest
Lay strong twigs,
turn and weave.
Drip mud,
pluck moss.
Add song and sky.
Oh, that last line, Buffy! Lovelovelove!
Buffy, this is so lovely!
Choices
by Dianne Moritz
Drumsticks??
Fiddlesticks!!
Jazz guitar is what I’ll pick…
plucking, strumming, jamming licks.
I love the musical sound of all those ks. Very plucky sounding indeed!
Feels so musical!
Just read a post on halloween books, so it was on may mind when I looked at the photo.
A HALLOWEEN TRICK
Monster pretzel sticks
Open wide
When they fall,
take a lick.
Isn’t it funny how whatever we’ve been reading or looking at finds its way into our poems. I love pretzels if they are dipped in chocolate or caramel or something:>)
I pulled the arrow
from my heart,
turned it around
and used the point
to write.
Appropriate finale, Laura!
Get Ready, Set, Catch!
Drummers on parade
exhibiting their tricks.
Escalating drumroll,
then they toss their sticks!
poem by Jessica Bigi
A Day at The Library
Writing across sky
rain drumming clouds
cinnamon stick tea
reading book imagining’s
Curling up with books, cinnamon tea, and a rainstorm pretty much makes up a great day. Lovely!