Hello, poets, writers, noodlers–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.
Thank you for keeping this community going while I’ve been on a semi-hiatus. Can’t believe how far behind I am, but your kind words and fun poems have been a lifeline this past month. I saw this discarded robin’s eggshell in our driveway last week. It seems like the right image for today, because my youngest daughter has returned overseas. And today is the one-year anniversary of my mom’s death. This fragile little shell feels especially poignant to me today. This image makes me think of several things:
- What if the earth is a shell for some as-yet unborn creature
- Treasures hidden close by that we don’t see (where was this nest?!)
- Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub
And here’s my first draft. I had a 16th word–and it was painful to cut it!
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)
29 Responses
Oh, my.…that is a beautiful thought the weaving of empty and not and nest.
I too saw an empty shell on the sidewalk this week.….gave me pause. Glad your daughter is home. Best gift to me ever is everyone home and happy. It’s the best.
An Attempt
Half-egg shell
a silent bell
story to tell.
Begin with nest
feathered breast
end with rest
Blessed.
Linda, this is truly, truly lovely. I feel like you have here a poem that could, with just a tiny bit of expansion (no 15wol limit, in other words) be a still-brief poem that people would want to use in funeral programs, condolence cards, etc. It is so simple and yet such a comfort. I’m off to share it with a friend of mine who lost her son recently. THank you for this!
Laura, sending warm thoughts your way. Mother and child, the umbilical cord may become “cracked,” but never severed. We had a pair of bluebirds in our yard with two nestings in their box. We watched the first hatchlings leave the nest. They prepared the box again but for some reason deserted the nest and four perfect little eggs. 🙁
Life
Fragile
cracks along the way
love provides the membrane
for sustenance, day after day.
Oh, this is so true, Martha! Life is both fragile and amazingly strong, just like eggs. So sad about the bluebirds:>(
So good!
Inside my shell
I’m snug as can be.
Outside my shell
the world is crackly.
Isn’t this the truth?!
What a great word–crackly. I love how you get inside the chick’s head:>)
Laura, cherish the sweet memories of your mom, and I hope you experienced a month of memories with your daughter when she was home. I hope now to give you a smile…
WHAT EGGZACTLY HAPPENED?
I fell.
Something cracked.
Wasn’t me,
I’m intact.
Thanks, Cindy–and yes to both thoughts–and the smile! Hehe–love the punny title, too.
What a lovely batch of poems this morning.
EGG TOSS
Little creature,
grown and gone.
Thank you,
pretty blue shell,
you did a good job.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, a very nice thank you note!
Yes! Talking directly to the shell–great idea!
Sending hugs to you, Laura–those anniversaries are rough. It’s more than 5 years since my mom died, and I still have the urge to pick up the phone and call her. Time seems to play tricks on us when it comes to those we’ve lost…
Egg Song
I’m trapped inside–
gotta crick in my neck.
My wings can’t flap
so I’ll peck-peck-peck!
Clever!
I love the image of a chick who is tired of being all curled up–and the sound effect of the last line. Fun!
Love the title!
too peace you back together
would seam imposable
letting you become yourself is the beauty
and grate mystery of life
Ooh, that is lovely. I like the letting-go-ness of it. Of love.
Sad and hopeful together…nice.
Looked like the egg cracked the pavement. Must have been one heavy egg! Ooooh, I know who laid a heavy egg! Good thing one of her eggs never REALLY fell from the sky!
The Giant’s Hen
Egg of gold
Over rolled
Egg dropped
Abrubtly stopped
Gold egg intact
Pavement cracked
Clever rhyming, Donna!
As long as that gold is intact.…go ahead.…let the pavement crack.
Nice beat…in just a few words.
What great poems today!
Jail Break
From a safe harbor
To a calcified jail
Cracking the eggshell
Expanded the tale
Sorry.…I added my comment to a different poem. I like the rhyme here.
Such a good collection this week! Here’s mine:
Thin blue shell
lies cracked and
broken. The walls
that nourished have
grown too narrow.
Oh, my.…too narrow. That is a fantastic ending.
I like the rhyme here.
*the title is a word of the poem so it comes in at 15 words.*
Stepping
on sidewalk cracks
trigger fault lines that
splitting my heart in two –
I miss you.
© Charles Waters 2017 all rights reserved.