Hello, and welcome to the final 15 Words or Less Poems day (for now, anyway!) (guidelines here). I’m glad you’re here now, and I’m glad you’ve been here. I’ve been posting these photos and inviting you to write poems to them for many years now! If you’re just now finding this and want to use it for yourself or your students, please visit https://laurasalas.com/cat-page-15-words-or-less-poems/ to see photos from the past!
I bought a new watercolor app for my phone, and this is one of my favorite pictures (taken on my birthday, I think). So even though it’s not seasonally appropriate, I want to end with fall leaves, which are one of the things in the world that bring me so much awe and happiness.
This image makes me think of several things:
- the beauty of endings
- skeletons
- backpacking trips on the Appalachian Trail in my childhood
And here’s my first draft. This one is to all of you who have visited and become part of this community over the years.
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)
26 Responses
Good morning Laura and all. It’s a bittersweet morning for sure. After watching The Sound of Music over Christmas (for the umpteenth time), these words seem appropriate. “So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu.”
The photo is lovely and your poem screams “Laura” as I’ve come to know you. I’ve written about the meanings of colors; these words evoke emotions when I think of you and15 WOL.
Laura’s Tree
Purple ambition
Orange creativity
Green friendliness
Yellow loyalty
Red passion
Brown warmth
Oh, thank you, Martha–I’m honored. And as we gallop into 2020, I do hope you’ll continue to stop in and visit, as I’ll be sharing poems and also occasional invitations to write poems. AND I hope to visit OTHER blogs more regularly and take part more fully in the community, so I’m sure we’ll continue to create around each other:>)
Laura, thank you so much for the years of 15WOL. I haven’t participated on line lately due to some technological glitches, but will miss reading your weekly posts and playing with the prompt in my notebook. That photo with the watercolor app is stunning, and your poem is the perfect adieu. Here’s mine:
Revelation
As winter nears,
true colors emerge.
From beneath
deceptively bland veneers
a rainbow appears.
Wishing you the best in the coming year! Thank you again!
Thank you, Molly Beth-this is lovely. It was only once I moved up north as an adult that I learned to appreciate the beauty of starkness and the subtle colors of winter. I always thought of winter as a lack of color (having grown up in Florida) before then. But winter is kind of like a poem–extraordinary in the ordinary, if you just look at it in the right way:>) Thank you, and see you around the kidlit community in 2020!
I’m going to miss meeting everyone here and sharing words for your images. It’s been fun!
Kaleidoscope cacophony
Renders me in awe of tree;
Finally approaching spare
Stories betwixt branches stare.
By Donna JT Smith
Ooh, this speaks deeply to me about how getting rid of distractions allows creativity to bloom! Thank you, Donna!
Sweet poem, Laura. I will miss this.
Pushing Past the Finale
Climatic blaze of color
signals the end
of fireworks and autumn.
Onward, round the bend!
Love that final line, Cindy! Thank you for being here!
Happy New Year, Laura!
Perception
You thought you saw me
but you never saw,
until now,
what you were missing.
© 2019 by David L. Harrison, all rights reserved
Oh, isn’t this the voice of our world, David! Thank you, and Happy New Year!
As the rain falls here on this Boxing Day, I am feeling very nostalgic. Christmas was a whirlwind of activity and now there is a stillness. This has been a still place every Thursday morning. Whether or not I wrote a poem, I always stopped by. I will miss it (and you, but I’m sure we’ll connect in other ways.)
Rainbows are not
always a sign or promise.
Sometimes
they just quietly
are.
I love that this was a space for stillness. I’m working on something for my website about how reading a picture book or poem every morning can really impact our lives by giving us a moment to pause, enjoy, and focus. And appreciate what IS…
Thank you for blessing my Thursdays with poetry Larura
Love all of you
poem By Jessicsa Bigi
Poetry
pages of
folded memories
patterned like leaves
sealing Atom’s
Sky’s
Oh, a ceiling of sky…so wonderful. We all have a ceiling of sky, don’t we, and we send our words out to drift like leaves around the world. Thank you for being here, Jessica!
sailing like boats do
Oh, oops! Isn’t it funny how we bring our own interpretations to every poem!
The skeleton of that beautiful tree also reminded me of the web that you’ve woven, Laura. Thank you for the many years of inspiration. I looked back in my 15 word-or-less folder, and see regular entries from January 2010. I’ll miss this Thursday writing fun.
15 words-or-less, for Laura
strong as silk
she weaves
words
images
poetry
creating friendship
and community
Oh, thank you, Buffy! I hope to keep weaving this community, just in a different tree, perhaps:>) Thank you for being here!
Buffy,
I’d not read yours before I wrote mine late this afternoon. My first title included the word WEB, I see our poems are similar.…thos was a lot of effort and work by Laura and I loved it. Will miss my chance to join in.
Janet F.
Laura, Thank you for 15 Words or Less. Now I wish I had participated more but I’m happy to go back and enjoy your treasure trove of posts from past years. I hope 2020 brings some wonderful new beginnings for you.
Gradient shades
of sunshine
and tangerine
Unite us in joy
and beauty.
Hello–I’m not sure who this is, but I’m glad you made it here when you could. Here’s to lovely new beginnings for all of us, and thank you for sunshine and tangerines. Love that!
Hi Laura, I didn’t intend to be anonymous. Not sure how that happened! Thanks for your reply.
‑Cynthia
Hi–thanks–always nice to see who’s here:>)
15WOL Poetree
Like lacey trees
we grow.
Veined leaves connecting
poetrymoments
in tiny bursts.
Building our forest.
I have been here off and on and mainly off of late but have ALWAYS loved it here. Thank you, Laura and friends for this community. I will miss it. I grew at a poet here because of so many of you and Laura’s supportive words.
Janet Clare Fagal
grew AS a poet
Oh, you are welcome, Janet, always. There will be more community!