Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines are here)!
Good morning! I took this picture in Ireland, and though you can’t really tell, this shoe is hanging on a stone wall outside someone’s house. These flowers growing out of a hiking book make me think of:
- putting on my shoe with a cockroach inside it when I was a kid–GROSS!
- trampled flowers who take revenge on a careless hiker
- Jurassic Park: “Life finds a way” (see the clip here)
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:>) If you leave a poem in the comments, and if it’s 15 words or less, I’ll try to respond!
48 Responses
Laura,
I want to connect you with someone who writes about single shoes found on her journeys. Meet Jennifer Larson here: http://authorjenniferlarson.blogspot.com/
I loved this one, especially the root looking for a home and a dirty shoe will do.
Nifty–thanks, Linda!
Perennial ankles
Worn, stemmed laces
Purple legs
turning their faces
to sun
I like how you made the flowers the legs.
I love those perennial ankles. SO unexpected!
Clever point of view.
I look rough.
I talk tough.
Dig deep enough,
There is sweet stuff.
Awww. I like the short staccato first couple of lines–very blustery.
This makes me think of a gentle giant. I like your rhyme and sentiment.
Everything waits
for beauty
to rise
from its
soul.
This is lovely, Margaret!
I agree, lovely!
Fun picture and poem, Laura. I especially like those last two lines. Here’s mine:
Fresh Feet — Nature’s Way
Floral foot spray
as if a bouquet
sprouted and grew
from each shoe.
Hahahaha–I love this. I can just see Glade buying this from you:>) And…I would like my feet to smell this good.
Jumping Jack
didn’t know
not to eat beans
in poring rain
steel towed boots
dancing gigs
daisies sprouting
from his tows
Sorry it’s a few words over Poem By Jessica Bigi
I love the image of daisies sprouting from his toes, Jessica!
Silent Discourse
Boots on ground
fear in my heart
burgeoning blooms
diminishes distance
so we’re never apart.
Dirt‑y, very clever Laura. My thoughts immediately went to our current world’s events.
Thanks, Martha. Oh, that first line. I’m guessing you omitted the “the” for the word count, but my mind automagically slipped it in there anyway. I love how you took that very impersonal phrase and used it to open a very personal, powerful poem.
You are correct. I did have “the” in there trying to keep it generic, then went with a personal concept and took it out because of the word count. Thanks.
Not sure why first line jumped over; looks like two titles. Sorry about that!
It always does — the image holder messes it up unless you space down to the fourth line. I forgot to today, too, so it gets jumbled looking!
Thank you Donna. I will try to remember. Say hello to Mr. Lapel!
Flower
Where are you going,
hiking shoe?
I’ve got my plants on—
can I come too?
—Kate Coombs
Hilarious Kate. Love, love this!
This is lovely, Kate. So earnest and sweet. Except a little voice in my head is now singing, “Plants on the ground, plants on the ground, lookin’ like a fool with your plants on the ground.” A throwback to the horrible “pants on the ground” thing from American Idol years ago!
Pop culture allusions, nice! (Well, sometimes the allusions are better than the originals!)
I’ve got my plants on — LOL Love it!
I wrote, fell back to asleep, wrote again. Voilà as they say…
Though it does appear
There’s a boot-on-here,
Don’t yell,
Mr. Lapel
Voila! A boutonnière!
Lapel’s Lament Repented
Though it does appear
There’s a boot-on-here,
Don’t yell,
Mr. Lapel,
Voila! A boutonnière!
Trying again for clarity and a title!
Hahaha–took me a second to get the wordplay. I thought you were just cheating by hyphenating because you were over the word count or something. Ha! Fun!
Boot-on-here / boutonniere — Oh my gosh — this it so clever! Fun rhyme too.
An Old Boot’s Refrain
No longer required
as proper attire,
my only desire,
creating beauty
to admire:
Flowers!
Daggone it! I’m anonymous again. I tried Facebook icon this time because word press does not use my first name.
I’ll try once more. Maybe eventually I’ll get it right.
I’m replying here so you get notified, Pat. Love all those long i sounds! I love the change from *being* the thing that looks sharp to *creating* the thing that looks sharp.
snug as an old boot
your branches embrace me
our roots entwine
So comfortable and intimate, Buffy. (Thanks for your tech help–I discovered that the slideshow looks fine in IE. In Firefox, at least the newest version, not so much:>(
I’m using safari, so it works in that too.
Muddy Boots
Dirt on the outside, muddy mess
Collect it inside, support for happy faces
Who’d guess?
Why You Didn’t Get the Job and Why You Don’t Care
You tried to
get your foot
in the door
You stopped
to smell
the roses
-Pamela Ross
Laura: your poem this week is utterly perfect. No schmooze. (Just flowers and shoes.) 😉
Witty word choice and I love the closing “punch line” of ” “That’ll do.”
Great voice!
Your prompts send people into such great creative spins and directions.
Here’s my first 15-word poem. Thanks for the opportunity & photo prompt challenge:
I’m off, post haste,
Hobbling on just one leg,
Delivering love to my fair lady.
Welcome! I love the “post” haste and delivering. I’m picturing someone who’s picked beautiful flowers and then taken off his or her own shoe to use as a vase and I love the mailman kind of vocabulary!
🙂 Thank you for taking time to read and to provide encouraging feedback. I appreciate being part of a poetry community–albeit as the amateur newbie…which makes your taking time to read/respond all the more affirming and humbling, pro that you are. Thanks and God bless you!
We run the gamut–professional writers, teachers, poetry lovers, occasional students–and frankly, we all fit many of the different labels at different times. Happy you’re here!
Thank you! …I love that: fitting different labels at different points. Roles interchangeable, not mutually exclusive. A universe of opportunities.Thank you!
Sorry to trouble you, Laura; you’ve already been so generous with your return-comments. Two questions, please. (1) For this first attempt, I hyperlinked to the visual prompt on your site. Are we permitted to show the image, itself, as part of our post? (2) Is there a 15 WOL logo we are permitted to use on our site? Thanks…Sorry if you’ve answered these questions on your site and I’ve neglected to read/see them. Every blessing!
You can find the logo here: https://laurasalas.com/uncategorized/pinata-15wol/ I’m in the middle of a big site overhaul, so some of my images are disappearing. I sometimes use the button and sometimes not. It’s not a huge deal if folks show my image; I just prefer people not, because I’d really like them to encourage people to come visit my blog. BUT, if you do show my image, as long as you keep a photo credit with it and link to my blog post, that’s ok, too. Cheers!
Thank you! Appreciate & totally understand your druthers! Thank you for the logo link. Right now I’m a frustrated WordPress/MS Word 2008 user. Used to be able to do all kinds of graphics with Word 2007; can’t get the full hang of WP, either. All of this is to say: Every blessing with your website overhaul. Take care, Laura; I promise not to bother you any more this weekend!