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. Teachers, if I met you at NCTE recently, I’m glad you’ve come to visit!
This is actually my hand under an outdoor table at some fast food restaurant. This image makes me think of several things:
- Barriers
- Obstacle courses–those mud runs and such look like fun!
- A hand throwing a fishing net
And here’s my first draft. I tried a metaphor of nets and what we try to catch, but I was unhappy with that one. So this is a first draft of a second poem, which I don’t usually do. It kind of captures the surreal thoughts that floated through my mind this morning (I’m creating this post on Thanksgiving day) at yoga. And it went rhyming today. Never know what to expect when I start these things:>) That’s the fun of poetry!
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)
25 Responses
Mermaid’s Salutations
Met a friend today
Sailing the bay
Looking for fish
Instead got a wave
Hehe–surprise! I love the two meanings of wave and how they play into this. Fun!
Cute Amelia. Mermaids are always in vogue.
Laura, I love “criss-cross thoughts” and I love the second line- and all the rhyming. I love your poem!
CHANGES WILL COME
She pushes against, resists-
but with open hands,
not fists.
Thanks, Cindyb. This one flowed out, and I was happy with it:>) Oh, this is nice. Social commentary, rhyme, emotion…in TEN words. Wow.
Cindy, love the open hand instead of a fist. With resistance there might also be room for compromise.
I love the rhyme and images in your poem today, Laura. One of my favorites of yours.
Sometimes making the to-do list feels like fitting life into little boxes of time.
To-dos must fit
between tock and tick.
There is no time
for getting sick.
Thank you, Lauren. Oh, lord, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said, in exhaustion, “Keep going, Laura. No time for sick days as a freelance writer.” I love lists and goals and checking things off (was just reviewing my 2016 goals/dreams yesterday), but it also gets to be too much sometimes. Can you tell your poem resonated with me?
“Nail on the head” Lauren. Never more true than the month of December.
Lovely poem Laura. The rhyming is perfect. One of your “thoughts” prompted my verse.
A Hollywood Remake
Ralphie’s mom
feels holiday accoutrements a bore
red fishnet stockings
add pizazz to her décor.
Oh, this gave me such a laugh. Now I can’t get the “fra-zhee-lay” lamp from Christmas Story out of my head, either. Go, Ralphie’s mom!
Martha, you won’t believe this. I went to Ace Hardware today to get an outlet extender for our deck lights and guess what they were putting together at the checkout counter? A fragile lamp. Check it out https://twitter.com/LauraPSalas/status/804435646706282497 (don’t know why it’s sideways–I’m having camera issues). Heehee.
OMGoodness. What are the chances of that happening? Should I buy a lottery ticket? Thanks for sharing.
I loved your rhyming scheme and rhythm with this one.
To me, this seemed a sad image at first. Maybe it was because I’d recently seen “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and it reminded me of the barbed wire fence of the concentration camp. It also became the hand pressed against the window as a wife visits her husband in prison (more TV)…Then it reminded me of waving good-bye when grandchildren leave… Such a simple image but it has lots of “stuff” in it to me.
Always
There is nothing
Between us
My kiss
On the breeze
Is always there
To catch
Donna JT Smith
And then there was my daughter’s wedding… I told her she HAD to wear stockings that day. So what did she pick? Red fishnet, of course. She respected my wishes… sort of.
Stockings you say
On MY special day?
Okay…
Bride’s pride -
Red fishnet!
Olé!
I love both of your poems Donna. “My kiss on the breeze” and “Ole” speak volumes.
Hahahaha–oh, how I love this. My daughter and your daughter are soul sisters, I think. Love that Ole at the end–perfecto!
Wow–this is gorgeous, Donna. Like the photo, your poem calls to mind so many different relationships, and those first two lines…just killer. I have read several WWII novels lately, so the Holocaust and Russian genocides of Lithuanians and Latvians have been much on my mind. Especially with so many hate crimes lately. Thank you for this wisp of love and safety in your poem today.
Laura, I love your apricot suns! And the way everyone is connecting the image to things like that crazy lamp and wedding stockings. My poem is a little dark, reflecting sad thoughts about Aleppo and recent hate crimes in our country.
Bars of war,
fragile skin—
are we keeping you out?
Are you letting us in?
—Kate Coombs
Well said and so timely Kate. Love the last two lines.
I love so much seeing everyone’s take. The best weeks are the ones where we have a really diverse group of offerings. This is lovely, Kate. The juxtaposition of bars vs skin and in vs out…heartbreaking in its simplicity.
That disembodied hand is a little freaky! Love your dreamcatcher this morning.
Skyscraper View
Palms
press
against
glass
and
steel,
floor
sways
as we
wobble,
squeal
I agree–it IS a little ominous. Love this take on the way skyscrapers sway (which is what I find a little freaky, too).
Holladay Magic
Green and red
ribbons of sugary
candies decorating
ginger bread villages
Oh, I love ribbon candy. Not to eat, but it’s so beautiful. Lovely little scene…