NOTE: Some readers are commenting and not seeing their own comments show up, even though they are showing up for me and others! I don’t know what’s causing this and am hopeful the WordPress or other platform gods will figure out how to solve the problem sometime soon. Meanwhile, please know that your comments are making it through.
NOTE 2: Also, I am off the grid this week, so I won’t be able to comment on your poems–but I hope you’ll leave a poem and comment on others’. Enjoy!
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.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to IndiaFest in St. Paul. It’s an annual celebration by the India Association of Minnesota. A lovely event! One of the things our younger daughter and our niece did was get hennaed. I never knew before that henna is applied as a thick paste that dries solid (kind of like puff paint). Then it cracks and flakes off, and the stain of the paste remains on the skin. Isn’t this pretty?
This image makes me think of several things:
- puff paint
- embroidered kitchen towels
- cornucopia at Thanksgiving time
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.)
15 Responses
Etched on heart
Inked on skin
Today’s importance
Fades into
A shadow of memory
This is lovely Bekah. The thought of loving memories being “inked” for recall, even in shadowy hues, is comforting.
oooooh! are you going to a wedding? Have fun!
H igh art
E ach hand
N ever the same
N ow a sisterhood of adorned
H A N D S
Sweet acrostic Linda. Like the word sisterhood.
My girls loved getting henna done when we went to New Orleans, One daughter attended an authentic Indian wedding and got a henna tattoo. I’ve never actually done it myself, though.
Hand
Embracing
Natural
Nuptial
Art
Perfect description, and in only 5 words. Clever Margaret!
I love the “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” structure of this poem, Laura. I’m crossing my fingers that my poem shows up. (I also typically can’t see anyone else’s poems/comments, so if that’s the case again, I apologize for not commenting!)
Warning:
Over time,
like beauty
and good wishes,
henna fades.
Reapply as needed.
Perfect description of life. Reapplications are necessary. Good job!
Lovely! I try to learn something new every day (usually forgetting it before nightfall); my “newbie” for this day is another use for henna!
Henna or Chocolate
Hmmm!
Plant-based they say,
how grand!
As chips flake
I may eat from my hand.
From Within
few choose
to let their beauty
dance on their skin
for all to see
why?
Tattoos
Concealed memories
Bittersweet taste, musty smells
Replaced with roses
I’ve always wondered how those henna tattoos work (gorgeous and temporary–the way to go!) The photo got me considering my own hands.
Time Machine
her hands changed into her mother’s–
wrinkled scarred freckled
inscribed with love and loss
I like your poem very much, Buffy! Warts, scars, and all…we have lived!
Gramma’s Hands
by Dianne Moritz
Gardening, baking, sewing,
unwavering love, and more.
Her gifts, cherished forever.…
poem By Jessica Bigi
Gifts We Teach Each Other
Hanna blooming
Looped my paper
Looped my heart
Daughter smiles
Niece Smiles
Looped my life
Looped Blooms
Minnesota nights