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.
There’s a cool metal horse sculpture at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, MN, where I was at the Minnesota Children’s Book Festival recently. The light was harsh, though, in this only angle I could get of it. The “So You Want to Be an Author” tent and other tents, were practically on the horse’s tail :>) This image makes me think of several things:
- Star Wars — not sure why
- Alexander the Great–did he have Bucephus? I remember reading a story about the great stallion in a Reader’s Digest book as a kid. Oops, I see it’s Bucephalus. I was close!
- The Terminator movie
Here’s my first draft. I was picturing a half machine, half flesh warrior horse!
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count)
23 Responses
What a captivating sculpture! I love your poem with all those active verbs contrasting with the rigidity of that steel pose. Here’s my effort:
An agony of rust
for this metal horse
no dust to dust
Blessing or curse?
I couldn’t come up with a title–though I toyed with Captured and Eternal. I’m out of time, so I’m leaving it untitled and am open to suggestions! Thanks for another great prompt, Laura!
An agony of rust — wow, what a gorgeous opening line! I think I would vote for a title that feels a bit more negative…something that captures the pain of your first line.
I thought of rust too — what else could a metal horse do? Your poem is beautiful with that fantastic opener and poignant third line.
PONY RIDE FANTASY
Astride the horse
and he reared high!
I got my wish,
I touched the sky.
Yes! When you’re little, you feel so BIG up on a horse. Love this!
Love your rhyme. I think being on a rearing horse would be terrifying. You make it seem extraordinary.
I like “I touched the sky” — though I did that once and touched the ground hard shortly after!
Loved your poem, Laura — especially “steel haunches quiver”. Here’s what I kept coming up with, though I’m a horse person and thought surely I’d get more horse reference in there somewhere.
Diamond in the Rough
Take off the fluff
You’re left with the stuff
That makes you tough
As nails.
I love the peek beneath to the strength that keeps someone going.
Thanks, Donna–afterward, I wished I had writted “steel withers quiver.” Oh, well! I like this ode to determination and grit, even if it’s not super horsey:>)
Your first drafts are always crafted to appear ready for publishing. A fabulous sculpture. I went with a “less is more” concept for fear of tarnishing its beauty. That’s clear as mud, right?
He Is
Steed of steel
poet’s delight
searching for words
to bring him to life.
Exactly! Love those last two lines.
Oh, this is lovely, Martha. So sleek, like an arrow slicing through the air. Thanks for the kind words, too:>)
I love the steampunk feel of your’s, Laura, and went with it for mine. Please pardon the hyphens.
A robo-warrior
on a robo-horse
in a sudden rain -
rusted immobile
when the enemy
came.
Aw, man! I want the robo-horse to win. Love that “rusted immobile.”
Love all those noisy verbs in your poem, Laura.
Succession
Tree branches overshadow
rusty scraps and abandoned springs,
winning the battle.
This puts me in mind of those pics of the abandoned carnival or something near Chernobyl, Buffy. So lonely.
I love this pic and everyone’s poems
poem By Jessica Bigi
Iron Hours
iron hooves
clicking clacking
straitening tracks
roaring muffler abbes
dyno exoskeleton
hoers power
engines rowing
I love this pic and everyone’s poems
poem By Jessica Bigi
Iron Hors
iron hooves
clicking clacking
straitening tracks
roaring muffler abbes
dyno exoskeleton
hors powered
engines rowing
I love this pic and everyone’s poems
poem By Jessica Bigi
Iron Hors
Iron hooves
Clicking clacking
Straitening tracks
Rusty muffler abbes
Dyno exoskeleton
Hors powered
Engines glopping
I love the horse power and the engines galloping, Jessica!
So You Want to be a Writer?
First lie?
Fantasizing
I rode
horses in
pre-school.
Scolded then
Praised now:
“You can write!”
-Pamela Ross
LOVE this. Creativity is all about making up things:>)