Welcome to 15 Words or Less Poems Day! Are you ready to wake up your poetry brains with our weekly exercise (guidelines here)?
OK, hopefully I’ve finally got it right this week!
This is a picture of a gift given to me by Kim Doele, a 3rd-grade teacher at Wealthy Elementary. She was hugely instrumental in getting me to Wealthy, and seeing the poetry magic she has created at that school was amazing. She gave me this delightful ceramic leaf necklace (which I think the school’s art teacher made–I wonder if she has an Etsy shop…).
This image makes me think of:
- leaf skeletons that I occasionally find at the end of a dry autumn
- a creature’s tracks in the snow
- the lovely scratchboard art (by Beth Krommes) I was looking at yesterday for Joyce Sidman’s next book, Before Morning
And, here’s my first draft, which ended up being about none of the above, but about the way people (real or in books) leave their imprint on us.
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count)
32 Responses
Pressed in time
Withered but not forgotten
Dust has blown away
But imprints remain
Combining yours and Laura’s, don’t you wonder what imprint we leave on others?
Lovely, Amelia. So calm and eternal feeling.
Wow, this is was a challenging exercise! Thanks for sharing!
Small Dog Finds A Home
Pavement is hot
cold
hard,
movement.
Curled by her hip,
None of these.
Ooo — so peaceful at the end. Nice.
Hi Nancy–welcome! This is lovely–small, intimate, concrete:>)
I know the connection’s not obvious, but my when I think of my small rescue dog’s life on the streets, I always picture him as a drifting leaf.
That’s a wonderful comparison. Drifting leaves are aimless, homeless…
Lovely emotional landscape, Laura.
I am a terrible cheat today — Sorry! Guess those annoying Valentine’s ads are still stuck in my head.
neither gold nor diamonds
bought because
the-TV-says-you-must
can equal
a plain gift
from the heart
Agreed, ellie. Those heart gifts are the best!
“Dotted my heart’s landscape.”
Beautiful Laura.
Kim
Thanks, Kim:>)
“Dotted my heart’s landscape” is a beautiful metaphor.
Leaf Fall
One leaf fell
on my path
Curled and flipped
like a cat
saying
“Pet me.”
Thanks, Margaret–ha! What an unusual comparison!
Good morning all. A lovely work of art Laura. Your “leaf skeleton” triggered my verse.
Survivor
Autumn’s last leaf
molded
emboldened
gilded
heart-warmed
heirloom
for generations.
Love all those wonderful ‑ed words you chose, Martha! Esp the sounds of molded and emboldened.
Leaves fall
and turn to leaf mold
except
for this golden fossil.
—Kate Coombs
Love that last line!
I was struck by the perfection and beauty of the leaf’s imprint, and then realized that part of its beauty lay in the fact that it was not perfect. Is anyone or anything on earth perfect? A Haiku for an imperfect leaf:
Perfect Beauty
In imperfection
A perfect beauty abides
Drawing us inward
©Donna JT Smith
Love the oxymoron you explored here.
Preservation
One perfect leaf
Placed in center of family Bible
By little hands, words not understood.
So unexpected!
Lovely gift and poem! I’m so glad you had such a great time!
Marked With a I
I
Have
Written
A
Million
Leaves
Warhol
Wind
Of
Colorful
Poems
Circling
October’s
Skies
What a beautiful gift to be given thanks for sharing this experience with us Laura 🙂
Thanks, Jessica. I love the image of poems circling October’s skies. Gorgeous!
What a lovely gift! I stole my title from your description of the teacher you met (and wrote what I imagine the impact of your visit was on the lucky students you met.)
Poetry Magic
Her words touch hearts
with impressions that linger
like fallen leaves
turned to stone.
Oh, this is beautiful, Buffy. As teachers or writers or poetry sharers…we have such power to make an impact, and we don’t even realize it much of the time!
Yours is lovely, Laura. Here’s mine, unusually mushy for me. 🙂
Every leaf vein and stem
Embedded in ceramic,
As your heart is
Embedded in mine.
I love how you use the specifics of the leaf’s circulatory system to talk about your heart. Beauteous!
Laura, loved the picture of friendship your words painted in my mind.
THE LUCKY LEAF
Caught in its prime,
framed for all time.
What a close call-
escaped its downfall.
Thanks, Cindyb. Love that “framed for all time”–nice!
A leaf should be
Completely free
No immersed in clay
Please set me free
Expediently !
Anne McKenna