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.
I love the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History! I only had a couple of hours in it on our trip to DC, but this skeleton of a leatherback turtle startled me.
This image makes me think of several things:
- what would a turtle look like without its shell?
- its undermost bones look like a heart
- we are all so fragile
And here’s my first draft.
Now it’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)
39 Responses
Love your warrior turtle, Laura! The strength and vulnerability so cleverly juxtaposed.
Here’s mine:
Spine, ribs
Phalanges splayed
Pelvic bones
Shoulder blades
Frame connection
Close to same
I love how you’ve captured our similarities, Suzanne! and how you move from the anatomical terms to the simple language in the closing line.
Love the splayed phalanges Suzanne.
Good morning 15-WOL community. Laura, your poem is wonderful. “Nowhere to hide” resonates with me.
A Leatherback’s Legacy
Displayed
every day
eyes on me
what do they see?
Nothing
I dreamt I’d be!
Oh, Martha, this makes me feel even sadder for the leatherback, who has found himself in this totally unexpected position! I like the touch of wry humor you bring to it, but it still makes me a little sad.
Your poignant poem makes me think of public persona who sometimes don’t seem to find happiness with their success.
Balance
of bones
aligned skeleton
beating heart
inside–
A mystical, perfect
specimen of life.
Margaret, I love the measured rhythm you find here, the feeling that all is right. “All will be well, and all will be well and all manner of things will be well,” to misquote Julian of Norwich. It’s especially comforting right now, although devastating too, as good friend lost her college-age daughter this week in a horrible accident.
Laura, so sorry for your loss.
Mystical perfection sums it up. Very nice Margaret.
Break Out
Hard shell
covered well
hurting heart.
Kind word
overheard
gave new start.
Love wins
again.
Cindy, thanks for the “kind word overheard.” Poor turtle.
Ah. We are all turtles. This is just lovely.
Amazing that you could fit a summary of turtle evolution in your poem, Laura, wrapped up in your poignant last line. My mind went immediately to my title and this sci(na)ku followed.
“My Parts are Showing?”
naked
like C3PO
without our shells
My first thought was of his vulnerability, displayed as he is. I imagined that he was partly covered with a red cloak.
Wow, your poem touches on SO many things here. SF, emotions, technology vs biological, etc. I love how you worked in so much to 6 words!
That skeleton is a poem on its own! Funny how it makes you think of the parts that are missing…
Leatherback Song
Hidden beneath its bony shell
under ribs and spine,
turtle’s heart beats
an ancient song.
Buffy, somehow the word “ancient” brings so much power to this poem. There’s already a contrast between the anatomical parts and the heart (also anatomical, but you know what I mean) and song, but ancient brings our history and the infinity (sort of) of life itself. Truly lovely.
Yes, the heart of course.
I like the circle of life you painted Laura. Here’s mine,
What lies beneath
our skin may be more
foreboding than
words we speak…
Ooh, this is ominous, Michelle! I like this foray into the dark (literally) side.
Powerful words Michelle. They make for a wonderful “quote.”
Baby Leatherback Turtle
by D. Moritz
Race baby leatheback!
Race down to the sea!
Live your life…
wild and free!
Love the momentum! And that lovely last line:>)
Turtle Dreams
Super-duper terrapin
Hiding spiky skeleton
Leaps enormous
For a tortoise
Leatherback but Hero in!
by Donna JT Smith
Donna, terrapin and skeleton work well together and I like the last line.
I love the sounds of the words you chose, Donna. So much fun to read aloud!
What an amazing creature. Your poem line “leather armor” is such a great visual! I felt like the way he is displayed reminded me of those old traveling shows fascinating onlookers with peculiar and unusual objects!
Step Right Up…
Come and see!
An ossified leatherback’s
Anatomy.
Bones displayed,
Shell uncovered,
Ancient Turtle’s past
Discovered.
Jean, that’s the way I feel when I know someone is staring and I feel as if they can see right through me.
Oh, you totally set that scene with the title and first line, Jean! Love “ossified,” too:>)
Dianne, you bring back the memory of my granddaughter’s wedding on the Outer Banks of NC. A nest of sea turtles began hatching prematurely and we had to move the wedding site down the beach as they roped of the area around the nest. Sweet!
poem By Jessica Bigi
Leathers Bake Turtle
Theirs a skeleton-key in my
duffel bag and
ginger snaps in my bite
and seaweed in my tea
How could I be
You have such cool ideas, Jessica!
So much whimsy here. Surreal!
is that good?
I guess it depends what you’re looking for in a poem or trying to get across in a poem. Whimsy and surreal just mean unexpected connections/playful/unreal images…that kind of thing! Made me think of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, for some reason :>)
Cute Jessica!
Oh, now I want to go to the Natural History Museum! Utah is dinosaur country, so ours (at the university) has wonderful dinosaur displays. No turtles, sadly.
Museum
Leatherback skeleton—
has nobody known
the spell you can cast
with the smallest flipper bone?
—Kate Coombs
I love the sweet and conspiratorial tone of this, Kate.