Photo: Laura Salas
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)!
This was part of some wall art at The Smack Shack in Minneapolis, made, according to the server, by making molds of real lobsters. Ick.?Here are?3 things this photo makes me think of:
1)’dentures
2)?the plaster handprints kids make for their parents/grandparents
3) a lobster missing its red coat
And here’s my first draft.
My Red Suit Is at the Cleaners
I’m a shock of white,
I’m much too bright…
Better hide inside
my crevice tonight
–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
Now it’s your turn! Have fun? and stick to? 15 WORDS OR LESS!??(Title doesn’t count toward word count:>)?
230 Responses
That’s a real creepy picture, Laura, although you made it fun with your rhymes.
winter sun
fading lobster pots
at the tourist trap
Diane Mayr, all rights reserved
I like your use of the word “trap” with tourist,
because in a way it connects to lobster trap.
Since I’ve never lived close to the ocean, when I visited I have always been fascinated with those old ‘sea’ things. Your poem brought back that memory, Diane. “Tourist trap” is exactly it!
I agree with the others, a wonderful dual use of “trap!” I also like the “white brushstroke” you use on the winter sun and fading pots.
Diane, touristy lobster fests and pots combine for a not-so-happy sea creature. You are right on.
Sad but true, depending on which side one identifies with. Thanks for the reminder.
That’s a real creepy picture, Laura, although you made it fun with your rhymes.
winter sun
fading lobster pots
at the tourist trap
Diane Mayr, all rights reserved
I like your use of the word “trap” with tourist,
because in a way it connects to lobster trap.
Since I’ve never lived close to the ocean, when I visited I have always been fascinated with those old ‘sea’ things. Your poem brought back that memory, Diane. “Tourist trap” is exactly it!
I agree with the others, a wonderful dual use of “trap!” I also like the “white brushstroke” you use on the winter sun and fading pots.
Diane, touristy lobster fests and pots combine for a not-so-happy sea creature. You are right on.
Sad but true, depending on which side one identifies with. Thanks for the reminder.
NOT A HAPPY ENDING
Pinchers blocked.
Freedom docked.
White as a sheet.
Admits defeat.
Future foiled.
Will be boiled.
Ha! I guess it is all in the eyes of the beholder! Yum! Though I don’t think I’d be up for a white lobster.
I like your short phrases.
Let’s hope that lobster turns red after being boiled.
Nope, it doesn’t. Stays white.
Love all the rhyming-story too!
Love the “fun” defeatist attitude that this poem exudes. …hmm, can I really call it fun? Seems a bit unfair to the lobster, but oh well.
Awwwww. This is so sad. I like your word choices, because docked brings water to mind, and foiled makes me think of aluminum foil and, therefore, food. Maybe I just have food on the brain. Anyway, it all works very well together!
Nice, choppy lines make me think of a chef with his knife–yikes! And I mean that in a good way. 🙂
NOT A HAPPY ENDING
Pinchers blocked.
Freedom docked.
White as a sheet.
Admits defeat.
Future foiled.
Will be boiled.
Ha! I guess it is all in the eyes of the beholder! Yum! Though I don’t think I’d be up for a white lobster.
I like your short phrases.
Let’s hope that lobster turns red after being boiled.
Nope, it doesn’t. Stays white.
Love all the rhyming-story too!
Love the “fun” defeatist attitude that this poem exudes. …hmm, can I really call it fun? Seems a bit unfair to the lobster, but oh well.
Awwwww. This is so sad. I like your word choices, because docked brings water to mind, and foiled makes me think of aluminum foil and, therefore, food. Maybe I just have food on the brain. Anyway, it all works very well together!
Nice, choppy lines make me think of a chef with his knife–yikes! And I mean that in a good way. 🙂
Not Me
“Select your own lobster”
chef says to you.
If I appear sickly,
no way, whew!
Laura, one has to hope that the red coat will appear, and soon. Yet, its current state is life-saving! ;-))
Yes, it’s safe from me!
Martha, I love the way you used the voice of the lobster.
Cute.
Camouflage at its best, I suppose. Great idea!
Martha–I’m with you! That idea of picking out the animal you’re going to eat is almost enough to turn me vegetarian. And I am glad I don’t eat seafood. Ick.
Not Me
“Select your own lobster”
chef says to you.
If I appear sickly,
no way, whew!
Laura, one has to hope that the red coat will appear, and soon. Yet, its current state is life-saving! ;-))
Yes, it’s safe from me!
Martha, I love the way you used the voice of the lobster.
Cute.
Camouflage at its best, I suppose. Great idea!
Martha–I’m with you! That idea of picking out the animal you’re going to eat is almost enough to turn me vegetarian. And I am glad I don’t eat seafood. Ick.
Cute idea, Laura, about a “red coat.”
Fisherman’s Surprise
Unusual creation
albino crustacean
not orange or brown
nor dark-green
strangest lobster
ever seen.
There are lots of colorful mutated lobsters out there surprising the lobstermen.
Love the idea of albino surprise & that ‘creation crustacean’!
Very good image Cindy. I especially liked “pinchers blocked.”
Pat, creation/crustacean “combination” makes for fun reading.
Thanks, Pat. Not happy with mine, but there ya go. You packed a lot into your short word count, and I like the title. Who could read the title and not want to know what the surprise was?
Cute idea, Laura, about a “red coat.”
Fisherman’s Surprise
Unusual creation
albino crustacean
not orange or brown
nor dark-green
strangest lobster
ever seen.
There are lots of colorful mutated lobsters out there surprising the lobstermen.
Love the idea of albino surprise & that ‘creation crustacean’!
Very good image Cindy. I especially liked “pinchers blocked.”
Pat, creation/crustacean “combination” makes for fun reading.
Thanks, Pat. Not happy with mine, but there ya go. You packed a lot into your short word count, and I like the title. Who could read the title and not want to know what the surprise was?
News: Artifact Found!
The statue of Nephropidae
No Venus DeMilo
Still has its arms
And those delectable claws.
Ha! Yes. A statue of a lobster.
Very good.
Ha-Venus of the sea. Love the idea of a marble statue, Donna.
So clever!
Hmmm — maybe a bit of mythology, Greek or otherwise. Cute!
Great take–love the idea of a little news article, and of comparing this to Venus. Delectable is the perfect word choice–sets the tone for the whole poem.
I like this. And Nephropidae makes me think of Aphrodite!
News: Artifact Found!
The statue of Nephropidae
No Venus DeMilo
Still has its arms
And those delectable claws.
Ha! Yes. A statue of a lobster.
Very good.
Ha-Venus of the sea. Love the idea of a marble statue, Donna.
So clever!
Hmmm — maybe a bit of mythology, Greek or otherwise. Cute!
Great take–love the idea of a little news article, and of comparing this to Venus. Delectable is the perfect word choice–sets the tone for the whole poem.
I like this. And Nephropidae makes me think of Aphrodite!
Fun prompt today, Laura!
A HAUNTING AT RED LOBSTER
Cold as a corpse,
pale as a cast;
Beware! I’m the ghost
of dinner’s past!
? 2014, Matt Forrest Esenwine
Oops! Don’t know how that apostrophe in ‘dinners’ got there…
A HAUNTING AT RED LOBSTER
Cold as a corpse,
pale as a cast;
Beware! I’m the ghost
of dinners past!
? 2014, Matt Forrest Esenwine
Didn’t even notice your apostrophe in the other one.
I like your ghost idea.
Ghostly white. Yes.
Imagine the dinners past ghosts of McD’s!
Such fun to see all the different approaches-love the ghost of dinners past, Matt.
Fabulous! I think Dickens would approve.
Hehehe. This is fabulous. Kids would love it! Corpse, cast, ghost–love all these sounds and spooky words.
“Pale as a cast” is a great metaphor, as is the bit about “ghost of dinners past.” Good one!
Fabulous, Matt!
Matt, I would rather have Red Lobster’s cheese biscuit than the lobster. It is safe with me.
Fun prompt today, Laura!
A HAUNTING AT RED LOBSTER
Cold as a corpse,
pale as a cast;
Beware! I’m the ghost
of dinner’s past!
? 2014, Matt Forrest Esenwine
Oops! Don’t know how that apostrophe in ‘dinners’ got there…
A HAUNTING AT RED LOBSTER
Cold as a corpse,
pale as a cast;
Beware! I’m the ghost
of dinners past!
? 2014, Matt Forrest Esenwine
Didn’t even notice your apostrophe in the other one.
I like your ghost idea.
Ghostly white. Yes.
Imagine the dinners past ghosts of McD’s!
Such fun to see all the different approaches-love the ghost of dinners past, Matt.
Fabulous! I think Dickens would approve.
Hehehe. This is fabulous. Kids would love it! Corpse, cast, ghost–love all these sounds and spooky words.
“Pale as a cast” is a great metaphor, as is the bit about “ghost of dinners past.” Good one!
Fabulous, Matt!
Matt, I would rather have Red Lobster’s cheese biscuit than the lobster. It is safe with me.
Amazing what is displayed in a restaurant-not very appetizing. I thought it was some kind of lab. Love your POV‑I took that approach too-thinking of the poor lobster.
Their eyes on me,
palest comparison
of “used to be,”
no understanding
of reality.
Linda Baie ?All Rights Reserved
They’ll probably use shock treatments on it. Oooooh, or give it a “lob(ster)otomy!
Love it‑I discovered & studied Lobotomies in college-still frightening to think about! Thanks Donna.
How sad! I think you definitely achieved the POV you were looking for, Linda.
Who knows, maybe it is humiliation for the lobster that is not selected. Also, I apologize to all for my “two” replies to some. I kept getting a “this page cannot be displayed” and when I tried again both were posted. “Sigh-berspace at work.”
Nicely done, Linda! Lines 2 and 3 really got me. Oh, did I mention there was a whole wall covered with these? Can’t remember if I said that in my post!
Amazing what is displayed in a restaurant-not very appetizing. I thought it was some kind of lab. Love your POV‑I took that approach too-thinking of the poor lobster.
Their eyes on me,
palest comparison
of “used to be,”
no understanding
of reality.
Linda Baie ?All Rights Reserved
They’ll probably use shock treatments on it. Oooooh, or give it a “lob(ster)otomy!
Love it‑I discovered & studied Lobotomies in college-still frightening to think about! Thanks Donna.
How sad! I think you definitely achieved the POV you were looking for, Linda.
Who knows, maybe it is humiliation for the lobster that is not selected. Also, I apologize to all for my “two” replies to some. I kept getting a “this page cannot be displayed” and when I tried again both were posted. “Sigh-berspace at work.”
Nicely done, Linda! Lines 2 and 3 really got me. Oh, did I mention there was a whole wall covered with these? Can’t remember if I said that in my post!
Ick
Pale feelers
Creeping through
The wall of plaster
Tickling you
My first thought when I saw this… ick!!!!
Oooh, like those movies where the hand stretches through the wall!
Oh no… lobsters creeped me out even before I read this poem, but now I’m ruined for life!
Cute. Rather tickling than pinching!
I agree, Amelia–and it was made (according to the waitress) by forming a mold around real lobsters. There was a whole wall of them–I just did one small close-up. Ick. Ick. Ick.
And your poem–triple ick! It made me shudder. Great to get a visceral reaction like that:>)
It’s like those tiny antennae wiggling-ack! Well said!
Okay, Amanda–if I have lobster nightmares it’s your fault!
Ick
Pale feelers
Creeping through
The wall of plaster
Tickling you
My first thought when I saw this… ick!!!!
Oooh, like those movies where the hand stretches through the wall!
Oh no… lobsters creeped me out even before I read this poem, but now I’m ruined for life!
Cute. Rather tickling than pinching!
I agree, Amelia–and it was made (according to the waitress) by forming a mold around real lobsters. There was a whole wall of them–I just did one small close-up. Ick. Ick. Ick.
And your poem–triple ick! It made me shudder. Great to get a visceral reaction like that:>)
It’s like those tiny antennae wiggling-ack! Well said!
Okay, Amanda–if I have lobster nightmares it’s your fault!
A lifeless, white prisoner
Dreaming of a curious child
Coming by and painting her RED.
This is truly a wonderful take on this prompt! Well done.
Maybe the coat of red would bring her to life.
That is a great idea, Martha. 🙂
Oh, Vida, this is lovely. So ethereal and fantastic.
You’ve reminded me of those plastic animals we used to make & then paint‑a little craft. Except you’ve also added a little creepiness with the word ‘prisoner’.
Linda, the frame prompted a word “prisoner” 🙂
A lifeless, white prisoner
Dreaming of a curious child
Coming by and painting her RED.
This is truly a wonderful take on this prompt! Well done.
Maybe the coat of red would bring her to life.
That is a great idea, Martha. 🙂
Oh, Vida, this is lovely. So ethereal and fantastic.
You’ve reminded me of those plastic animals we used to make & then paint‑a little craft. Except you’ve also added a little creepiness with the word ‘prisoner’.
Linda, the frame prompted a word “prisoner” 🙂
In L.A. writing on cell phone. NOT hungry for lobster!
Lobster
The idea of lobster…
God hesitated.
Blue? Purple? Green?
Anything but red.
–Kate Coombs
this is wonderful I like the possibility other colors
Thanks, Jessica! I looked this up and found out that lobsters are brown to olive-green in the wild, with just a faint tinge of red. They turn red when cooked, but it’s a little like leaves, where the green goes away in fall, allowing the colors underneath to show. Apparently the red pigment in lobsters is called astaxanthin and is stable in heat, whereas the other colors break down when heated. So you end up with just the red!
Interesting thought, Martha. And thanks, Laura. (Back home this afternoon.) I was thinking of that original color? and that maybe God doesn’t like red because it would mean somebody cooked his nice green lobster!
White is symbolic of purity.
Thanks for participating long distance, Kate! Ha! I love this. Poor God–sometimes the good colors are all used up. (I am NEVER hungry for lobster, as I don’t like seafood.)
Thank you, Laura. Much appreciation for this great blog. 🙂
Thanks, Vida! The 15WOL community is such a gift. Thanks for joining in:>)
In L.A. writing on cell phone. NOT hungry for lobster!
Lobster
The idea of lobster…
God hesitated.
Blue? Purple? Green?
Anything but red.
–Kate Coombs
this is wonderful I like the possibility other colors
Thanks, Jessica! I looked this up and found out that lobsters are brown to olive-green in the wild, with just a faint tinge of red. They turn red when cooked, but it’s a little like leaves, where the green goes away in fall, allowing the colors underneath to show. Apparently the red pigment in lobsters is called astaxanthin and is stable in heat, whereas the other colors break down when heated. So you end up with just the red!
Interesting thought, Martha. And thanks, Laura. (Back home this afternoon.) I was thinking of that original color? and that maybe God doesn’t like red because it would mean somebody cooked his nice green lobster!
White is symbolic of purity.
Thanks for participating long distance, Kate! Ha! I love this. Poor God–sometimes the good colors are all used up. (I am NEVER hungry for lobster, as I don’t like seafood.)
Thank you, Laura. Much appreciation for this great blog. 🙂
Thanks, Vida! The 15WOL community is such a gift. Thanks for joining in:>)
white on white
a study in shadow
a hundred values
on a theme so shallow
So true — so many gradations of grays and whites here.
Tone on tone results in rich texture.
Ooh, scathing! Love that second line.
Ha, shallow water AND themes?
white on white
a study in shadow
a hundred values
on a theme so shallow
So true — so many gradations of grays and whites here.
Tone on tone results in rich texture.
Ooh, scathing! Love that second line.
Ha, shallow water AND themes?
Awesome prompt and poem, Laura!
spying on a budget sucks he said
as his prey left the room.
Poor guy!
Thanks, Catherine. Ooh, I’m intrigued here. This is so unexpected!
oh, another Point of View‑I like it, Catherine!
Awesome prompt and poem, Laura!
spying on a budget sucks he said
as his prey left the room.
Poor guy!
Thanks, Catherine. Ooh, I’m intrigued here. This is so unexpected!
oh, another Point of View‑I like it, Catherine!
Really like your concept, Laura, and also “a shock of white.” I was a bit shocked with what I came up with today, but here it is:
PAPA’S LOVE
Each stony
hug, a crushing
blow, to me
with far less armor.
© 2014 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. All rights reserved.
A lobster lover’s Valentine!
Not at all how I interpreted it, but if it works for you, it works for me!
A different interpretation, but it works. I like it.
Thanks, Michelle–this is one of those days when I’m liking EVERYONE’s poems better than mine. But that’s the way it goes:>)
Ooooooh. Wow–what an image. So blocky and strong. The poems that shock us are usually the best ones–they have that magic to them.
Hugged to death? It is a bit gruesome, but sometimes that’s what I thought with a few family huggers.
Hmmm… that’s not really what I meant either. I can see I’m going to have to work on expressing myself a bit less abstractly. Hard to do in 15 WOL!
I felt like you were talking about abuse of some kind. The image of the crushing father as lobster is very powerful!
Yes! The “stony” hug being the father’s inability to show affection– thanks for playing! 😉
Really like your concept, Laura, and also “a shock of white.” I was a bit shocked with what I came up with today, but here it is:
PAPA’S LOVE
Each stony
hug, a crushing
blow, to me
with far less armor.
© 2014 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. All rights reserved.
A lobster lover’s Valentine!
Not at all how I interpreted it, but if it works for you, it works for me!
A different interpretation, but it works. I like it.
Thanks, Michelle–this is one of those days when I’m liking EVERYONE’s poems better than mine. But that’s the way it goes:>)
Ooooooh. Wow–what an image. So blocky and strong. The poems that shock us are usually the best ones–they have that magic to them.
Hugged to death? It is a bit gruesome, but sometimes that’s what I thought with a few family huggers.
Hmmm… that’s not really what I meant either. I can see I’m going to have to work on expressing myself a bit less abstractly. Hard to do in 15 WOL!
I felt like you were talking about abuse of some kind. The image of the crushing father as lobster is very powerful!
Yes! The “stony” hug being the father’s inability to show affection– thanks for playing! 😉
hot sand scorches toes
beached claws fade to white
pale skin crisps to red
Perfect as “the end.”
Ouch! I grew up in Florida and got lobster burns a few times!
Exactly-have found plenty of white crab claws on the beach. I assume that lobsters are somewhere, & the read definitely on our backs. Fun juxtaposition, Buffy.
I am definitely a pale lobster person! Nice.
hot sand scorches toes
beached claws fade to white
pale skin crisps to red
Perfect as “the end.”
Ouch! I grew up in Florida and got lobster burns a few times!
Exactly-have found plenty of white crab claws on the beach. I assume that lobsters are somewhere, & the read definitely on our backs. Fun juxtaposition, Buffy.
I am definitely a pale lobster person! Nice.
two word that this reminds me of are
volcanic ash and Albino
frozen sea
whit salt
white clay
white calk
on a slate of black write
lobster
red seal fades
into fiscals of white
I thought of coal ash that is seeping into some waterways not far from here.
I love the textures and vivid images here–the ice, the salt, the clay, the chalk. Nice! (Keep in mind that your poem needs to be 15 words or fewer, though:>)
two word that this reminds me of are
volcanic ash and Albino
frozen sea
whit salt
white clay
white calk
on a slate of black write
lobster
red seal fades
into fiscals of white
I thought of coal ash that is seeping into some waterways not far from here.
I love the textures and vivid images here–the ice, the salt, the clay, the chalk. Nice! (Keep in mind that your poem needs to be 15 words or fewer, though:>)
marshmallows lobster
you have taken over our city
be war of our mug of hot chocolate
they will save the day
Love the image of a marshmallow lobster. I love marshmallows–hate lobster!
This is really weird, which is one of the reasons I love it!
marshmallows lobster
you have taken over our city
be war of our mug of hot chocolate
they will save the day
Love the image of a marshmallow lobster. I love marshmallows–hate lobster!
This is really weird, which is one of the reasons I love it!
I am plastered up
I cannot move
Do I have anything
Else to prove ?
-Anne McKenna
I love those first two lines, Anne, esp the first. Something about being plastered up–that line gives me the creeps. Love it!
I am plastered up
I cannot move
Do I have anything
Else to prove ?
-Anne McKenna
I love those first two lines, Anne, esp the first. Something about being plastered up–that line gives me the creeps. Love it!
I usually do this early in the morning with a fresh mind and no other poems to compare to, but today, well… You guys are so great and have so many different takes on this white lobster.
White out
I took out color
washed clear, pure
my white-out couldn’t
take out
the bite.
–Margaret Simon
White-out: what a good way to take this!
Yes! Changing the outside doesn’t necessary change the nature of the beast:>)
I will make paper chains
of white lobsters
snip them into snowflakes -
red hearts
Oh. My. What a striking image! Kind of violent and lovely and mysterious all at the same time!
sory it wasn’t meant to be violent was only using the image of making paper snow flacks I hope that was okay
sorry it wasn’t meant to be violent I was only
using the image of making paper snow flacks
Hey, I always say the reader makes 50% of the meaning of any poem, so that’s just the way it struck me. Someone else would probably read it differently. But I loved it! I wouldn’t want graphically violent poems here because teachers use this feature, but yours was ABSOLUTELY fine. I thought it was gorgeous. The snipping and red hearts gave it a *feeling* of violence to me, of impact. But it’s not literally violent or anything. No worries, Jessica. It’s beautiful!
I like the idea of white out colored words
leaving the white of paper as the lobster
whiting out
reminds me moor I look at the pic of something made from Chines paper folding
Constellation
Anent tribes
From distant lands
Followed you
Origami of stars
Folded in the sky
I thought I’d mascon this book cinch I talked about paper folding
I thought I had it but cant fined it
Fold Me a Poem
By Kristine O’Connell George
cinch I talked about this thought I’d mascon* this book
Fold Me a Poem
By Kristine O’Connell George
Origami of stars…what a lovely line!
I usually do this early in the morning with a fresh mind and no other poems to compare to, but today, well… You guys are so great and have so many different takes on this white lobster.
White out
I took out color
washed clear, pure
my white-out couldn’t
take out
the bite.
–Margaret Simon
White-out: what a good way to take this!
Yes! Changing the outside doesn’t necessary change the nature of the beast:>)
I will make paper chains
of white lobsters
snip them into snowflakes -
red hearts
Oh. My. What a striking image! Kind of violent and lovely and mysterious all at the same time!
sory it wasn’t meant to be violent was only using the image of making paper snow flacks I hope that was okay
sorry it wasn’t meant to be violent I was only
using the image of making paper snow flacks
Hey, I always say the reader makes 50% of the meaning of any poem, so that’s just the way it struck me. Someone else would probably read it differently. But I loved it! I wouldn’t want graphically violent poems here because teachers use this feature, but yours was ABSOLUTELY fine. I thought it was gorgeous. The snipping and red hearts gave it a *feeling* of violence to me, of impact. But it’s not literally violent or anything. No worries, Jessica. It’s beautiful!
I like the idea of white out colored words
leaving the white of paper as the lobster
whiting out
reminds me moor I look at the pic of something made from Chines paper folding
Constellation
Anent tribes
From distant lands
Followed you
Origami of stars
Folded in the sky
I thought I’d mascon this book cinch I talked about paper folding
I thought I had it but cant fined it
Fold Me a Poem
By Kristine O’Connell George
cinch I talked about this thought I’d mascon* this book
Fold Me a Poem
By Kristine O’Connell George
Origami of stars…what a lovely line!
SEAFOOD SUPPER
Splayed, picked apart, chewed,
Digested. How would you feel
If we switched places?
© Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.
SEAFOOD SUPPER
Splayed, picked apart, chewed,
Digested. How would you feel
If we switched places?
© Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.