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.
Here’s a picture of the London Eye Ferris Wheel. I took it from my seat on a Thames Rocket Boat–what a ride!
This image (the London Eye, not my selfie!) makes me think of several things:
- comparing a Ferris wheel to an actual eye
- a fortune-teller’s crystal ball
- a ginormous bicycle wheel
And here’s my first draft. There was so much more I needed to say to get my eye-dea (hehe) across. I should have narrowed my topic/thought for this short poem more.
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)
40 Responses
Finding balance in troubled times.…what a great first line. Maybe I need to go get in a boat today for a big dose of sky. The news has been troubling, troubling, troubling. This leads me to update an old nursery rhyme.
A Tisket A Tasket
A sky-high
basket
London’s Eye
wheels round
and round
news-cycles
even faster.
Perhaps from up that high, the problems in the news would look smaller, like the ground.
So sorry about the news, but we can escape into poetry and research. I like the way your poem spins.
yes, the news is troubling, troubling. I like the way your poem speeds up like the news cycle. I think we all need a good dose of sky these days.
Views of water and mountains (never get those) and sky really do clear my mind, Linda. And I’m limiting my intake of news. Might not be the best things to do from a responsible citizen standpoint, but I also have to look out for myself. So true about the news cycles!
The boat ride looks like such fun! And the London Eye looked like a gear to me in your picture.
Sky-Gear Turning
Blue and white
in sunlight.
Day to night.
Black and white -
stars and moonlight.
I like the this and that form of your poem, like a see saw.
I love the idea of sky-gears!
Oooh, steampunk London Eye. I adore it!
I like the push/pull of the poem…back and forth. Nice rhythm.
I love the term sky-gear, and the rolling of words within your poem.
Millenium Wheel
A circle
to the sky,
Tourists
touch the moon
and return…
glowing.
I like that yours is uplifting!
What a graceful poem, Margaret. I had to wonder at the stability of the Eye when our guide told us it was meant to be just for the Millennium (I had not known that!) but was so popular they kept it. I mean, I’m sure they did stuff to reinforce it to last longer, etc., but…
oooooh, I want to return glowing. Sounds lovely.
I love “return glowing” makes me think of my kids getting off an exciting roller coaster.
Value is In the Eye of the Beholder
Royal gerbils run around
On a diamond studded crown
Precious is the toy they’ve found.
Donna JT Smith
We have very different visions of rodent wheels. : )
Ha! Doesn’t this fit right in with all the royal wedding stuff.
Ha! poor royals.…NOT!
What an amazing trip Laura. I’m enjoying it, vicariously of course. Finding balance in troubled times, yes! For some reason my eyes immediately saw a giant clock, time 7:30, night sky, daytime sky? Such fun!
Big Ben’s Frenemy
daytime dawning,
nightime yawning
Big Ben bongs
London Eye’s song:
“See You Tomorrow”
Oh, this is lovely–so whimsical!
I love the idea of the two monuments interacting.
Perfect conversation between two major sites in London.
Hamster Wheel
I run so fast—
life’s a smear,
but when I stop,
I’m still here.
Here is a good place to be, when we stop to enjoy it:>) I can SO relate to this poem!
Isn’t that the truth! Time to slow down maybe.…not sure how to do that with teens. Four taxi rides and counting just today!
A gaze revolving
The all-seeing wheel
A slow blink
Appraising the sky
I love how your poem seems to make time stand still, Amelia.
This is great, I love the all-seeing wheel.
Your filter makes the London Eye look especially magical, Laura! So glad you are having a wonderful trip to England!
train tracks wrapped
around a circle of sky,
singing to the stars
—Kate Coombs
Thanks, Kate. We had a lovely time. Even though it was way too hot and crowded for me:) this poem is stunning. I don’t know how how to capture such a feeling of joy in such an unusual image. That mix of train tracks and scene is so unexpected and beautiful.
Thanks, Laura! And welcome back! (The poem felt odd but right at the same time.)
What a beautiful poem- and image!
I am writing on my phone while traveling to Chicago.. love your poem and hope you don’t mind my borrowing your title..
Spokes on a wheel
work together
pass the load
join in unity
in troubled times.
Of course not, Buffy. I love this metaphor of working together in such a beautiful, peaceful way!
Laura it looks like you had a great trip to London. That boat ride looked a bit crazy, but you got a great shot of the London eye. Loved your last line, “full-circle spectacle.”
Perspective is a funny thing
perched atop this wheel,
monumental hang-ups
recede with turning steel.
Thanks. I love this, Jean. So true that getting a view like this makes problems feel small. Must be why I love ocean and sky and mountains…Lovely poem.
AFTER A RAINSTORM
On my bike
in a flash.
Hit those puddles.
Make a splash!
I LOVED going out to explore the neighborhood after our daily summer thunderstorms in Florida when I was a kid.