Northern Lights [15 Words or Less]

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. 

Photo: Laura P. Salas

One thing–OK, THE thing I most wanted to see on our February trip was the Northern Lights. And we did! The filtering on this image gives the lights more heft than they actually had in reality. But they were just magical. It was a dream come true to see them. This image makes me think of several things:

  1. a magician’s cape swirling in the sky
  2. the noxious smoke that fills my lungs when my husband cooks salmon
  3. a lovely dollop of whipped cream or frosting

And here’s my first draft.

galaxy swirls cape 15wol poem

It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)

 

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28 Responses

  1. Swirling over constellations
    Sugarcoating stars
    Sprinkling meteors
    The final touch
    on the universe’s masterpiece

    Inspired by the frosting idea 🙂

    1. Clever thought that we are in a geode. Don’t you love the sound of the name Aurora Borealis?

  2. It was a watercolor of the universe to me this morning.

    It’s All There

    dampened paper
    darkened paint
    gushing
    nothing faint
    enter the
    abyss
    see what
    man’s eyes miss

    by Donna JT Smith

    1. gushing and nothing faint–I especially love those lines, Donna. Powerful!

  3. Laura, so happy your dream came true. I saw two completely different images; two verses may be illegal but here goes. First one is minus the heftiness. Second one is from my iPhone flipping the photo upside down, providing the perfect image of a dog’s head.

    Mother Nature’s Ballet

    Leaping, swirling
    diaphanous skirt
    lights the night sky
    as she pirouettes
    in a command performance.

    Dog Versus Man

    Marmaduke leaps
    I try running
    we both grab
    rainbow-colored
    fleece throw.
    Winner? We share!
    I

    1. Love those pirouettes, Martha. And I can’t see the dog, but I love the image of your second poem. Sweet!

    2. Thanks Laura. Over toward the right hand side, a tad bit past middle, are two little white dots. Those are the eyes, right below that is the black nose and then the jaws and mouth; two little floppy ears on top of his head.. The way my phone flipped it was upside down, but looking at the pic as it is on the screen, one turn clockwise would put the dogs face looking straight ahead. It looks like a streak of white hair down the middle of the head. Maybe it’s imaginary and I needed an excuse to pen a second poem!!!!! 😉

      1. Oh my gosh! It took me forever to find it. And now I can’t unfind it:>) So funny. It even looks like my dog Jack to me. Crazy:>)

  4. Loved the thought of Galaxy waving her cloak!

    NORTHERN SNAKE

    Slithering across the sky,
    Stars a‑glitter in its eye,
    Serpent gliding way up high.

  5. Another gorgeous photo–thanks for sharing your trip, Laura!

    A Storm Paints

    Troughs of green,
    dancing sea

    Purple palette
    rising high

    Colors bounce
    from Earth to Sky.

  6. You inspired us during the Read Aloud Revival poetry workshop.

    Blank Magic — by Emma age 13
    Blank paper
    explosion of color
    transformed into art
    like magic!

    Ski Slope at Sunset — by Franklin age 11
    At the ski slope -
    skiing a bunch
    sun is setting
    I have that hunch.

    A Stormy Night — by Phillip age 7
    A dark and stormy night
    Blew rippling waves
    Across the puzzle sea.

    1. Welcome, all of you! I’m so glad you played with today’s image. I especially love “explosion of color,” the title “Ski Slope at Sunset,” and “puzzle sea.” Such fun poems. Thank you for sharing!

  7. Everything went good I’m home resting

    Poem By Jessica Bigi

    dragon’s breath of stars
    sing their colorful
    songs into midnight skies

    1. Dragon’s breath–love that! Could fit in with the Progressive Poem Irene Latham’s hosting!

        1. No, you have to sign up in March. You can see the schedule/links in the right sidebar where it says 2017 Progressive Poem…I was just commenting that your poem fits the tone of what’s going on:)

  8. The End of The Movie and I Shriek

    The witch bares
    bony fingers,
    wet flesh like eels,
    clawing its way out of earth

    -Pamela Ross

      1. Thanks, Laura. I just wrote what I felt when I saw what I saw.

        This is a great writing motivator for me. I don’t think about my words or rarely edit unless I am a tad over the 15-word limit.

        Thank you. You are a light in the dark. xoxo

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