Roller Coaster [15 Words or Less]

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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.  Thank you for all your delightful poems and comments last week! Though I couldn’t respond, it was fun to see your words and also see your lovely support of each other.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband, younger daughter, and I went to Valleyfair, our local theme park. I rode roller coasters until my stomach couldn’t take it anymore. Even after that, I had fun watching other people ride! Here’s the Corkscrew!

Photo: Laura P. Salas

This image makes me think of several things:

  1. when our days feel like we do the same thing over and over again
  2. slipping on ice
  3. a hamster on a wheel

And here’s my first draft. Due to the death of my laptop last week, I can’t do the image like I usually do.

Spinning Hamster

A blur of fur
and tiny feet

A wheel where
speed and joy
meet

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved

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

 

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29 Responses

  1. Upside
    WOW!
    fun
    good
    tummy tingling
    ride — until
    I can’t take any more
    Down

  2. Life’s a
    loop-de-loop
    hit the ground
    spin around
    roller coaster–
    Won’t you ride with me?

    1. Aw, what a sweet and unexpected last line, Margaret! A roller coaster love poem!

  3. Good morning one and all. Laura, you are one courageous lady. I rode the “Scream Machine” once at Six Flags Over Georgia when my kids were teens, and vowed never more. Looking at the pic has etched a song into my brain that I know will stay with me for the entire day. Your poem is so sweet. Been there done that!

    Here We Go Loopty Loo

    Harmless
    think cursive “L,”
    then round and round
    upside down
    I’ll not live to tell!

    1. Heehee–Ihave had that thought of the last line. Love the visual of the cursive L!

  4. This picture made me think of cursive writing and the countless practice sheets I did as a kid.

    Learning Cursive

    Loops and lines
    Across the page
    Wondering…
    When will I write
    Real words?

    1. Rose, love the fact that you also thought “cursive.” I’m a lefty and my version of cursive was never up to par! ????

    2. lovely, rose. It’s so hard to be patient when learning the building blocks. Like learning scales on a piano and all you want to do is learn a real song:)

  5. I love that that picture led to that cute little hamster poem.

    Two roads diverged—
    I got lost, took wild turns,
    saw the world upside down,
    arrived.

    1. Liz, I love this. I feel like this is how many of them days ago. And also my writing projects!

    1. You captured all the things I like about a state fair. Now if I could just get rid of crowds, I would actually go. Our state fair has been setting attendance records up something like a hundred and fifty thousand people a day. No thank you!

      1. These days, I’m with you, Laura!! I haven’t been to a fair in years, but when I lived in MPLS right after college, we enjoyed going.

    2. It used to be Yay! Now, I like to watch others go and have a good time.

  6. I am a smoosh-all-the-words together 15-wol cheat today! Sorry about that. You are much braver than moi, Laura. I wrote about the only roller coaster I ride.

    My Writing Process

    Tingling excitement–
    a fresh idea!

    Roller-coaster ride of
    lovehatelovehatelovehate
    scratchchangescratchchange

    words on a page.

    1. We all have our cheat days, Buffy! I do like the way this captures that Rush of a new draft!

    2. ha! I kinda like the lovehate repetition.…it’s my feeling about coasters!

  7. Well, now. Thanks for posting about this Laura. I need a little break in my Thursday routine. Thanks! So here’s mine:

    Whoa!

    Side-out in
    loop drop
    flip curl
    sick stop
    stop drop
    I said STOP!

    1. This captures how I felt about eight rides in! I really like how in the moment it feels:)

  8. I sent this yesterday, but still don’t see it up, so I’ll try it again.

    Toddler’s Plan

    I’ll go this way.
    You go that.
    We’ll twist Mom till
    she falls flat.

    1. This one did not come through yesterday, Cindy, so I’m glad you reposted. I always knew those toddlers had an evil plan–haha!

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