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.
We went to the Maple Grove Chalk Art Festival again this summer, and we were amazed as usual. The art pieces getting the most attention were the 3‑D ones. Well, faux 3‑D. This turtle and other toys are chalk paintings flat on the ground, same as the ones you see in the background. The difference is that they are painted using a very specific perspective, so that if you stand in JUST the right spot, it looks like they’re rising up off the pavement. Incredible. Here’s my husband Randy kneeling right in the center of the painting by Anat Ronen.
This image makes me think of several things:
- Toy Story (of course!)
- mood lighting
- a toy takeover of the world
And here’s my first draft.
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)
30 Responses
Laura, that poem is perfect! I love how it gets bigger and bigger like an imagination does. Well done! This picture drew out my playful side.…I’m teasing with words. Fun prompt!
Chalk flat
like mat
sat
like a cat
cat alike
sat
mat-like
flat chalk
It can be fun to play with simple words as kind of little blocks of sound and meaning and arrange them like a tangram puzzle!
Is your poem a reverso? I love how it reads backwards and forwards. Very clever.
Laura, I love your poem and its playful interaction with the world. The picture blows my mind! Here’s my response:
One simple step
a shift in perspective
can transform
your world
from mundane
to magical
©M. Hogan, 2018
I think this could benefit from a title, but I’m pressed for time this morning, and it’s not coming to me! Happy to be playing along today 🙂
mundane to magical.….that’s the ticket!
Molly Beth, I especially like your first two and last two lines. The alliteration and the rhythms… And the art is indeed mind-blowing. It’s more evident in photos but even just standing there live, it’s hard to believe that the chalk paintings are flat.
Laura, love the role imagination has in the life of a child. Your poem brings that out.
WISHFUL THINKING
Toys, arise!
Keep my child amused.
Don’t let the Ipad
get him enthused.
It’s so funny, Cindy, because part of me says yes, exactly. Of course, Another Part of Me is walking along outside on a beautiful morning replying to blog comments on my phone. and when I was a kid, my parents been my loans that my face was always in a book instead of outside playing or playing with real physical toys. So I can kind of see this issue from lots of different perspectives. Love your rhyme!
Play things escape asphalt,
Searching for perspective,
Moving beyond their depth,
Exploring new dimensions.
I feel like there’s a whole parable in here, Matt! For life and for writing.
LOVE yours, Laura. An acrostic came to mind today.
Toiling
Over words
Yields
Stories.
At least it sometimes does, when everything works right:)
oooooh. nice thinking and writing.
Laura I just love the 3‑D chalkboard art. I’ve only seen them in pictures, and can only imagine how cool it must be to see it up close. I love how you poem reminds us that toys don’t necessarily have to be bought. Jumping in leaves was one of the things I loved to do as a kid in the fall. Your husband is such a strong image in that photo, and prompted my poem.
Human or toy?
Man or boy?
Chalkboard decoy.
Imaginative joy!
I love this pondering over whether he is real or imagination. Thank goodness, he is very real:)
Great response! I love how you focused on Laura’s husband and took your response in that direction.
This is just the kind of visual mind-bending experience that prompts the wonders of the world!
My thoughts turned ran along the playful games line:
Your Turn
Dip, zip, dart and flip,
Kite and starling morning flight
Wind as game spinner
Yes! I love how flight is seen as a game here. Birds always look like they’re having so much fun (well except for when they are involved in hunting or being hunted). You capture a really playful feeling here.
I love the playfulness in your poems last line Laura, wonderful mind-boggling image too!
ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
Toylicious turtle,
fruit-loopy choo choo,
longing Mr. Lego…
Illusions of
grandeur
come to
life
This is so fun to say allowed, Michelle! Toylicious is my favorite new word:)
I’ve seen photos of a similar show in Ann Arbor–looks amazing. My mind went back to my kids chalk days, which needed a little more imagination to see their brilliance!
Sidewalk Artists
Lopsided circles,
zigzagging lines,
Kaleidoscope gardens,
Squiggles that twine
Chalk in our hands…
Homegrown designs.
Love this, Buffy! Such unusual words–really vivid:)
Love “squiggles that twine” and reading this aloud!
poem By Jessica Bigi
this bic mad me lol 🙂
as we grow we older
so I decides to grow smaller
each year and stay young
this pic
poem by Jessica Bigi
this pic made me lol 🙂
As we grow
We get older
So I deiced to
grow smaller
and stay young
Haha, if only we could just decide it that easily. I like that line of growing smaller. Makes me think of looking at things closely and through a child’s point of view, even if we aren’t literally growing younger.
A bit late. Again you hit it out of the park with your poem. Thinking of all in the storm’s path. Drove to GA from NC this morning hoping to catch a flight to Chicago for our grandson’s wedding.
Boy Becomes Man
Ever the boy
happy he’ll be
sharing a toy
with wee one
on his knee.
Oh, I love that opening line. Kids do keep us young don’t they? Hope you made a flight, Martha! Stay safe!
Great portrait poem!