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.
Maddie took this photo in Dublin, at the Trinity College Library. Though it’s not immediately obvious due to the filter I put on it, those walls are made of books, basically. This image makes me think of several things:
- A whole world made of books!
- Instead of living in a shoe, the old lady should have lived in a book
- Wouldn’t it be lovely to just live in a library?
And here’s my first draft. My first draft of this parody of “The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe” was 21 words, so I had quite a lot of cutting to do. Whew!
It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count–thank goodness!)
Note: I am mostly offline this week and won’t be able to respond to your poems. Happy back to school week, and I’ll be back next week!
42 Responses
Oh, this is a fun one! I’ll bet the boy in your poem sleeps well and happy. And, with Ireland.….there the faeries, pixies and leprechauns about. I kinda do live in a library. And, I love it. Hundreds of books have been checked out this week. The twelve copies of graphic novel Sisters.…all checked out an there is a list of kids who have put it on hold. Life is good when surrounded by books. Here’s my little poem. I couldn’t help but turn it into a riddle.
Faerie gold
cannot match
my treasure hold
books, books
stories high
riches tenfold
Where am I?
I know! I know!
So much fun Linda; yes you cannot think of Ireland without all their rich folklore.
this is wonderful
Linda, my hat is off to librarians everywhere. I was a volunteer at one of our branch libraries for 8 years. Never a dull moment, some difficult, most rewarding. Loved your poem.
Love your poem, Laura! (Especially your long title! Great way around word count!)
WALL MADE OF BOOKS
I’d read a book
but if I took
one down to look-
Gobbledygook!
LOL!
I just LOL’d as well with that Gobbledygook line. Fantastic!
an fun take on todays pic lol
Cindy, any wall of books is a delight, even with “gobbledygook,” Love it!
Morning stretch
Fingertips lazily brushing spines
Waking up
to a different kind of dream
Your first two lines are lovely.
Very nice Amelia, how wonderful it would be to wake up there.
I like that you saw this as a dream
Amelia, I would love to awaken to your dream every day.
The bust drew me in. It’s pallor, lack of arms and legs. This world of books is not attainable. And then it made me think of small children — in the same condition if no one reads to them how are they different from this bust.
Can’t Even Use the Ladder
Incomplete
I cannot reach
What I seek
Key to rosy cheek;
Read to me.
by Donna JT Smith
I like your 4th line- what an important key!
So true and insightful Donna!
I like how used a kids point of view of not beabele to reach the top sheaf
Donna, I like your inclusion of the bust. Lovely!
Good morning Laura. Love the pic, love your poem. Perfection! Grinned at Cindy’s comment about the title. It works! We tell our kids over and over that our books are their inheritance. I also have a small framed print of “The Bookworm” by Carl Spitzweg, German painter & poet, thus my verse.
The Library Ladder
Reading
rung by rung
stairway to the unknown
books await
seeds yet to be sown.
So true- books can open the world.
I enjoyed your poem especially “seeds yet to be sown” so much hope.
Loved “stairway to the unknown”. That’s how I felt as a child — and even now — in the library.
Thanks Donna. I hate having to purge our personal library but it’s necessary in order to keep bringing books in. I feel at peace when surrounded by my books and I just hope that those we donate are affording peace wherever they end up.
I like how yo mad the ladder into rungs of knowledge
I’ve had relatives in this library and have taken pictures of it…it’s magnificent! And I love books, so this was a great one for me. 🙂
Books
Books
Books galore!
Wall to wall
Ceiling to floor!
Wander no more…
my nook.
by: Michaela Hawley
I would love to have a nook in that library! I haven’t been to Ireland yet, but when I go this will definitely be on my list of places to visit.
I have heard of another magnificent library in Spain, too, that sounds just as magnificent!
wonderful love how you included nook
Love this! The library was a wonderful place for me growing up.
Wow Laura that’s one lucky child! I loved your poem. What a stunning library, it’s so grand and glorious. It reminds me of the great cathedrals of Europe, hence the inspiration for my poem.
Heaven Bound
The stairway to heaven,
bastioned by the Holy Trinity
was lined in tales of gold.
love tales of gold
Treasure Hunt at the Library
Pirate ships,
Martian trips,
Butterflies,
Evil spies,
Earthquakes,
Storms,
Locust swarms–
Hiding in a book!
love the rhythm in your poem
This is great Buffy. Rhyme is perfect.
sorry I’m over word limit today Laura Hope your Dad and sister will be okay in the storm
Will not budge
not an inch
till I’ve read ever line
beneath ever cover
upon ever shelf
sad the book
worm too
the librarian
but we close
in a hour
Your surprise ending is very good Jessica.
Having just been through Harvey, I feel for Laura’s family too. I love the voice of your bookworm, Jessica, not wanting to budge until all is read, but only having an hour.
OMG I spelled my name wrong. Can you tell my brain is fried? OOPS
I just drool when I see pictures like this. And I loved your poem, Laura. I would love to live in a library!
With the impending hurricane, the picture reminded me of all the libraries that got flooded during Harvey. And then I got to thinking of reading fish and came up with this ditty.
There was a snook
In the brook
Who had a nook
For his book
cute rhyme