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Photo: Laura Purdie Salas
 
Good morning, everyone! Look at this tiny door into this tree. What does it remind you of? The way you read in the closet when you were a kid? Woodpeckers? Gnomes? Raccoons? Magic worlds of miniature beings? Camping trips? Carving your initials in a heart on a tree when you were a teen (or maybe last week?)?

If you'd like to play, just choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo. The picture is just a jumping-off point. Leave your poem in a comment, and I'll repost it tomorrow!

Please remember to put your byline after your poem--thanks!

 


Photo: Laura Purdie Salas
 
Thank you, Susan Taylor Brown, for hosting last week. I was happy to do my school visits knowing 15 Words or Less was in such good hands!

So, I was walking Captain Jack by the lake Wednesday, and there was this snowkiter breezing around the lake. He (she?) was so graceful and peaceful, as if he were in an entirely different world from the cars roaring by on the freeway behind. Of course, maybe it didn't feel that peaceful up close. The wind was roaring in my ears, and I wasn't moving nearly as fast as he was! But still, the idea of capturing the wind 80 feet overhead and having it pull you along must be amazing. I'd love to try that.

Anyway, what does this picture bring to mind for you? The time your brand new kite got eaten by a tree (which happened to my husband just a few years ago)? How it felt to waterski across a Florida lake, skimming across the surface of a foreign body--until you were dropped right into it? The tugging/dancing/effortless feeling of first love? Playing parachute games in gym class, huddling inside nylon wind blowing around you? If you'd like to play, just choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo. Here are yesterday's poems! Some really great metaphors this week!



FIRST FLIGHT

Run!
Bounce, bounce.
No lift!
Add a tail.
Trim the tail!
Once again...
Go!
Whooa-oa-oa!

 


Photo: Laura Purdie Salas
 
Thank you, Susan Taylor Brown, for hosting last week. I was happy to do my school visits knowing 15 Words or Less was in such good hands!

So, I was walking Captain Jack by the lake yesterday, and there was this snowkiter breezing around the lake. He (she?) was so graceful and peaceful, as if he were in an entirely different world from the cars roaring by on the freeway behind. Of course, maybe it didn't feel that peaceful up close. The wind was roaring in my ears, and I wasn't moving nearly as fast as he was! But still, the idea of capturing the wind 80 feet overhead and having it pull you along must be amazing. I'd love to try that.

Anyway, what does this picture bring to mind for you? The time your brand new kite got eaten by a tree (which happened to my husband just a few years ago)? How it felt to waterski across a Florida lake, skimming across the surface of a foreign body--until you were dropped right into it? The tugging/dancing/effortless feeling of first love? Playing parachute games in gym class, huddling inside nylon wind blowing around you? If you'd like to play, just choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo. The picture is just a jumping-off point. Leave your poem in a comment, and I'll repost it tomorrow!

Please remember to put your byline after your poem--thanks!

 

...can be found at Susan Taylor Brown's blog, Susan Writes. I'm out of town doing school visits, and Susan has enthusiastically agreed to host this week's 15 Words or Less fun. Thanks so much, Susan! 

 


Photo: Don't know--found this image all over the web, but can't find the photographer

OK, nothing creepier than an abandoned theme park. This is from an abandoned theme park in the town of Pripyat. It was set to open, and then the Chernobyl reactor disaster happened. What does this image make you think of? The first scary movie you saw? Your daughter's 4th birthday party at Circus Pizza where she cried and hid from the singing clown the entire time? The rusty Toyota Corolla you worked two years at Burger King to buy? If you'd like to play, just choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo. The picture is just a jumping-off point. Here are yesterday's poems--boy, we are not big fans of clowns, are we?



FunLand

The happy gate
to your dreams of excessive pleasure.
Wait.
Don't leave.
See my smile?

--Pat Schmatz

He may be old--
skin flaking
hat askew
hands trembling
but never
without a smile.

--Diane Mayr

He still smiles

Remnant of destruction
Still smiles
Hope never gives way
To pessimism

--Jeeves

Apparently,
The Abyss takes many forms,
Some hard to predict.

--Lydia

Too bad
So sad
All grown up
Dad
Be calm
Sing psalm
I’m pregnant
Mom

--Kelsey

Sometimes
Clowns
Can be
Down
Right
Scary!

--Dara Dokas

Birthday!

Billy's party was a blast!
When Mom came, though,
she was aghast.

--Cindyb

Rampage

Bloodthirsty tears
rain from abandoned hills.
A smile escapes, exemplifying
the likelihood of another rampage.

--ofirasephiroth.blogspot.com

The Clown

I should like him
But I don’t.
Glad to see him
On the ground broken-down.

--Judy

Hard Times

The carnival arrives,
children swarm
carnival leaves town
This time,
The town left the carnival

--Rick Wainright

Clown Graveyard

Ancient shrines neglected,
castrated by new pantheons,
without money changers the flock disperses.

--stu pidasso

hurry, spring!

metal monster
waits for
promised beauty

nature doesn't care
who comes to visit

--Susan Taylor Brown

if a clown
falls
in the wasteland
will anyone laugh?

--Kathy Q.
wordsrmylife

mushroom
clown
crumbling
down
to rust,
why wait
for weeds
to inherit the earth?

--Kathy Q.
wordsrmylife

hidden behind
my painted smile,
frowns,
searching for happiness.

--Marianne H. Nielsen

Revisions

Said the caterpillar
to Alice,
I have improooved the poem...
Don't you like it
better?

--Diane M. Davis

Rollercoaster Corpse Found In Local Wood

20th century humans
had not yet distinguished between
fun and fear.
Little has changed.

--John Mutford

Roller Coaster's Last Ride Into the Sunset
..........
"Not! Yet!"
..........

Laughter, screaming,
urine, sweat,
vomit, gas, Jim's cigarette
Now they ride the... internet

--Pamela Ross

Who Could Trust a Face Like That?

Face somewhat resembles joy 

Bad nose job,
Botoxed forehead,
Mad grin

Do not convince me

--Laura Purdie Salas

 


Photo: Don't know--found this image all over the web, but can't find the photographer

OK, nothing creepier than an abandoned theme park. Some of you may already know where this is, but I'm not going to say until tomorrow, so it doesn't overly influence your poems!  What does this image make you think of? The first scary movie you saw? Your daughter's 4th birthday party at Circus Pizza where she cried and hid from the singing clown the entire time? The rusty Toyota Corolla you worked two years at Burger King to buy? If you'd like to play, just choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo. The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun with it!  

Don't forget to put your byline after your poem, please! Thanks:>)

 


Photo: Laura Purdie Salas

I've watched this cleared off little hockey rink come and go over the winter as snow covers it or -30 temps leave it bare. But next time I walk Jack by the lake, the rink is always back, with this little bench. What does this image make you think of? A party nobody came to? Scary branches clawing at your window? The flashing of a hockey stick? If you'd like to play, just choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo. The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun with it!  

Don't forget to put your byline after your poem, please! Thanks:>)

 


Photo: Richard Mushet

 

This photo of a racer is so clear it almost looks like he's not moving! What does it make you think of? Matchbox cars? The horrible road rash on your leg when you got a skateboard for Christmas (not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything)? The last time you went to the circus? If you'd like to play, just choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Here are yesterday's poems!


Slick, Smooth
motion covered in metal
camouflaged
among the tattoos
of the times.

--Diane M. Davis

TATTOO CREEP

A heart--
nearly inconspicuous.
A nightingale--
curlicued, exotic.
A lyric--
illuminated.
A dream--
openly endorsed.

--Diane Mayr

Need For Speed

Flesh and steel morphed
Oil and blood blended
At one with the machine
Exhilaration splendid

--Rick Wainright

Worth It?

Breeze fingers' caress
or
speed slap?
Exquisite whisper
or
vibratory roar?

Participation
or
power?

--Pat Schmatz

I drive the cars
But
It's tough,
The wheels don't work well on carpet.

--Lydia

Advertisements

Words
fill up space
in every possible place.
Fill my brain,
attempt to train
me.

--Cindy Breedlove

Along for the ride

The writer clung tight,
as his vehicle accelerated,
carrying him places
we can only imagine.

--stu pidasso
@Mudville Musings

On the Edge

Protected,
Living
on the edge
of life,
Or,
Is it the
edge of
Death?

--Marianne H. Nielsen

A Modern Knight

Helmet blazoned,
fiberglass-sheathed,
stretched low on his steed--
living for speed.

--Jennifer Knoblock

VA VA VROOM

I am trying.
Colors flying.

Wheels turning.
Rubber burning.

Barely hearing
Crowd cheering.

Mind spinning.
I am winning!

--Kelly Polark

Balance

Speed
Timing
Concentration
Rainbow streaks
Around the track.
A winner on wheels.

--Penny McGinnis

Labels lean
Towards your identity;
Not mine.

--Dorothy at http://fieldstonecottage.blogspot.com/

shift weight
shift gear
keep focus
keep breathing
stay on board
stay the course
win!

--sister AE
http://havingwrit.blogspot.com

Human Race

weveleanedagainstthecurve
smelledhotgranite
180mphandweveforgottenwhy

--john mutford

going fast
going fine
faster faster
finish line

it's gonna hurt
when I fall

--Susan Taylor Brown

The Voice in my Head I Hope You Can't Hear

"Slow down,
kid.
Life in the fast lane
speeds past
all the good stuff.
Stop."

--Pamela Ross

Coat for Sale

cheetah swallows up
savannah miles,
chasing endorsements--
National Geographic?
Animal Planet?

survival depends
on danger

--Laura Purdie Salas

 



Photo: siilur at morguefile.com

With wind chill, it's 37 degrees below zero right now here in Minneapolis. Yes, 37 below. The kids were hoping for a cold day (instead of a snow day), but no schools are canceled.

Anyway, I wanted an image that made me feel the cold. What does this make you think of? Caves? Niagra Falls? A root beer float? The time you went whitewater rafting? If you'd like to play, just choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun with it!  

Don't forget to put your byline after your poem, please! Thanks:>)

 



Photo: F.P. Laussy (Wikimedia Commons)

Wow--what a bizarre image! What does it make you think of? Art? Our hidden selves (the old Billy Joel song "The Stranger" comes to mind)? Transformation? You can focus on just the sculpture, just the woman, or both. Choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun!  

(Don't forget to put your byline after your poem, please! You guys did great at this last week, and it made it easier to post the poems--thanks!)

 


Photo: jppi at Morguefile.com

Choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Does it make you think of slavery, construction work, marriage, riding your bike? Your poem doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point.

Here are the very first 15 Words or Less poems of 2009!


INSIDE BLUES

Frozen toes
not so pretty.
Sunshine
too far away.
Going barefoot
sadly waits
for spring.

--Susan Taylor Brown

SWINGING TO HEAVEN

Tipped far
back
my eye
slowly
travels
the nearly
infinite
length
link
by link
by...

--Diane Mayr

Success!

As sugar levels drop,
chains fall away
and I
breath a sigh
of relief.

--diane m davis

Jacob's Ladder
by Kelly R. Fineman

No rickety ladder this.
Every rung, higher, higher
Strong as steel
linking heaven to earth.

No looking back.
Hand over hand
haul yourself up.
I'm right behind you.

--Kathy Q.
wordsrmylife

How far?

Outer limit
bound by DNA
Actual length determined
by execution of
sterrrrrrrrrr-ETCH
day by day.

--Pat Schmatz

Don't set your feet
in rocks and stone,
but pull up anchor
and sail toward home.

--Tricia (The Miss Rumphius Effect)

Chains

Chains can shackle
Confine and restrain
But cannot tether my will
or hobble my brain

--Rick Wainright

One chain at a time
How long?
How far?
To the last link...

--Marianne H. Nielsen

Would You Like to Swing on a Star?

My fingers feel
the burn of wind,
Feet flying,
swinging,
kicking,
higher,
leaving earth behind

--Pamela Ross





Steel Thunder

It rides the sky,
loud and heavy:
scraping clouds,
rattling rain,
rolling summer
afternoon away

--Laura Purdie Salas
 

 




Last week, our family was in the Holidazzle Parade. We've been doing it for several years, and it's always fun. This year, as we rode the city bus from the end of the parade route back to the staging area, we had a special guest on our bus: Santa Claus!

Choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Don't feel hamstrung by the holiday aspect of it. Your poem could relate to buses, parades, the holidays or anything you think of! It doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Here are the poems from yesterday!




Quilted snow cover
Muffles jingle jangle chaos
Grants
Hush
Solitude
Dreams in the deep dark.

--Pat Schmatz

Tough Economic Times

Sleigh and reindeer...repossessed
Public transportation
Somebody give up your seat
He's older than creation

--Rick Wainright

Even a Poor Toymaker is Entitled to Some Happiness!

I've been around the world
I've done my job
My feet hurt
Can Santa sob?

--Pamela Ross

 




I don't know if anyone's reading blogs this morning, but I don't want to let down any regulars who are! So...

Last week, our family was in the Holidazzle Parade. We've been doing it for several years, and it's always fun. This year, as we rode the city bus from the end of the parade route back to the staging area, we had a special guest on our bus: Santa Claus!

Choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Don't feel hamstrung by the holiday aspect of it. Your poem could relate to buses, parades, the holidays or anything you think of! It doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun! 

Please put your byline, however you would like it, after your poem. Thanks! And Merry Christmas! 

 



Photo: Clarita at Morguefile.com

I took several pictures this week to choose from for today's 15 Words or Less, but now my camera and my laptop are not playing nicely together! So, inspired by a writer friend's comment yesterday about a holiday flight, I decided this morning to do an airplane picture. What feelings/thoughts does this image evoke? Fear of flying? Thoughts of family vacations when you were little? Overcrowding in classrooms? (Hey, we all think different things when we look at images:>)

Choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. You can write it as a children's poem, an adult poem, or just a poem with no regard for audience. Remember, it doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. Here are yesterday's high-flying poems:


AIRLINE PASSENGER

legs
arms
elbows
knees
don't fit
must sit!
seatmate's a twit
at my wit's
end

--Diane

I try not to think
That a big hunk of metal
Shouldn't really fly.

--Lydia

 




It's December already (gulp), my big sister's coming to visit today, and yesterday was a bloodbath in the children's publishing world. All of these give me a sense of time speeding by or time running out in some way. So I picked an hourglass image from morguefile.com to show you today.

What does this image remind YOU of? Your tropical fishtank? Baking cookies? Aging?

Choose any topic this image makes come to your mind and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. You can write it as a children's poem, an adult poem, or just a poem with no regard for audience. Remember, it doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun! 

Please put your byline, however you would like it, after your poem. Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'd like to say I'm thankful for my laptop, but lately I'm not. It's infected. I am thankful for my personal IT help desk, aka my husband Randy, who's working on the lengthy process of getting this baby un-infected. Sigh.

So...no time to post...can't get to any of my photos, either.

If you'd like to share a non-photo-inspired poem of 15 Words or Less, please feel free. I don't know that I'll be able to round them up into a new post for tomorrow, but I will read them in the comments.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Look around the room, pick an object, and write a 15 Words or Less poem inspired by that object.

OK, gotta run start dinner!

 



What does this POW-MIA flag remind you of? A relative or friend who's in the military? A long ago love who is out of your life but not forgotten? Your feelings on the recent election? A pirate flag?  Choose any topic that this puts into your head and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Remember, it doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun! 

Please put your byline, however you would like it, after your poem. Thanks!

 



What do these iron gates remind you of? A haunted house? Trick-or-treating? Or maybe the colorful sunrise makes you think of something? Choose any topic that this puts into your head and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Remember, it doesn't have to describe this photo (though it can if you want). The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun! 

Please put your byline, however you would like it, after your poem. Thanks!

 



Photo courtesy of morguefile.com.

So, what do these stars remind you of? The first time you got away from the city and were amazed by the night sky? Or the first time you went to the city and the stars disappeared? Watching a space shuttle night launch? Walking around the lake with your first boyfriend? The plight of poor Pluto? Go with whatever strikes you and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Remember, it doesn't have to describe this photo. The picture is just a jumping-off point. Here are yesterday's starry poems!




I stare
Into space
so hard
I think I can see
The future.

--Lydia

Infinite.

Timeless, boundless,
Unconstrained.
Vast and ever reaching.
Infinite in His power to save.

--Kim from Hiraeth 

WISH

Oh, to be
as unburdened as
our ancestors--
able
to recognize
changes
in the stars.

--Diane Mayr

His revelation in creation;
Eternal, omnipotent, compassionate and just.
Sovereign
The Light of the world.

--Dorothy at http://fieldstonecottage.blogspot.com/

dot-to-dot across the universe
ideas scurry
while I wait
impatiently
for one to find me

--Susan Taylor Brown

Each glimmer
crossed years
to touch me.
Perhaps my light
still
has time
to shine.

--diane m. davis

Talking to Myself

Into the night
I call
for answers
and prayers
But
silence
is all I hear

--Pamela Ross

Embraced

on dark nights
when my own light dims
I lie among brilliant stars--
delightful sky-meadow

--Laura Purdie Salas

 

Wow. Thank you so much for all the wonderful birthday wishes yesterday. I felt like I had won the best award ever. I had two meetings to go to yesterday, one not so bad, but one at my daughter's school that I was dreading.  Your funny, surprising, lovely poems scattered throughout the day made me feel ready to face anything...and the meeting went extraordinarily well...better than my husband and I could have hoped.

Susan Taylor Brown at susanwrites, you are such a sweetie with a gift for friendship. Honestly, I can barely keep up with my family members' birthdays! Thank you for sending your readers over to give me such a great wishes.

My blogging lately has been rushed, and I haven't had much time for reading blogs and connecting with others. I miss it. I'll be turning in my last book of the four due this week either today or tomorrow. Then I hope things will settle down to their normal level of chaos, and I can start catching up.




Photo courtesy of morguefile.com.

I wrote my own 15 Words or Less poem last night to sum up how I feel about the kidlitosphere:

Embraced

on dark nights
when my own light dims
I lie among brilliant stars--
delightful sky-meadow

--Laura Purdie Salas

So, what do these stars remind you of? The first time you got away from the city and were amazed by the night sky? Or the first time you went to the city and the stars disappeared? Watching a space shuttle night launch? Walking around the lake with your first boyfriend? The plight of poor Pluto? Go with whatever strikes you and  write a quick 15 Words or Less poem. Remember, it doesn't have to describe this photo. The picture is just a jumping-off point. If you've never played before, check out the guidelines in the sidebar. Leave your poem in a comment and I'll include it in my post of poems tomorrow. Have fun! And thanks again.

Please put your byline, however you would like it, after your poem. Thanks!

P.S. If you remember my delirium over sticky toffee pudding and Diet Irn-Bru, both of which I discovered in Scotland last spring, you'll know how much I enjoyed having both yesterday. Randy made the cake and he ordered the soda from an import company!