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Where is this swing? Who was swinging? What did it feel like? What's the temperature? What did the person leave to do? What is the swing thinking? Pick any thought this image inspires in you and write a 15 Words or Less poem. Here are yesterday's poems. They're so full of motion and energy! All day yesterday, LiveJournal was apparently having problems, and I was thinking, Wow, what a quiet day. Nobody's commenting. Turns out you were...I just wasn't getting notified! So I read these all as a batch, and they made me feel like I could go out and do anything!




The squeeee clank
of the empty swing,
while she waits
and waits
for a friend.

---Diane Mayr

Wind rests upon my seat
Waves to the rippled surf
Waiting...

---Marianne H. Nielsen

Creaking, Speaking

twisting chains
creak out spring’s
waking welcome

---Laura Purdie Salas

Transportation

to jump off
properly,
turn the swing
to face
the further shore.

Pump, pump, JUMP!

---Kim from Hiraeth

To the Swing:

Help me
fly-
so that I can hide
inside
those purple-yellow
clouds,
forever.

---Diane Davis

In the Land of Make Believe

Swing high,
Sweet chariot
Carry me to places
Not home.

---AND---

Seize

At the line

Where life meets mystery,

With eyes wide shut,

Jump.

---both by Robin Pensieve

Cloudy thoughts threaten,
Rain ahead?
Swing quietly,
Slowly,
Stop
And walk away.

---Dorothy from Field Stone Cottage

Empty swing
Swaying back and forth
Carrying memories
Of what's been lost.

---Marsha
http://justme1947.blogspot.com/

Swings can carry you
High enough to dream
Then bring you back
To realize them.

---Marsha
http://justme1947.blogspot.com/

Seaside Swing

Wishes
fly from the toes
and skip
across the ocean.

---John Mutford

Undefeated

Scrumptious sand stuffs,
choking child's chops;
dissatisfied with distance,
child contemplates, contriving
future, faraway fulfillment.

---http://noahthegreat.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/undefeated/

Up and Under

Swing high
as the spring
buds on tree
branches, but watch
out for mud
underneath!

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

break of the morning
pink begins
a peaceful promise
for a busy day
quiet time

---amandzing.wordpress.com

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I love trees, and though as a kid I thought they were boring in winter, now I see all sorts of neat things in their sculptural look once the leaves are gone and the birds have flown (nod to Gordon Lightfoot here).

What does it make you think of? Death? The imminent arrival of new life? Sledding? Swinging? Spring? Pick any thought sparked by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. It doesn't have to actually describe the image, though it can if you like!

Just take a few minutes and write a poem, even if you don't consider yourself a poet! Put your poem in a comment, and I'll post it tomorrow! (If you've never played before, see the 15 Words or Less sidebar for guidelines.) Thanks for playing.

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Yes, no, maybe?  

Pick any thought sparked by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. It doesn't have to actually describe the image. Maybe it'll be about a hard decision to make. Or a cool car you saw yesterday. Or the weeping willow down the road.

Just take a few minutes and let your mind roam -- it's just for fun! Here are the poems from yesterday! Thanks for playing. 

Why Did I Think I Should Learn Web Design?

After hours spent
with charts of
browser safe colors,
traffic light
FF0000 ffcc33 00FF66

--Diane Mayr

Mist at the Crossroads

Stop or go?
Blinking into the mist;
Drenched by degrees
I debate.

--Kim from Hiraeth

mixed signals

yes means no
stop means go
common sense
drowns in the fog

--paisley

Don't walk, run.
Hurry, slow down.
Whatever you do,
hold hands. Streets
can be dangerous.

--Kelly R. Fineman

Green means go
go go go
but take my hand, be careful.
slow. slow. slow.

--Deb Marshall

Hurry!

Go! It's green!
Why hesitate?
Move along quickly
I'm running late!

--http://justme1947.blogspot.com/2008/02/hurry.html

Stop or go?
Will you say yes?
Will you say no?
Let the wind blow.

--Catherine Ipcizade

A light, a hand...
What will you choose?
If you say STOP,
What will you lose?

--Catherine Ipcizade

Love Advice

Go as slow
as your heart
can handle.
Children
bind you
forever.

--Diane Davis

Red-Handed

"HONK! HONK!"
No, I DON'T need new specs
You just caught me writing a text.

--Steve, www.lostmyplace.com

Some think it's merely suggestion
Which greatly disrupts my digestion
And causes mass-traffic congestion!

--Robin Pensieve

Red says "Stop!" Green says "Go!"
Yellow shouts a loud "OH NOOOOO!!

--Robin Pensieve

Signs of time, signs of life
Yielding order, causing strife
Quietly, give direction
Keeping safe each intersection.

--Robin Pensieve

Hand Of Time

Hand of time
Youthful freedom; moving
Adulthood, maturity; caution
Golden years reflecting; stillness

Go wheels, stop feet
that's how we got into trouble
in the first place,
but talking to the hand
will get us nowhere.
It's time to get our feet in gear.

--Kathy Q.

Traffic Light

green
safe, go
watching, protecting, allowing
permission, saunter, accelerate, target
scrambling, scanning, scolding
vulnerable, danger,
red

--Marianne H. Nielsen

To walk or not to walk?

That is the
Question indeed.

The sign says
Don't Walk

But the Light
Says go!

--copenator

Trapped

The air is full
of indecisions,
twisted dreams
entwined in visions
Fearing
choices
and
collisions

--Pamela Ross

 

 

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Yes, no, maybe?  

Pick any thought sparked by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. It doesn't have to actually describe the image. Maybe it'll be about a hard decision to make. Or a cool car you saw yesterday. Or the weeping willow down the road.

Just take a few minutes and let your mind roam -- it's just for fun! Put your poem in a comment, and I'll post it tomorrow! (If you've never played before, see the 15 Words or Less sidebar for guidelines.) Thanks for playing.

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Does the dining hall of every camp look pretty much the same? The ones I've seen seem to.

Does this bring back memories? What do you think those banners hanging over the windows say? What does lunch consist of? Who will be the kid sitting alone at dinner time?

Pick any thought inspired by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. Just spend a few minutes on it--this is just for fun! Here are yesterday's poems, to get you started! (If you've never played before, see the 15 Words or Less sidebar for guidelines.) 



First Grader's First Day

Defeated by a milk container
that wouldn't open
and a sixth grader's taunts.

--Diane Mayr


Facing the Challenge

It's better to eat with
someone
than alone, better to be
in any group
than none.

---Diane M. Davis


Highschool Cafeteria

We hung the windows
with multicoloured silks
to stop the mashed potatoes
from killing us.

---John Mutford


"Lights. Camera. Action!"

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Shoot! I just realized I haven't done this week's Poetry Stretch from the Miss Rumphius Effect yet! It's a photopoetry challenge this week--I love that!

When I first glanced at the picture, I thought those were pigs on the ground. I'm relieved to see that they're really yams. I decided to write a haiku about this evocative image:


Mirage

a small turquoise sea
ripples in the desert breeze

   oasis of cool

---Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved

Thanks, Tricia, for this fun (and short) challenge! I couldn't have done another roundel!

If you want to take part, it's not too late. Head on over, check out the image, and write your own poem to share. If you don't have a blog, I think you can just leave your poem in a comment!

 

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Does the dining hall of every camp look pretty much the same? The ones I've seen seem to.

Does this bring back memories? What do you think those banners hanging over the windows say? What does lunch consist of? Who will be the kid sitting alone at dinner time?

Pick any thought inspired by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. Just spend a few minutes on it--this is just for fun! Put your poem in a comment, and I'll post it tomorrow! (If you've never played before, see the 15 Words or Less sidebar for guidelines.)

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Have you ever seen a wind turbine? They are so cool! Here's one that's smack dab in the center of the retail area of our suburb. I love to watch its blades swoop and scoop as I'm driving around town.

What does the wind turbine remind you of? What sound do you think it makes? What does it feel like? What does it see from its perch overlooking the town. Please share with us! 

Pick any thought inspired by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. Take just a few minutes to write a first draft of this short poem, and put it in the comments. Here are yesterday's entries. I love these. What a terrific variety of comparisons and language and motion verbs! 


1928

Propeller engages.
The biplane inches forward...
Wingwalker pastes on her smile,
then climbs aboard.

---Diane Mayr

Wind Turbines ~ A metaphor for life?

Spinning wheel
Never ending
Drafted motion
Time expending.

---Robin Pensieve

turbine
quietly spinning and timeless
no worries or fears
calm becomes the turbine.

---acaligurl.blogspot.com

Al Gore's Dream.

Gas-less car; wind-driven instead.
Just watch for this sign: Low bridge ahead.

---Stephen, www.incompletethoughtsblog.com

Earth Matters

Tall white turbine,
slices deep blue sky.
Keeping the planet green,
shouldn't we all try?

---Hay

 

Blue and white water mountain stream,
Rushes over discarded litter.
Diesel fumes still need cleansing.

---Anonymous

newfangled approach
to old fashioned charm
harness the wind
pole dancing turbine

---paisley

Modular, kinetic sculpture
or environmental alternative?
Sometimes we never know
which way the winds
will blow.

---Diane M. Davis

Wind Turbines (2 poems)

A whoosh, a whirl
Blades slice through air,
Spinning invisible sparks

Pointed petals
Blossom on a stiff white stem--
Windflower

---Elaine Magliaro

WIND WATCH

Row!

So easy in the
breeze,
it seems
to stir air
in
electric dreams

Row!

---Pamela Ross

Energy, a Catch 22

Wind turbine,
providing warmth from the subzero blow,
winter bind.

---John Mutford

Turbine

My blades ask, " Y ? "
Y don't you use
more wind and
less oil?
Y ?

---Mary Lee (A Year of Reading)

Sailing

stationary

ship of the sky

great metallic sails

billow to gather

the wind

---Laura Purdie Salas 

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Have you ever seen a wind turbine? They are so cool! An energy company headquarters in our suburb has one outside its building, right in the middle of the retail area of town. I love to watch its blades swoop and scoop as I'm driving around town.

What does the wind turbine remind you of? What sound do you think it makes? What does it feel like? What does it see from its perch overlooking the town. Please share with us! 

Pick any thought inspired by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. Take just five minutes or less to write a first draft of this short poem, and put it in the comments. I love seeing the variety of images and moods we come up with. Have fun! (If you've never played before, see the 15 Words or Less sidebar for guidelines.)

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I love this glass Planet Earth paperweight and the window reflected into the curve of its side.

What does it remind you of? The fragility of our planet? The diamond stud earrings you borrowed from your big sister for prom night? The view from space? Playing jacks or marbles as a kid (or an adult)? Please share with us!  

Pick any aspect/idea indea inspired by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. Have fun with it! Take just five minutes or less to write a first draft of this short poem. See the sidebar links for guidelines, and here are yesterday's poems.


My alternate title is El-Shaddai...

Weight of the world
on shoulders rests,
lightened, uplifted
by Holy Hands.

---Robin  http://pensieve.typepad.com/pensieve/


ART CLASS

First graders
turned loose
to create art--
plasticene snakes
and near perfect
balls.

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I love this glass Planet Earth paperweight and the window reflected into the curve of its side.

What does it remind you of? The fragility of our planet? The diamond stud earrings you borrowed from your big sister for prom night? The view from space? Playing jacks or marbles as a kid (or an adult)? Please share with us!  

Pick any aspect/idea indea inspired by this image and write a 15 Words or Less poem. Have fun with it! Take just five minutes or less to write a first draft of this short poem. See the sidebar links for guidelines, and I'll post the first several poems left today in tomorrow's post.

Enjoy playing with words and worlds today!

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What does this make you think of? Beginnings? Endings? A scary movie? An invititation? Animals burrowing in snow? Homeless people suffering in frigid weather? A surprise? You tell me!

Pick any aspect/idea that this image makes you think of, and write a 15 Words or Less poem about it. Have fun with it! Take just five minutes or less to capture a moment in a few words. See the sidebar links for guidelines, and here are yesterday's poems (aren't they terrific?). We had a couple of new people join us yesterday, and I hope you will, too! Enjoy!


Snow Day

Just for today
I welcome the silence
of the squeaky gate
stuck in the snow.

---Diane Mayr

On Time

Open gate
Don’t be late
Never ever too late for your life
You’re already inside!

---Sally Rae Rogers

Squeeze through!
Darkness is creeping
Dinner is ready
Mom is waiting
Hurry up!

---Kim from Hiraeth

 

An insincere gesture:
Frozen in place;
Impossible to read
Foolish to approach.

---Kim from Hiraeth


Low tide
ebbing foam
flushes the gap,
opens the harbor.
I beach my boat--
Almost home.

---Liz Jones

We'll keep the gate open
and the door unlocked.
Come by
any time.

---Diane M. Davis

 
Come a little closer
and visit with me.
Let's sit inside and
have some tea.

---HipWriterMama (Vivian)

Hop,
hop,
hop.
Whiskered glance behind.
"So kind of you
to leave the gate
open."

---Fiona Bayrock

Ideas creep in
through a crack
in the vigilant planks
standing guard around my plot

---LindaBudz

Breaking and Entering

The slats stand guard
over house and hill
but snow reveals
whose
footprints
will...

appear

---Pamela Ross

Forever Hopeful

She left it,
gently ajar
inviting.
And she wondered,
would he come
to close it?

---Hay @ http://hippyhappyhay.wordpress.com/

Fence Fractions

A gate a quarter open,
a thought half uttered,
a poem three quarters finished,

---John Mutford

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OK, this picture would have looked better if I had remembered to take it a few days ago, when the snow was piled up higher, more noticeable forcing the gate into its stuck-open winter position. But there's still something I love about doors and gates...not to mention bunny tracks in the snow.

What does this make you think of? Beginnings? Endings? A scary movie? An invititation? Animals burrowing in snow? Homeless people suffering in frigid weather? A surprise? You tell me!

Pick any aspect/idea that this image makes you think of, and write a 15 Words or Less poem about it. Have fun with it! Take just five minutes or less to capture a moment in a few words. See the sidebar links for guidelines, and I'll post the first several poems left today in tomorrow's post.

Have fun with it!

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Here's this week's image, which I thought was so cool that I had to pull over to snap a quick picture. It looked like it was raining upward or something!

What do you think that mist smells like? Feels like as it slides through your fingers? Looks like if you're enveloped in it.

What's the mood? Does it remind you of any particular person, day, event? Pick any aspect/idea that this image makes you think of, and write a 15 Words or Less poem about it. Have fun with it! Take just five minutes or less to capture a moment in a few words. See the sidebar links for guidelines, and here are yesterday's poems.  


Patchwork sky,
Wondering why,
Wishing I could reach so high,
Settling for an awestruck sigh…

--- Fred Higgins

 
gold above the rain
gives even the atheist
pause...

--- Diane Mayr
 
 
Clouds of Maxfield Parish
shed colors
across the sky
where no brush can reach.

--- wordsrmylife

Ever see the clouds
from a toddler's eye?
Orange-sherbert mist
on a blueberry gumball sky.

--- Diane M. Davis

Lofty dreams
A vapored drift
Seek direction
Hearts to lift
Imagination
Hope-filled gift

--- Robin Pensieve

Advice For Joni

Don't ignore ice-cream castles,
or rain and snow.
(Unless you really want to know.)

---John Mutford

 

Bah-d Dreams

Sheep shorn sheer
sail sky to sky,
Serenity and sleep
are nigh
Surrender,
Slumber,
Lullaby

---Pamela Ross (beyond tired)

Rain Sheets!

Look at the
Rain Sheets!

Little bands of
Water boiling.

Look at them
Floating up.

--- Steve Cope


Water mists up
drawn to the cloud
eager to fit
in the cottony crowd

---Laura Purdie Salas

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Here's this week's image, which I thought was so cool that I had to pull over to snap a quick picture. It looked like it was raining upward or something!

What do you think that mist smells like? Feels like as it slides through your fingers? Looks like if you're enveloped in it.

What's the mood? Does it remind you of any particular person, day, event? Pick any aspect/idea that this image makes you think of, and write a 15 Words or Less poem about it. Have fun with it! Take just five minutes or less to capture a moment in a few words. See the sidebar links for guidelines and previous poems, and I'll post the poems left in the comments today in my post tomorrow. 

Thanks for playing!

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Have you done this week's Poetry Stretch yet? If not, trot on over to The Miss Rumphius Effect and check it out! 

Here's my haiku based on that striking image:




Just Breathe

breath of purple hope
resisting despair’s clutches
inhaling through stone  

---Laura Purdie Salas

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safe inside a building
nestled against the window
perhaps the better side
is outside?

---happyingreen

 

The updraft
off the lake is
fine and strong today.
No flapping necessary,
just gliding.

---Mary Lee, A Year of Reading

 

Between the encroaching city
and Lake Michigan,
a double-belted highway
and ribbon of sand.

---Kelly R. Fineman

 

ribbons of macadam
tie up crystalline boxes
--city's gifts

---Diane Mayr

 

window dreaming
hot summer day

down
down
down

to the beach

---Deb Marshall

 

Lake Voice

What next?
Will you take to the water too,
with your ugly, grey, greed.

---Hay http://hippyhappyhay.wordpress.com/

 

Not so safe and sound
I really miss the ground
Near a heart attack
Acrophobiac

---Annabelle Salas

 

Epitaph For A Beachfront Skyscraper

Ashes to ashes
dust to dust
silicon dioxide to sand.

--John Mutford
 

Chicago

Beaches and icy water
Cold steel towers
Industry and money
Camp near the edge

---anonymous

 

Ribbons of road
hold the city tight,
keeping towers together
as they scrape the night.

---Diane M. Davis

 

Genesis

Act One:
The floorshow
below,
where Earth has no
borders or beginnings,
until mankind appears

---Pamela Ross

 

Bird

my steel skeleton
and concrete feathers
cannot tether me to earth--
I nest in clouds

---Laura Purdie Salas

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This is an image I took from the 94th floor of Chicago's John Hancock Building. There are about a million (scientifically counting) skyscrapers in this Northern view, plus the shore of Lake Michigan. 

It looks like a view from an airplane, doesn't it? I felt like a gull swooping over the city when I perched close to the various windows. Can you imagine working/living this high up? Or being on the construction crew that built the tower? Does it look like a child's playset? Does it remind you of someplace else you've been or you want to go? Do you like heights? Are you afraid of them? Does this make you feel adventurous? Or do you feel a yearning to be down on the shore, with sand between your toes? 

Pick any aspect/idea that this image makes you think of, and write a 15 Words or Less poem about it. Have fun with it! We're not aiming for publishable poems, just taking a few minutes to enjoy the beauty and excitement of words--that's all! See the sidebar links for guidelines and previous poems, and I'll post the first several poems left in the comments today in my post tomorrow.

Thanks!

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You guys took this picture of a reconstructed pyramid room at the Field Museum in Chicago and ran with it! Wow!

If you haven't already participated...So, what does this make you think of? Whose story would you tell? What would be the hieroglyphic symbol for the most important thing in your day...or your life? What was life like for the people carving these figures? Did they have office politics back then? What do you think the stone feels like under your hands? Or what does this remind you of that's totally unrelated to ancient Egypt?

Choose any approach you like and write a 15 Words or Less poem to share. This is just to get your imagination going and your words flowing!  See the sidebar links for guidelines, and here are the poems written yesterday. Enjoy!


Writer Mom and Her rock-Climbing Son visit the Museum

Son [climbing]: "Look, Ma! An Egyptian bridge."

Mom: "Where's my asp?" the Queen hissed.

---Diane Mayr

Explanation
This isn't really a poem, but rather a little playlet. An "Egyptian bridge" is a climber's term, and I could see my son climbing the wall if he thought he could get away with it! I, of course, would have written the dramatic demise of my offspring.

 

Hands,dusted,
worn. Old.
Illuminate the past
Stories told

---Deb Marshall

Like Tupperware treasures
tucked in the fridge;
words preserved
for later--
unidentifiable to me.

---Kim from Hiraeth

Ghost men walk
for eternity
to a city
they could not have imagined.

---Jan Fields

With
strict rules of
conformity
surely the gods will see
how virtuously
we exist.

---Diane M. Davis

As a writer today
I'm grateful terrifically
that I need not carve
my words hieroglyphically.

---Bob S.

Stalled History Lessons, aka The Eighth Wonder of the World

Checked out
the bathroom
at the ancient pyramid
and
wondered
what they
used for paper

---Pamela "Papyrus" Ross ;}

In the Sand Box

Men dance
across centuries
slowly
wearing away
sand,
never
(forever?)
reaching
their destination

---Laura Purdie Salas

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OK, all my pix this week were of gorgeous snow-covered trees and various holiday foods, gifts, and gatherings. Too much of a good thing, since I've done all those pix recently.

So, I'm going back to Chicago...in my mind. The Field Museum had several reconstructed rooms from pyramids, using the actual stones with the real hieroglyphics on them. It was amazing to be that close, standing inside a small room, surrounded by the stories and prayers of people that long ago. It was like standing inside a giant book!

So, what does this make you think of? Whose story would you tell? What would be the hieroglyphic symbol for the most important thing in your day...or your life? What was life like for the people carving these figures? Did they have office politics back then? What do you think the stone feels like under your hands? Or what does this remind you of that's totally unrelated to ancient Egypt?

Choose any approach you like and write a 15 Words or Less poem to share. This is just to get your imagination going and your words flowing!  See the sidebar links for guidelines and previous poems, and I'll post the first several poems left in the comments in my post tomorrow.

Thanks!

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Holiday treats--yum!

Let's write a little poem about food. Or if not about food, inspired by it. What do these pretzel rods remind you of? What do your favorite holiday treats taste like, look like, smell like? How does your family eat them? What does a particular food symbolize in your chosen celebration?

Pick any aspect you'd like and write a 15 Words or Less poem to share. Have fun with it--no pressure. We're just doing a little word exercise here! See the sidebar links for guidelines and previous poems. I'll post the first several poems left in the comments in my post tomorrow.

Thanks for playing!

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Here's a picture of our little sledding hill last week. What does this scene remind you of? How does it sound? What are its textures? Does it remind you of a day from your childhood? Or a day last week? Pick any thought you'd like and write a 15 Words or Less poem to share with us.

Have fun! Don't put pressure or high expectations on yourself. We're all just people who love words and like to try different things with them. See the sidebar links for guidelines and here are some of yesterday's poems. (Once again, I'm having trouble with LiveJournal and can't just copy and paste these poems. So, here are a few of yesterday's, but please check the comments from yesterday and today to see all of the poems.)

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While my sister Gail ws visiting, we took my younger daughter and a friend to the small sledding hill at a nearby elementary school. It was almost deserted when we arrived, and the snow was falling soft and fast, so I whipped out my camera. I love winterscapes.

What does this scene remind you of? How does it sound? What are its textures? Does it remind you of a day from your childhood? Or a day last week? Pick any thought you'd like and write a 15 Words or Less poem to share with us. Post it in the comments today, and I'll include it in my post tomorrow.

Have fun! Play! Don't put pressure or high expectations on yourself. We're all just people who love words and like to try different things with them. See the sidebar links for guidelines and previous examples if you haven't participated before, and thanks for playing 15 Words or Less!

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In honor of our visit to Chicago, here's a close-up of the teeth of Sue, the world's most complete T. Rex fossil. It was amazing, and the 600-pound skull...ack!

What do Sue's teeth remind you of? Are they scary? Fascinating? Do they make you think of a particularly predatory person? Or inspire some thought about eating or nature?   

Choose any thought you'd like and write a 15 Words or Less poem to share with us (it doesn't need to actually describe the picture if you don't want it to--this is just a jumping-off point). Post it in the comments today, and I'll include it in my post tomorrow.

Have fun with it. Play with thoughts and words and enjoy the process! See the sidebar links for guidelines and previous examples if you haven't participated before, and thanks for playing 15 Words or Less!

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