Photo: PetrosL at pixdaus
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)!
OK, I am totally subverting the 15 Words or Less process today! For the first time (and last), I went looking for a picture for a poem I wrote yesterday for Tricia’s Monday Poetry Stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect.
Her stretch was to use three certain words in a poem (you’ll have to click on the link above to see the words). I wrote my poem and then went looking for a picture. I know! Cheaters never prosper. But all’s fair in love and poetry, I say.
Here’s my poem.
November’s night regatta–
Leaves billowing, floating on wind
with white moonlight sails
–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
Addendum: The Poetry Gods are snorting pomegranate juice right now, because I just realized that, in writing a 3rd or 4th version of my poem, I got rid of one of the words. Ha! on me. I guess cheaters really DON’T prosper!
Now, what does this image make YOU think of? It could be anything from your last camping trip with your family to the corsage you got for prom, or anything else that strikes your fancy. Write a quick 15 words or less poem and share it in the comments!
RAIN DROPLETS
Rain droplets nourish
Papery malachite blade
Cocktail on the house.
(c) Charles Waters 2011 all rights reserved
Malachite is a great word here–in fact, that whole middle line is stunning.
Laura: Your poem washed over me like gentle water in the tub. I love “November’s night regatta.” It’s music. It’s joy. These are words you never forget. I am sailing with you in that great white night.
-Pamela
Creeper
Tendrils stretch
and snake
and, as dark descends,
make their getaway
from the garden.
~~Barbara J. Turner
Ooh, I love the ominous, villainous feel to this. Great alliteration!
Oh dear. Something went wrong…it’s supposed to go like this:
Fooled
Those aren’t real.
They’re extruded, molded, wired;
plastificated, posed;
glazed, lit, shot and shopped.
Gorgeous.
Heidi Mordhorst 2011
all rights reserved
Hehe! THis could apply to so many things, right? When I see a photo of something beautiful, from leaves to a woman, I never really trust that it’s real anymore. Photography, to me, no longer captures a truth. It just creates its own.
Empty Nest Syndrome
I couldn’t sleep
while rain, light and leaves
embrace.
Left behind,
I watch,
wait,
wilt
-Pamela Ross
Oh! The left-behind syndrome. This captures that feeling perfectly. Whether it’s empty-nest as a mom or watching your ex with a new girlfriend as a teen…same lonely longing.
Into the night I creep
Through thickened forest
Thoughts of evil
In my minds eye.
- Anne McKenna
Ominous! Creep–great verb. And I love the thickened forest!
Midnight Rendezvous
Moonlight falls
glistens in palest light
crystallizes,
light and water meet
in a secret moonlit-dance
Oh, I feel like someone who snuch up on magic secrecy in the woods. Lovely atmosphere!
Moonlight stage.
Waiting for the show.
Aha! Look quick-
A fairy’s sparkled glow.
Cindyb
Laura, love the shape of your “real” poem- I “slid” right down to a delightful ending.
Yes! And staging and show fits perfectly with Heidi’s poem, too. Though one poem celebrates the fantasy and the other calls it out. I love how we can not only respond to one photo, but to one characteristic of the photo, and still come up with such variety!
Firefly
Moonlight in the darkest night
Fireflies fly in delight
by Amy
Gorgeous simplicity to this. I like the ambiguity–do fireflies fly when there’s moonlight in the darkest night (great line, btw), or ARE they the moonlight on the darkest night. Both are lovely thoughts!
Glowing moon
in starry sky -
nighttime gateway
to Golden Leaf Nebula.
- ellie
Love this mix of astronomy and leaf! Great use of the 3 words!
Moonlight startles my
autumn fading,
while snowflakes drift
to cover
for winter’s rest,
springtime dreams.
I love that line, “November’s night regatta”!
Thanks, Linda–I love the idea of snow covering springtime dreams. Nice! And moonlight startling was an unexpected combination:>)
Soliloquy by a Leaf
Spotlight, please.
Light mist. Thanks.
“In my green days,
my pretty queen days—”
oops. Fall!
–Kate Coombs (Book Aunt)
How did I miss this last week? Love how the leaf is giving directions to the stagehands. Diva!
autumn snow…
ninjas and princesses
in fuzzy boots
by Diane Mayr
So many unexpected things here. Autumn and snow (even though of course it often snows in autumn calendarily-speaking, we rarely call anything an autumn snow. And then the ninjas and princesses in their boots. Cute!
Sounds like a fun Halloween!
And since I cheated earlier, I thought I’d better write an actual poem inspired by this photo before y’all send a posse to hunt me down:
Stained Glass
Slip sideways
through translucent leaves
Find
fronds,
feathers,
spiderwebs
Dancing below
a debutante moon
–Laura Purdie Salas
Moonlight awakens
the golden leaf
while
night’s teardrops
quench its thirst.
by Gayle C. Krause
Lovely, Gayle! I like the way you’ve personified the leaf (love that night is quenching the leaf’s thirst!). Thanks for playing.