Pit [15 words or less poems]

Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)!

Lobster Pit

15WOLs

On Father’s Day, we went to the Smack Shack in Minneapolis (delicious), and I took this pic there and Waterlogued it. This image makes me think of:

1) summer backyard “bonfires”
2) a heat gun
3) MacBeth’s 3 witches

And here’s my?first draft.

Forest Tales

 

And I’m trying something NEW! Inspired by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s favorite poems padlet, I’d like us to collect our poems both in the Comments today AND on a padlet. Just click here to go to our Padlet, click twice on any open space not covered by a note, and leave your poem. Please put your name and poem title in the Title spot. You do not have to create an account to participate. Also, if you post your own poems on your own blog, you can simply link to the blog post in the padlet, and it will feed in for people to read it. I think it would be fun to have all our 15 Words or Less Poems in one spot for readers/teachers to enjoy them. The down side is that you can’t leave Comments on each others’ poems in a padlet (at least, as far as I can tell). I’m going to try having poems in both places for a few weeks, and then I’m going to decide where to have them in the future: on a padlet or in the Comments. Feel free to weigh in with your opinion if you have one:>) NOTE: I have to moderate these notes on the padlet, so your poem will not appear immediately. Don’t panic, and please don’t post twice. Thanks for playing along. We’ll see how it goes!

It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS!??(Title doesn’t count toward word count:>) If you leave a poem in the comments, and if it’s 15 words or less, I’ll try to respond!

128 Responses

  1. Laura,
    You’re always open to trying new things, new ways. Bravo! No poem from me, but I wanted you to know that I’m learning from you. I learned about waterlogued art here today and I’ll learn more about Padlet here too. I first heard of it at Amy’s blog too. Thank you for sharing tips of the trade.

    1. Happy to pass along the nifty things I’m learning from other bloggers/writers/teachers, Linda:>) It’s fun to find new tools to play with!

  2. Laura,
    You’re always open to trying new things, new ways. Bravo! No poem from me, but I wanted you to know that I’m learning from you. I learned about waterlogued art here today and I’ll learn more about Padlet here too. I first heard of it at Amy’s blog too. Thank you for sharing tips of the trade.

    1. Happy to pass along the nifty things I’m learning from other bloggers/writers/teachers, Linda:>) It’s fun to find new tools to play with!

  3. AT THE RESTAURANT

    They served it hot,
    She blew and blew,
    then ate her
    dragon-fire stew.

    1. I tried to leave it on the padlet. Not sure I did it right. And, I loved your poem!

    2. Oooh, I bet that’s on the menu right now at some foodie restaurant–or a Medieval Times kind of place:>)

  4. AT THE RESTAURANT

    They served it hot,
    She blew and blew,
    then ate her
    dragon-fire stew.

    1. I tried to leave it on the padlet. Not sure I did it right. And, I loved your poem!

    2. Oooh, I bet that’s on the menu right now at some foodie restaurant–or a Medieval Times kind of place:>)

  5. snap-dragon tins
    crackling sparks
    firefly-skies
    pop-Pop-pop
    smiling uncover
    silvery lids
    salty-buttery yum
    popcorn

    Laura you I relay like when we comment on each other poems

    1. I can see this, hear this, smell this and now I want to taste popcorn!

      1. I tried shearing the poem on the other page not shore if I did it right you pic me of the reminded me alumnae pie pans of popcorn that wear covered with foil and heated on open flams do remember though

  6. snap-dragon tins
    crackling sparks
    firefly-skies
    pop-Pop-pop
    smiling uncover
    silvery lids
    salty-buttery yum
    popcorn

    Laura you I relay like when we comment on each other poems

    1. I can see this, hear this, smell this and now I want to taste popcorn!

      1. I tried shearing the poem on the other page not shore if I did it right you pic me of the reminded me alumnae pie pans of popcorn that wear covered with foil and heated on open flams do remember though

  7. Le Nez*

    Golden splashes
    bubble, boil
    steamy incense,
    smokey perfume
    for her adventurous soul.

    *French for having a talent for smelling perfumes.

    1. Love the leap to making perfume, and that last line makes it personal.

  8. Le Nez*

    Golden splashes
    bubble, boil
    steamy incense,
    smokey perfume
    for her adventurous soul.

    *French for having a talent for smelling perfumes.

    1. Love the leap to making perfume, and that last line makes it personal.

  9. Wash Day

    Daddy builds fire
    Mama sorts clothes
    light to dark
    take their turn
    boiled then laundered.

    Laura, I have the cast iron wash pot from my younger days, and the wooden paddle used to keep the clothes pushed into the boiling water. Next came the wringer washer and rinse tubs.
    Still learning today, with words like waterlogued and Padlet. Thank you.

    1. Your poem makes me so grateful for washers and dryers, Martha! Love the “light to dark” detail.

      I’m always learning, too–both Waterlogued (which I love) and Padlet are things I picked up recently from other bloggers. I’m not SUPER high-tech, but it’s fun keeping up, at least a little bit:>)

    2. I started my married life with an old ringer washer-worked fine, & the clothes on the line (as everyone says) smelled wonderful. How wonderful that you still have that pot, and more wonderful, that you don’t have to use it anymore. Lovely nostalgia in your poem.

  10. Wash Day

    Daddy builds fire
    Mama sorts clothes
    light to dark
    take their turn
    boiled then laundered.

    Laura, I have the cast iron wash pot from my younger days, and the wooden paddle used to keep the clothes pushed into the boiling water. Next came the wringer washer and rinse tubs.
    Still learning today, with words like waterlogued and Padlet. Thank you.

    1. Your poem makes me so grateful for washers and dryers, Martha! Love the “light to dark” detail.

      I’m always learning, too–both Waterlogued (which I love) and Padlet are things I picked up recently from other bloggers. I’m not SUPER high-tech, but it’s fun keeping up, at least a little bit:>)

    2. I started my married life with an old ringer washer-worked fine, & the clothes on the line (as everyone says) smelled wonderful. How wonderful that you still have that pot, and more wonderful, that you don’t have to use it anymore. Lovely nostalgia in your poem.

  11. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble
    Mischief rising like whispers from rubble
    Schemes of witches abound

    I really like the affect on the picture! Great ideas for poems today 🙂

  12. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble
    Mischief rising like whispers from rubble
    Schemes of witches abound

    I really like the affect on the picture! Great ideas for poems today 🙂

  13. In the sun’s
    fiery furnace,
    colors simmer
    to dab on
    the luckier
    moons and planets.

    Love your “stories, like smoke, drifting…”
    To be honest, I would miss the comments if you switch over to Padlet. From them I learn something every week: new poetic forms, new words or even a different interpretation of a poem — sometimes mine own!

  14. In the sun’s
    fiery furnace,
    colors simmer
    to dab on
    the luckier
    moons and planets.

    Love your “stories, like smoke, drifting…”
    To be honest, I would miss the comments if you switch over to Padlet. From them I learn something every week: new poetic forms, new words or even a different interpretation of a poem — sometimes mine own!

  15. Oh, very nice, Laura! I especially like “summer hearts.” Will attempt the padlet thing.

    Volcano

    Earth
    is
    in
    the
    mood
    for
    soup!

    ?Kate Coombs

    1. love the Idea of the Earth making soup a toasty toasted chees crust and a boll of tomato soup

    2. You did it! I love this volcano metaphor. Hot tomato soup–yum! It makes the volcano sound so much more comforting than it is in real life:>)

    3. Wow! I always post my own work before I read what everyone else posted to avoid influence. So funny to scroll down to see how close my idea was to Kate’s poem! I cannot compete with Kate Coombs! I feel funny now leaving my entry up there but…
      I saw
      I wrote
      I posted
      (almost no editing)
      I let the words out and bam, they’re here. xoxo

  16. Oh, very nice, Laura! I especially like “summer hearts.” Will attempt the padlet thing.

    Volcano

    Earth
    is
    in
    the
    mood
    for
    soup!

    ?Kate Coombs

    1. love the Idea of the Earth making soup a toasty toasted chees crust and a boll of tomato soup

    2. You did it! I love this volcano metaphor. Hot tomato soup–yum! It makes the volcano sound so much more comforting than it is in real life:>)

    3. Wow! I always post my own work before I read what everyone else posted to avoid influence. So funny to scroll down to see how close my idea was to Kate’s poem! I cannot compete with Kate Coombs! I feel funny now leaving my entry up there but…
      I saw
      I wrote
      I posted
      (almost no editing)
      I let the words out and bam, they’re here. xoxo

    1. Donna, I’m a firm believer in second chances, and third, and fourth … clever ending, I like.

    1. Donna, I’m a firm believer in second chances, and third, and fourth … clever ending, I like.

    1. Buffy, those coal fired furnaces; thank goodness, at least for the most part, we can refer to them as ancient.

    1. Buffy, those coal fired furnaces; thank goodness, at least for the most part, we can refer to them as ancient.

  17. Sitting around a campfire telling stories is a special story itself, Laura. I like the comparison of smoke and stories drifting between. This time, I saw those ‘sticks’ surrounding the tub, & wondered what they were?

    In The News

    World?s largest hot tub -
    diving boards for all.
    People cooked like lobsters.
    Headlines said: ?Recalled?.
    Linda Baie ?All Rights Reserved

    1. Linda, how creative and imaginative! I love the diving boards and especially the recall.

  18. Sitting around a campfire telling stories is a special story itself, Laura. I like the comparison of smoke and stories drifting between. This time, I saw those ‘sticks’ surrounding the tub, & wondered what they were?

    In The News

    World?s largest hot tub -
    diving boards for all.
    People cooked like lobsters.
    Headlines said: ?Recalled?.
    Linda Baie ?All Rights Reserved

    1. Linda, how creative and imaginative! I love the diving boards and especially the recall.

  19. This is what came into my head upon seeing your photo and thinking of my own family’s recent bonfire:

    Blazing brightly
    summer nightly
    spitting sprightly
    warm delightly

  20. This is what came into my head upon seeing your photo and thinking of my own family’s recent bonfire:

    Blazing brightly
    summer nightly
    spitting sprightly
    warm delightly

    1. Wonderful! I love those last two lines, especially. And the hysterical title. Your poems are always such a fun mix of clever and melancholy. I love that.

    1. Wonderful! I love those last two lines, especially. And the hysterical title. Your poems are always such a fun mix of clever and melancholy. I love that.

  21. Laura: The image you provoked from this gorgeous phrase–
    “stories, like smoke, drift between us”–
    is beautiful and powerful and something you need to save and explore
    and see where this goes. It’s a phrase I could read aloud over and over.

    1. Aw, thank you, Pamela. I DO feel like I need to take the time to read back through my poetry diaries (just my daily poems of dreckitude) to find the little bits that are strong and ripe for more exploration! I’m going to go highlight this in my diary right now, so it’ll be easy to find later. I appreciate the nudge:>)

      1. I am glad something I said may go into your inspiration For Later files. {}
        I love that you admit to a “Dreckitude” folder as well. We all have a junk drawer. Wish I had thought to call mine “Dreck.” That’s my kind of word. xox

        ps I think I meant EVOKE where I wrote PROVOKE. My defense is the early hour of my typing and my lingering pneumonia. I notice my typing has been sloppy this week. Must get off these meds. They are playing with my head. xoxo

        1. No defense needed. I’m glad you’re mending–hope you’re back to 100% before long! And my Poetry Diary is full of the worst poems ever. They whine, they fall into prose, they are boring; their list of sins is endless. But there are occasional kernels that glimmer, that I have not been taking care to note or mark in a way I can find later. Now I plan to–thank yoU!

          1. I have saved almost every poem or attempt at poetry I have posted here. Sometimes I read them back and smile. I don’t remember writing them or liking them. It’s a wonderful feeling to discover your own words again and think … Hhhhm… Yes… I can work with this. Hhhhm… Yes… I like this. {}

            Glimmer on, Poet Laura. xoxo

  22. Laura: The image you provoked from this gorgeous phrase–
    “stories, like smoke, drift between us”–
    is beautiful and powerful and something you need to save and explore
    and see where this goes. It’s a phrase I could read aloud over and over.

    1. Aw, thank you, Pamela. I DO feel like I need to take the time to read back through my poetry diaries (just my daily poems of dreckitude) to find the little bits that are strong and ripe for more exploration! I’m going to go highlight this in my diary right now, so it’ll be easy to find later. I appreciate the nudge:>)

      1. I am glad something I said may go into your inspiration For Later files. {}
        I love that you admit to a “Dreckitude” folder as well. We all have a junk drawer. Wish I had thought to call mine “Dreck.” That’s my kind of word. xox

        ps I think I meant EVOKE where I wrote PROVOKE. My defense is the early hour of my typing and my lingering pneumonia. I notice my typing has been sloppy this week. Must get off these meds. They are playing with my head. xoxo

        1. No defense needed. I’m glad you’re mending–hope you’re back to 100% before long! And my Poetry Diary is full of the worst poems ever. They whine, they fall into prose, they are boring; their list of sins is endless. But there are occasional kernels that glimmer, that I have not been taking care to note or mark in a way I can find later. Now I plan to–thank yoU!

          1. I have saved almost every poem or attempt at poetry I have posted here. Sometimes I read them back and smile. I don’t remember writing them or liking them. It’s a wonderful feeling to discover your own words again and think … Hhhhm… Yes… I can work with this. Hhhhm… Yes… I like this. {}

            Glimmer on, Poet Laura. xoxo

  23. AFTER SUPPER
    Huddled with family,
    Crackles from fire pit
    Does the chattering ?
    So we won?t have to.

    © Charles Waters 2015 all rights reserved.

    1. This one’s evocative, Charles. It sounds like a wonderful scene. And for me, that last line, “So we won’t HAVE to,” hints at tension.

  24. AFTER SUPPER
    Huddled with family,
    Crackles from fire pit
    Does the chattering ?
    So we won?t have to.

    © Charles Waters 2015 all rights reserved.

    1. This one’s evocative, Charles. It sounds like a wonderful scene. And for me, that last line, “So we won’t HAVE to,” hints at tension.

  25. Oh my goodness. This is way too much fun. I haven’t contributed in a while, but I love the idea of the Padlet and I had to try it.

    Your poem is just beautiful, Laura. Very nice draft!

    I’ll post here and then try the Padlet.

    One More, Two More, S?More

    Campfire.
    Sharpened stick.
    Marshmallow?flame licked.
    Chocolate square.
    Graham cracker squeeze.
    Gooey goodness. Again, please.

    1. This is fabulous, Penny. SO concrete, which I love. I’m noticing a tendency toward the abstract in my 15WOL poems lately, which I dislike. Including mine for this coming week, which I just did. Dang.

      Anyway, you mastered the Padlet–whee! And one suggestion (but totally ignore at will): if you were going to revise this to share more broadly, I don’t even think you need “cracker.” Not only does the meter work more smoothly without it, but I love the way “Graham squeeze” becomes more figurative if that word is omitted. Just a thought. This is such a fun one!

  26. Oh my goodness. This is way too much fun. I haven’t contributed in a while, but I love the idea of the Padlet and I had to try it.

    Your poem is just beautiful, Laura. Very nice draft!

    I’ll post here and then try the Padlet.

    One More, Two More, S?More

    Campfire.
    Sharpened stick.
    Marshmallow?flame licked.
    Chocolate square.
    Graham cracker squeeze.
    Gooey goodness. Again, please.

    1. This is fabulous, Penny. SO concrete, which I love. I’m noticing a tendency toward the abstract in my 15WOL poems lately, which I dislike. Including mine for this coming week, which I just did. Dang.

      Anyway, you mastered the Padlet–whee! And one suggestion (but totally ignore at will): if you were going to revise this to share more broadly, I don’t even think you need “cracker.” Not only does the meter work more smoothly without it, but I love the way “Graham squeeze” becomes more figurative if that word is omitted. Just a thought. This is such a fun one!

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