[15 words or less poems] Juliet?


Photo: Laura Purdie Salas

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

Last week’s photo: That was a set of plastic Easter eggs, opened, and placed on top of my open laptop. We recently went to a Gordon Lightfoot concert at the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. Each time we go there, the architectural details amaze me. I always think, “Why would they spend so much time on all of this if you’re supposed to be looking at the stage?” It’s beautiful, in an over-the-top way. Here’s what it makes me think of:

1)?Romeo and Juliet, of course
2) Craftsman whose job is working on the same building for his whole life
3) The fun a kid (or grown-up) would have playing in an empty theater.

And here’s my poem first draft:

You Missed a Spot
Gold filigree
for balcony
must be refined:
luxe defined,
so stories bewitch
the idle rich.

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved

What do you think of when you look at this picture? Take any quick idea and jot down a 15 Words or Less poem. It doesn’t have to rhyme or describe this picture. It’s just about whatever you think of when you look at it.

78 Responses

  1. Theatrical

    Climb velvet
    curtains, swing
    out, catch
    chandelier, leap
    to balcony where
    she swoons,
    swashbuckler!

    ?Kate Coombs

    1. Ooh, it’s like a job description or to-do list for a swashbuckler. Love it! I especially like all the sw- sounds.

  2. Theatrical

    Climb velvet
    curtains, swing
    out, catch
    chandelier, leap
    to balcony where
    she swoons,
    swashbuckler!

    ?Kate Coombs

    1. Ooh, it’s like a job description or to-do list for a swashbuckler. Love it! I especially like all the sw- sounds.

  3. Who will clean
    the mezzanine
    and, gleaming, shine
    this grand design
    by inch, for free?
    Not me. Not me.

    ?Steven Withrow

  4. Who will clean
    the mezzanine
    and, gleaming, shine
    this grand design
    by inch, for free?
    Not me. Not me.

    ?Steven Withrow

  5. Just realized my earlier draft is 19 words; here’s the 15-word version:

    Who will clean
    the mezzanine
    and, gleaming, shine
    this grand design
    for free?
    Not me.

    ?Steven Withrow

    1. So funny, because I actually like this 15-word version better anyway:>) Love the word mezzanine and the meter change at the end.

  6. Just realized my earlier draft is 19 words; here’s the 15-word version:

    Who will clean
    the mezzanine
    and, gleaming, shine
    this grand design
    for free?
    Not me.

    ?Steven Withrow

    1. So funny, because I actually like this 15-word version better anyway:>) Love the word mezzanine and the meter change at the end.

    1. Ouch! Even in heaven, we can’t get away from it. I love the switch from important uppercase to lowly lowercase. Nice detail.

    1. Ouch! Even in heaven, we can’t get away from it. I love the switch from important uppercase to lowly lowercase. Nice detail.

  7. SHORT AND SWEET
    Wherefore art thou, my lovely?
    I remember you being
    Much taller.

    © Randy Salas, no rights reserved, whatsoever

  8. SHORT AND SWEET
    Wherefore art thou, my lovely?
    I remember you being
    Much taller.

    © Randy Salas, no rights reserved, whatsoever

  9. songs and
    declarations rise
    leaving golden
    voiceprints
    where they rest
    evidence
    that they
    were here

    1. I love this picture, and it has kept rolling around in my head…so I had to write another one and post it on my site along with a drawing I did in Canvastic (It’s quite the piece of artwork, I might add! Right up there with the image you have today, Laura.). I needed an image and didn’t want to steal yours. The resemblance to yours is purely intentional — it’s just a different angle…yeah, that’s it.

  10. songs and
    declarations rise
    leaving golden
    voiceprints
    where they rest
    evidence
    that they
    were here

    1. I love this picture, and it has kept rolling around in my head…so I had to write another one and post it on my site along with a drawing I did in Canvastic (It’s quite the piece of artwork, I might add! Right up there with the image you have today, Laura.). I needed an image and didn’t want to steal yours. The resemblance to yours is purely intentional — it’s just a different angle…yeah, that’s it.

    1. Thanks, Jennifer. Sadly, I forgot I hadn’t put up today’s post over the w/e, like I usually do. So I got to my computer at 5:45 and realized, “Oh, crumb!” Threw this one together very quickly:>)

    1. Thanks, Jennifer. Sadly, I forgot I hadn’t put up today’s post over the w/e, like I usually do. So I got to my computer at 5:45 and realized, “Oh, crumb!” Threw this one together very quickly:>)

  11. Stage Fright

    For years,
    dreamed to be here.
    But now among this grandeur-
    stand — frozen in fear.

  12. Stage Fright

    For years,
    dreamed to be here.
    But now among this grandeur-
    stand — frozen in fear.

  13. Alone
    On a balcony of rationality,
    I watch the world perform
    it’s ecological swan song.

  14. Alone
    On a balcony of rationality,
    I watch the world perform
    it’s ecological swan song.

  15. Gilded columns
    sustain ancient
    gossamer ceiling–
    decades of silence
    cease:
    a symphony of
    termites.

    (I heard Gordon Lightfoot 30 plus years ago…much more enjoyable than a symphony of termites.)

  16. Gilded columns
    sustain ancient
    gossamer ceiling–
    decades of silence
    cease:
    a symphony of
    termites.

    (I heard Gordon Lightfoot 30 plus years ago…much more enjoyable than a symphony of termites.)

  17. This is in response to your poem, Laura!

    What Remains

    Italian, Irish, Poles,
    came with skills;
    rich men came
    with money. Who
    made the art?

    © Diane Mayr

  18. This is in response to your poem, Laura!

    What Remains

    Italian, Irish, Poles,
    came with skills;
    rich men came
    with money. Who
    made the art?

    © Diane Mayr

    1. Ouoo, I like the interesting dichotomy. Makes me think of human behavior, social classes, and all sorts of things–with only 15 words! Nice!

    1. Ouoo, I like the interesting dichotomy. Makes me think of human behavior, social classes, and all sorts of things–with only 15 words! Nice!

  19. At The Plush Theater

    The play was bad.
    That didn’t spoil
    the fact that I felt
    rich and royal.

  20. At The Plush Theater

    The play was bad.
    That didn’t spoil
    the fact that I felt
    rich and royal.

  21. ENTRANCE FROM THE MEZZANINE
    Moment of truth,
    spotlight shines,
    Oh no, dear god,
    What’s my line?

    © Charles Waters 2013 all rights reserved.

  22. ENTRANCE FROM THE MEZZANINE
    Moment of truth,
    spotlight shines,
    Oh no, dear god,
    What’s my line?

    © Charles Waters 2013 all rights reserved.

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