Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)!
I went to a Rush concert last week in St. Paul. Wow. I’m only a casual Rush fan (I love their smart lyrics, and I love the challenge of playing drums to Rush songs on Rock Band–holy moly), but it was awesome. Anyway, during one song, Geddy Lee had the entire audience of maybe 15,000 people clapping together, and there were all sorts of colored lights, and the energy was so high that it felt like all of us in the audience became a single animal, and that clap felt like our heartbeat. My chest was reverberating with the bass. So I kind of wrote my 15 Words or Less Poem in that moment and had Randy take a picture later. That’s backward for me. Usually, I take a picture, see what it makes me think of, and then write a poem. Oh, well. Good to shake things up every now and then, right?
This image makes me think of:
1) rhythmic gymnastics with the ribbons (Have you seen boxer Terry Crews’ lip-sync battle to A Thousand Miles, with the rhythmic gymnastics? Hysterical.
2) ice cream sundae
3) alien spaceship
And here’s my?first draft.
Now 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!
146 Responses
Randy’s photo would make a great poster. I feel the unity in your poem. There was an emotional rush too, like the group’s name. Awesome!
Thanks, Linda!
I like the reference of an energy rush to the name of the group. Rushing and group frenzy.
Randy’s photo would make a great poster. I feel the unity in your poem. There was an emotional rush too, like the group’s name. Awesome!
Thanks, Linda!
I like the reference of an energy rush to the name of the group. Rushing and group frenzy.
Ribbons of light
Illuminate faces
Screaming along
To musical joy
I Love the first two lines this a beautiful poem
Love the way you’ve put unexpected words together–face screaming and that they are screaming along to joy. It all works, but it’s been twisted just a bit so it’s not the way you’d usually phrase it. Makes me as a reader stop to think and savor the words.
Yes, ribbons of lights.
Yes, isn’t that just what happens at these concerts “screaming along to musical joy”!
Like Laura, that unexpected screaming with joy is so creative and different.
Ribbons of light
Illuminate faces
Screaming along
To musical joy
I Love the first two lines this a beautiful poem
Love the way you’ve put unexpected words together–face screaming and that they are screaming along to joy. It all works, but it’s been twisted just a bit so it’s not the way you’d usually phrase it. Makes me as a reader stop to think and savor the words.
Yes, ribbons of lights.
Yes, isn’t that just what happens at these concerts “screaming along to musical joy”!
Like Laura, that unexpected screaming with joy is so creative and different.
Northern Lights
electric sky waves
15’000 claps of energy
blue-violet
swirling sunshine
Alaska nights
15’000 gazing eyes
Poem By Jessica Bigi
Laura I like your poem hope you don’t mined I barrowed your 15’000 I love the pic
No problem, Jessica. I love your first line, especially, and that swirling sunshine. Beautiful!
Again, the electricity in the picture. I like, Jessica.
Yes, the first line is gorgeous.
Love “electric sky waves”, Jessica!
I like those ‘electric sky waves’ Jessica!
Northern Lights
electric sky waves
15’000 claps of energy
blue-violet
swirling sunshine
Alaska nights
15’000 gazing eyes
Poem By Jessica Bigi
Laura I like your poem hope you don’t mined I barrowed your 15’000 I love the pic
No problem, Jessica. I love your first line, especially, and that swirling sunshine. Beautiful!
Again, the electricity in the picture. I like, Jessica.
Yes, the first line is gorgeous.
Love “electric sky waves”, Jessica!
I like those ‘electric sky waves’ Jessica!
Title didn’t get on there, so the first line looked like the title.…trying again.
Rainbow’s Downfall
{{Thunder Rumbles}}
rainbow’s arc
shatters, tumbles
pooling puddles
color muddles
{{Thunder Rumbles}}
Donna JT Smith, all rights reserved
Oh, this is so fun to read aloud, Donna. I love the violence of this poem with such an ethereal topic!
Great imagery Donna, especially the arcs in a rainbow made straight.
A concert fills with all these for sure, “rumbles” constantly. You’ve caught the action!
this is wonderful makes me think of and sounds like rainbow marbles rolling down a giant funnel
Title didn’t get on there, so the first line looked like the title.…trying again.
Rainbow’s Downfall
{{Thunder Rumbles}}
rainbow’s arc
shatters, tumbles
pooling puddles
color muddles
{{Thunder Rumbles}}
Donna JT Smith, all rights reserved
Oh, this is so fun to read aloud, Donna. I love the violence of this poem with such an ethereal topic!
Great imagery Donna, especially the arcs in a rainbow made straight.
A concert fills with all these for sure, “rumbles” constantly. You’ve caught the action!
this is wonderful makes me think of and sounds like rainbow marbles rolling down a giant funnel
Acronym in Technicolor
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet
rainbow lightning
zig-zags, strikes,
fusing
drumbeats with heartbeats.
Laura, what an awesome experience. You are brave! Hubby did a good job for you. The picture immediately brought back a childhood formula for remembering the order of colors in a rainbow.
I love the energy in this, Martha–strikes, fusing, drumbeats…nice!
Love that you got that ROY G Biv in there, Martha. That rainbow struck me, too.
I love the last four lines. So energetic.
Love “fusing drumbeats with heartbeats”!
I love all the colors and the zig zags
Acronym in Technicolor
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet
rainbow lightning
zig-zags, strikes,
fusing
drumbeats with heartbeats.
Laura, what an awesome experience. You are brave! Hubby did a good job for you. The picture immediately brought back a childhood formula for remembering the order of colors in a rainbow.
I love the energy in this, Martha–strikes, fusing, drumbeats…nice!
Love that you got that ROY G Biv in there, Martha. That rainbow struck me, too.
I love the last four lines. So energetic.
Love “fusing drumbeats with heartbeats”!
I love all the colors and the zig zags
Laura, I love, love your poem this morning. Your words make me feel that excitement.
That gave me the idea for my poem about feelings I have at dances.
Dance Floor
Crowd moves as one,
stepping left, stepping right,
all together.
What a sight!
Electric Slide!
Oooh, line dancing! Yes! Thanks, Pat:>)
I like Pat. There is definitely something electric about the picture.
The crowd does “move as one”, Pat. You’ve described it well!
“Crowd moves as one” — can be quite an interesting phenomenon that happens at things like this!
I Love how you turned this pic into a dance
Laura, I love, love your poem this morning. Your words make me feel that excitement.
That gave me the idea for my poem about feelings I have at dances.
Dance Floor
Crowd moves as one,
stepping left, stepping right,
all together.
What a sight!
Electric Slide!
Oooh, line dancing! Yes! Thanks, Pat:>)
I like Pat. There is definitely something electric about the picture.
The crowd does “move as one”, Pat. You’ve described it well!
“Crowd moves as one” — can be quite an interesting phenomenon that happens at things like this!
I Love how you turned this pic into a dance
That Night
When the aliens
came kidnapping
with music and rainbows,
I was happy to go.
?Kate Coombs
Kate, I love the wonderful allusion to “kidnapping.”
This is just so bizarre, I can not help but smile! Love it!
Yes, I like the kidnapping too!
Ha! A pleasant alien kidnapping… a brainwashing with music and lights!
I can almost the sound of the music as I read you poem
That Night
When the aliens
came kidnapping
with music and rainbows,
I was happy to go.
?Kate Coombs
Kate, I love the wonderful allusion to “kidnapping.”
This is just so bizarre, I can not help but smile! Love it!
Yes, I like the kidnapping too!
Ha! A pleasant alien kidnapping… a brainwashing with music and lights!
I can almost the sound of the music as I read you poem
Although mine is very different, the idea is the same as yours, Laura, “one roar/voice/song/beast”. Love it!
Concert Collaboration
The band streams notes
like stormy weather.
Rainbows dust the crowd,
gold found together.
Linda Baie ?All Rights Reserved
Linda–I really like the shift to gold. It’s so unexpected.
Oh, I love the weather analogy, and the that “dust”! Great word choice and lovely ending…
I love that “rainbows dust the crowd”, Linda!
wonderful
I like band streams and rainbows dust used together.
Although mine is very different, the idea is the same as yours, Laura, “one roar/voice/song/beast”. Love it!
Concert Collaboration
The band streams notes
like stormy weather.
Rainbows dust the crowd,
gold found together.
Linda Baie ?All Rights Reserved
Linda–I really like the shift to gold. It’s so unexpected.
Oh, I love the weather analogy, and the that “dust”! Great word choice and lovely ending…
I love that “rainbows dust the crowd”, Linda!
wonderful
I like band streams and rainbows dust used together.
Modern Music
Cacophony of light, sound
Hordes of screamers abound
Roll over, Beethoven
Your Ninth?s still around
Great ending!
Hehehe–Beethoven certainly does have lasting power. Rush has been around 40 years, but who knows? Clever poem–thanks for sharing!
I love the first and last line
Slivers and splinters, appropriate with breaking a glass.
Marian, last two lines a surprise, but wonderful.
Modern Music
Cacophony of light, sound
Hordes of screamers abound
Roll over, Beethoven
Your Ninth?s still around
Great ending!
Hehehe–Beethoven certainly does have lasting power. Rush has been around 40 years, but who knows? Clever poem–thanks for sharing!
I love the first and last line
Slivers and splinters, appropriate with breaking a glass.
Marian, last two lines a surprise, but wonderful.
Break a glass.
Scatter sparkling splinters.
Break white light.
Spray rainbow slivers.
Ooh, this is lovely–science and repetition and wonderful word choice all in one tiny package!
not shore way but your poem makes me think of meatier showers very beautiful
Had some shattering and slivers in one of my renditions, too…that rainbow just fell apart, didn’t it?
Lovely, Liz!
I love the sounds, ‘scatter sparkling splinters’ & ‘spray rainbow slivers’-very nice!
Break a glass.
Scatter sparkling splinters.
Break white light.
Spray rainbow slivers.
Ooh, this is lovely–science and repetition and wonderful word choice all in one tiny package!
not shore way but your poem makes me think of meatier showers very beautiful
Had some shattering and slivers in one of my renditions, too…that rainbow just fell apart, didn’t it?
Lovely, Liz!
I love the sounds, ‘scatter sparkling splinters’ & ‘spray rainbow slivers’-very nice!
FIFTEEN SECONDS OF FAME
“Clean-up aisle seven!”
I’m star of that show!
Mom’s unappreciative,
back home we go.
Oh. Dear. I love the understatement of line 3. Ha!
wonderful
Looks like she was in the Kool-Aid aisle! Cute!
Cindy, cute and creative.
Oh, that ‘fifteen seconds of fame’, four words say much.
FIFTEEN SECONDS OF FAME
“Clean-up aisle seven!”
I’m star of that show!
Mom’s unappreciative,
back home we go.
Oh. Dear. I love the understatement of line 3. Ha!
wonderful
Looks like she was in the Kool-Aid aisle! Cute!
Cindy, cute and creative.
Oh, that ‘fifteen seconds of fame’, four words say much.
Dancers brandish
colored scarves,
rainbow wings
flaunt and flounce,
parade and beckon–
then float away.
Buffy–great words! Dancers brandish, flaunt and flounce. Nice sounds. And oh, where do they go? I feel sad they’ve gone.
Buffy, I like the word brandish used in conjunction with softness of colored scarves.
I’m seeing a Cirque show in my head, Buffy! I love the verbs in lines 4 and 5…
Those ‘rainbow wings’, now I see them! Lovely image connection, Buffy.
Dancers brandish
colored scarves,
rainbow wings
flaunt and flounce,
parade and beckon–
then float away.
Buffy–great words! Dancers brandish, flaunt and flounce. Nice sounds. And oh, where do they go? I feel sad they’ve gone.
Buffy, I like the word brandish used in conjunction with softness of colored scarves.
I’m seeing a Cirque show in my head, Buffy! I love the verbs in lines 4 and 5…
Those ‘rainbow wings’, now I see them! Lovely image connection, Buffy.
Great photo and poem, Laura.
A Chinese Dragon
Slow roller coaster
Powered by music
Catherine, I love where this took you!
Catherine, the colorful image is fantastic.
Oh, I love this. It makes me see the Chinese Dragon as though it’s in a strobe light, in stop motion.
I like the thought of that ‘up & down’ dragon roller coaster! Fun connection to the picture, Catherine.
Great photo and poem, Laura.
A Chinese Dragon
Slow roller coaster
Powered by music
Catherine, I love where this took you!
Catherine, the colorful image is fantastic.
Oh, I love this. It makes me see the Chinese Dragon as though it’s in a strobe light, in stop motion.
I like the thought of that ‘up & down’ dragon roller coaster! Fun connection to the picture, Catherine.
NIGHTTIME DAYDREAM
Strobe lights shine
Rainbows rays of glory
As I begin my air guitar solo.
© Charles Waters 2015 all rights reserved.
NIGHTTIME DAYDREAM
Strobe lights shine
Rainbows rays of glory
As I begin my air guitar solo.
© Charles Waters 2015 all rights reserved.