Trinity College Library [15 Words or Less]

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. 

Dublin Library
Photo: Maddie C. Salas

Maddie took this photo in Dublin, at the Trinity College Library. Though it’s not immediately obvious due to the filter I put on it, those walls are made of books, basically. This image makes me think of several things:

  1. A whole world made of books!
  2. Instead of living in a shoe, the old lady should have lived in a book
  3. Wouldn’t it be lovely to just live in a library?

And here’s my first draft. My first draft of this parody of “The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe” was 21 words, so I had quite a lot of cutting to do. Whew!

dublin library 15wol

It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn’t count toward word count–thank goodness!)

Note: I am mostly offline this week and won’t be able to respond to your poems. Happy back to school week, and I’ll be back next week!

 

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42 Responses

  1. Oh, this is a fun one! I’ll bet the boy in your poem sleeps well and happy. And, with Ireland.….there the faeries, pixies and leprechauns about. I kinda do live in a library. And, I love it. Hundreds of books have been checked out this week. The twelve copies of graphic novel Sisters.…all checked out an there is a list of kids who have put it on hold. Life is good when surrounded by books. Here’s my little poem. I couldn’t help but turn it into a riddle.

    Faerie gold
    cannot match
    my treasure hold
    books, books
    stories high
    riches tenfold

    Where am I?

    1. Linda, my hat is off to librarians everywhere. I was a volunteer at one of our branch libraries for 8 years. Never a dull moment, some difficult, most rewarding. Loved your poem.

  2. Love your poem, Laura! (Especially your long title! Great way around word count!)

    WALL MADE OF BOOKS

    I’d read a book
    but if I took
    one down to look-

    Gobbledygook!

    1. Cindy, any wall of books is a delight, even with “gobbledygook,” Love it!

  3. Morning stretch
    Fingertips lazily brushing spines
    Waking up
    to a different kind of dream

  4. The bust drew me in. It’s pallor, lack of arms and legs. This world of books is not attainable. And then it made me think of small children — in the same condition if no one reads to them how are they different from this bust.

    Can’t Even Use the Ladder

    Incomplete
    I cannot reach
    What I seek
    Key to rosy cheek;
    Read to me.

    by Donna JT Smith

  5. Good morning Laura. Love the pic, love your poem. Perfection! Grinned at Cindy’s comment about the title. It works! We tell our kids over and over that our books are their inheritance. I also have a small framed print of “The Bookworm” by Carl Spitzweg, German painter & poet, thus my verse.

    The Library Ladder

    Reading
    rung by rung
    stairway to the unknown
    books await
    seeds yet to be sown.

      1. Thanks Donna. I hate having to purge our personal library but it’s necessary in order to keep bringing books in. I feel at peace when surrounded by my books and I just hope that those we donate are affording peace wherever they end up.

  6. I’ve had relatives in this library and have taken pictures of it…it’s magnificent! And I love books, so this was a great one for me. 🙂

    Books
    Books
    Books galore!
    Wall to wall
    Ceiling to floor!
    Wander no more…
    my nook.

    by: Michaela Hawley

    1. I would love to have a nook in that library! I haven’t been to Ireland yet, but when I go this will definitely be on my list of places to visit.

      1. I have heard of another magnificent library in Spain, too, that sounds just as magnificent!

  7. Wow Laura that’s one lucky child! I loved your poem. What a stunning library, it’s so grand and glorious. It reminds me of the great cathedrals of Europe, hence the inspiration for my poem.

    Heaven Bound

    The stairway to heaven,
    bastioned by the Holy Trinity
    was lined in tales of gold.

  8. sorry I’m over word limit today Laura Hope your Dad and sister will be okay in the storm
    Will not budge
    not an inch
    till I’ve read ever line
    beneath ever cover
    upon ever shelf
    sad the book
    worm too
    the librarian
    but we close
    in a hour

    1. Having just been through Harvey, I feel for Laura’s family too. I love the voice of your bookworm, Jessica, not wanting to budge until all is read, but only having an hour.

  9. I just drool when I see pictures like this. And I loved your poem, Laura. I would love to live in a library!

    With the impending hurricane, the picture reminded me of all the libraries that got flooded during Harvey. And then I got to thinking of reading fish and came up with this ditty.

    There was a snook
    In the brook
    Who had a nook
    For his book

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