PENSIEVE

Sometimes
greener grass
IS
the prickly blades
beneath your feet.






Visit Laura Salas for details!

Bump, bump, bump

Normally, with Laura's weekly "15 Words" photo prompt, a dozen ideas quickly form.  Today?  Complete writer's block.  All I could come up with from her photo below seemed expected and contrived and done a thousand times over.

....until I remembered as a child playing with our neighbors and their two-landing staircase.  We'd grab blankets and pillows and slide down their hardwood stairs over and over and over, stopping only after we were covered in bruises.  We'd go feet first and head first, sometimes two at a time. 

When I heard my own kids doing this recently, it brought back the memory.  They played for an hour, and their laughter took me back to that place.  Completely entertained, they didn't need anything electronic to hold their attention--just slippery sleeping bags and a little imagination.  My husband was concerned they might put a foot through the sheetrock; to me, it was worth that price....

Blankets,
laughter,
imagination--
the Ordinary
becomes Thrill Ride.
Bumps, bruises
follow,
worthy price to pay.

Please visit Laura Salas if the photo prompts a 15-word poem of your own :).

Mercury rising

At first glimpse of Laura's photo for this week's "15 Words or Less" poetry challenge, "mercury rising" popped into my mind.  I've never seen the 1998 Bruce Willis thriller, so my apologies if it's an unsavory association--ignorance...bliss, yes?

Here's my quick poetic response to her image--if you'd like to try your hand, I know Laura would welcome you with open arms!

In youth, in ignorance,
Silvery, liquid beads
Were enigmatic delight--
Not poison.
Like sin sometimes....

Known

I loved Laura's photo for this week's "15 Words or Less" challenge--so many possibilities, but this week I offer just one :). 

Countless joys & sorrows seen

Tears, laughter ascend

Unbound by lofty beams,

Known by The Divine.

** And remember, everyone's invited to join in this week's "40-or-less Photo Challenge"...it was inspired, in part, by Laura, after all!  :)

If Mama says "No!" ask Daddy

Pleading gaze
Achilles heel
Dad will melt
But Mama's steel.

Visit Laura Salas for more info on "15 Words or Less Poems".

Wrecked

Worn and weary, once adrift
Solidly grounded
Now resting in Peace

Visit Laura Salas for details.

Hypens make THREE words ONE, right? **

Simba was right--
The Circle of Life
Keeps you spinning.
Revolving doors?
WHY didn't I think of that?
No slamming, just swishing.
I spend enough time running in circles
Without the help of a door!
Spinning, grinning, on-the-go,
Stop to smell the roses!
Enjoying, toying, quid-pro-quo
"LIFE!" right under noses!

Laura's "15 Words" photo, above, spurs all kinds of thoughts; the above are a few of mine.  Visit her blog for more details about this weekly, fun, short-and-sweet poetic challenge :).

** Abraham Piper, by example, has taught me this blog cheat--gotta say, I think he's brilliant! ;)

15 Words and then some...

Waiting on friends at Panera, trusty laptop in tow, I decided to check out Laura's "15 Words" photo until they arrive. I was absolutely delighted she obviously had "me" in mind when she chose her shot:  a robin?  in the snow??  One choice, very "close" to me; the other, one of My Favorite Things.

Very distracted because I don't have my cell phone and I'm looking up every three seconds to see if my girlieQs have arrived...here's what poetry looks like on distraction (it's funny to note I've churned out four...wonder what they'd sound like if I WASN'T preoccupied!).

 

When Spring brings snow
The robin delights
In God's sense of humor.

Spring--an arbitrary date
Meaning little to the One
Who sets season into motion.

Going out on a limb
...sometimes...
might just leave you out in the cold.

And I know this one's over 15 words, but I couldn't help writing a limerick.

The robin, perched high, she's a'rocking
She's alone, feathered friends aren't a'flocking
It's snowy and cold
She's feeling quite old
And the snow on her tail is quite shocking.

Rolling the dice (15 Words or Less Poems)

This week's photo for Laura's weekly poetry challenge--

Seemingly random choices
still end with
concrete consequences.
The Game of Life
well played
requires much more
than
chance.

Inspired by a GOOSE?!

Go figure.

Last week, I loved the photo of icicles dangling from a roof, but I struggled to put two words together for Laura's weekly 15-words-or-less poetic challenge; this week, the picture does nothing for me (sorry if that offends you Canada geese lovers in the crowd) and yet I like the poems it inspired. 

(This is one of the instances my husband would say I'm a "complicated woman"; make note, that is NOT the same thing as high maintenance!)

Clichéd Advice

Stick out your neck,
Spread your wings,
Reach for stars
Seek moments, not things.

Discovery

When imaginations soar
And dreams are chased,
Only then is life fully lived. 

If you'd like to submit your own poems--and hey, with a 15-word limit, it's easily doable--please visit Laura for details.