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Each poet added a line from a lyric to create this amazing poem about Summer!

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The entire Progressive Poem is here today! (if you are here for Z - go HERE)

These are the poets that contributed a line each to Irene Latham's brainchild, the Progressive Poem. This year's poem was begun by Matt Forrest Esenwine, using found lyrics from songs. Each day a new poet added a new "found" line from a song...right up until today. Today is the last day, and it is my turn to supply a line.

I have written a rather lengthy explanation of what went on in my head and on paper. You can, of course, read it, or skip down to the ending...well, not the ENDING... save that. Go to the middle where the poem is, to read the last line. Then go to the END if you are in the mood for - um - a laugh? more music? something different?

April 2019 Progressive Poem Contributors and their lines:

Above are the poets that contributed a line each to Irene Latham's brainchild, the Progressive Poem. This year's poem was begun by Matt Forest Eisenwine, using found lyrics from songs. Each day a new poet added a new "found" line from a song...right up until today. Today is the last day, and it is my turn to supply a line.

OH, MY WORD!

First, let me say, this has been a long month, what with the AtoZ Challenge (if you are here for Z - go HERE) and National Poetry Month with a poem a day and all! And then following along with the Progressive Poem. I've watched and read with trepidation, wondering what line I could "find" in music to wrap up this poem into a conclusion that matched its summery, "dare to be" song medley. I was coming up with nothing for the first week. But that is expected. You have no idea where it will go. The best I could hope for was a happy coincidence that one of the lines or songs I was thinking of would actually work by the time the 29th writer had finished. So I waited. At first I didn't read it every day. I waited for two or three days, so I wouldn't be tempted to get ahead of myself in planning.

BUT THEN...OH, MY WORD (did I say that already??)

BUT THEN... one day it occurred to me that I could maybe make a found poem with what was there. And thus began my journey in earnest... and at last I could start doing more than just reading and waiting. It was scary to do that and realize that suddenly I'd have to come up with a finale to contribute in 24 hours.

OH, MY...no, I won't say it again. But I got this idea that made me so excited to get started, and I could start now... I would not go looking for a song, but do the ultimate in the "found" category, by using the "found" words in the created poem, to create a "found" last line!

I wrote the lines and took words in order, anxiously awaiting each day's offering. To spread out the "found words" that had been supplied, I decided to try to write a line 8-12 words long, with at least 2 words in each section - dividing the poem up into 10 lines each (except 9 on the last, as mine would be the 10th of that section).

And then suddenly another inspiration hit somewhere around April 15.

What would it be like if I took the poem in reverse - total reverse, not just lines but first word last? It would help me to be free of phrases in songs and see the individual words. It might end up feeling more like a summing up or a back to the beginning of the poem at the end - a cyclical kind of thing? Or maybe it would be just something altogether different?

At any rate, I decided to try it.

I took what I had and wrote each line backwards, adding them in reverse order - most recently written at the beginning. I kind of liked the feeling of liberation. So I continued writing each line in reverse order, starting with the first line, first word at the end.

I kept my division of the poem into thirds to divide up the lines to give me some "spread" over the whole poem. And from these words I selected the last line of the Progressive Poem. It is a compilation of the song words and the title is a "found" title from the titles of the offered songs.

The one thing that I found out about this process was that it became more and more exciting to see what words I would have available to use in the final line of the poem. I watched and wrote backwards every day from that moment on, trying out different lines - or parts of lines. I could not finish until the last line was offered!

Here are the lines backwards - and the underlined words are the selected last line:

*PUT LINES 20-29 HERE - pick 2-4 words
moonlight serious this moonlight the under sway let's two of power the by life multiply do you things the you in faith have be and hand my hold best the simply you're life of sign a for looking stargazing us keeps that amazing so what's curiosity stopping no there's to want we anyone be can we... runs honey the where land the to
"And free we'll be -"

*PUT LINES 11-20 HERE
go to years light than now closer old minute one than less know to easy not it's deep the waves the waltzing me with come you won't oh veins my tiger a there's and sea the to eagle an like fly wanna I sky the o' piece a me get today called it's here tomorrow's eyes my in sun the got sky the in cloud a not
"We're diving in! Gonna"

*PUT first 10 LINES BACKWARDS HERE
down shining is sun the walk a we'll come go let's set ready forever last it make lifetime of the it's blue dazzling greens Kodachrome today of portrait a opens curtain the window your from lean rise to only had you day every and each sea laughin' the swim we play to time just school for time no smiles world whole the and fun miles for see can I endless
"take a chance on summer!"

And now for the last line and title...oh, and I'm toying with a special treat or threat...take it as you will! LOL!
Drum roll....
I've set it to music with a refrain. Me and my ukulele...lol! I'm a beginner remember, so nothing fancy. But I'll send you the lyric with chords if you like. The music is at the bottom...the ENDING I mentioned earlier, but this is so long you've probably forgotten by now!

******
1 Endless summer; I can see for miles...
2 Fun, fun, fun - and the whole world smiles
3 No time for school- just time to play
4 we swim the laughin' sea each and every day
5 You had only to rise, lean from your window,
6 the curtain opens on a portrait of today:
7 Kodachrome greens, dazzling blue
8 it's the chance of a lifetime
9 make it last forever-ready? Set? Let's Go
10 Come, we'll take a walk, the sun is shining down
11 Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes
12 Tomorrow's here. It's called today.
13 Gonna get me a piece o' the sky.
14 I wanna fly like an eagle, to the sea
15 and there's a tiger in my veins
16 Oh, won't you come with me waltzing the waves, diving the deep?
17 It's not easy to know
18 less than one minute old
19 we're closer now than light years to go
20 To the land where the honey runs
21 ...we can be anyone we want to be
22 There's no stopping curiosity
23 What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
24 Looking for a sign of life
25 You're simply the best
26 Hold my hand and we'll be free
27 Have faith in you and the things you do
28 Multiply life by the power of two.
29 Let's sway under the moonlight, this serious moonlight,
30 And free we'll be - we're diving in! Gonna take a chance on summer!

I found this guy in Target at the Starbucks there wearing this hoodie on Sunday afternoon. I had to ask him if I could take a picture of his back... not too strange a request, right? So I put the poem on it. It enlarges to be more readable.

And just because I "could"...well, not because I could really, but because I wanted to try....
I set the poem to music (of sorts). Playing my ukulele - our debut performance - I wrote the lines in order, but arranged so they could be sung more easily in phrases, and figured out chords and then finally played and sang ... right here:

Voila! Now, my thought for a title is...

How about a found one using just the TITLES of the songs?

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The entire Progressive Poem is here today! (if you are here for Z - go HERE) These are the poets that contributed a line each to Irene Latham's brainchild, the Progressive Poem. This year's poem was begun by Matt Forrest Esenwine, using found lyrics from songs.

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Irene Latham shares her own poetry and Happiness!

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"Err on the side of love."
- my Mama

"Life isn't about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself."
- Anonymous

"Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love,
and love what you write.
The key word is love.
You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for."
- Ray Bradbury

July 1 Janice at Salt City Verse 8 Jan at Bookseed Studio 15 Elisabeth at Unexpected Intersections 22 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading 29 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins August 5 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone 12 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche 19 Dave at Leap of Dave 26 Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies} September 2 Linda at TeacherDance 9 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink 16 Kat at Kathryn Apel 23 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities 30 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference October 7 Sarah Grace at Sarah Grace Tuttle 14 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme 21 Bridget at wee words for wee ones 28 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch November 4 Heidi at my juicy little universe 11 Buffy at Buffy Silverman 18 Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup 25 Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town December 2 Catherine at Reading to the Core 9 Michelle at Michelle Kogan 16 Karen at Karen Edmisten* 23 Irene at Live Your Poem 30 Patricia at Reverie

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"Err on the side of love." - my Mama "Life isn't about finding yourself.Life is about creating yourself."- Anonymous "Love. Fall in love and stay in love.

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Sylvia Vardell's site Poetry for Children

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Sylvia Vardell's site Poetry for Children

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Always something to find here.

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About finding and sharing poetry with young people

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With your own poems or others', create an Animoto like this one Amy W. made of Elizabeth Steinglass's Field Day from Great Morning.

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Animoto's video maker turns your photos and video clips into professional videos in minutes. Fast and shockingly simple - we make video creation easy.

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Here's a Padlet of the many poetry-related wonders on wonderopolis.org

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Sign up here for a weekly poem to teach. From Poets.org

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Produced for K-12 educators, Teach This Poem features one poem a week from our online poetry collection, accompanied by interdisciplinary resources and activities designed to help teachers quickly and easily bring poetry into the classroom. The series is curated by our Educator in Residence, Dr. Madeleine Fuchs Holzer, and is available for free via email.

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From Poets.org, a calendar of birthdays of poets and activities for the classroom.

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Books and resources for year round teaching. Collected by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong.

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The Poetry Friday Anthology® series helps teachers and librarians teach poetry easily while meeting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the Texas TEKS for English Language Arts (ELA)/Poetry and Science & Technology. Celebrate Poetry on Fridays-and any day-with The Poetry Friday Anthology®!

PET CRAZY: A Poetry Friday Power Book is a story in poems and a writing journal that contains twelve PowerPacks with creative activities to get your children (K-3) thinking, drawing, reading, and writing about cats, dogs, lizards, rabbits, and more! Resources for children (as well as parents, teachers, and book club leaders) include "Hidden Language Skills" to sharpen language learning even further, recommended reading lists and websites, tips for reading aloud and writing, talking points, and places to publish. The book features the work of the dynamic team of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, illustrator Franzi Paetzold, and 12 poets: Kristy Dempsey, Helen Frost, Janice Harrington, Eric Ode, Laura Shovan, Eileen Spinelli, Elizabeth Steinglass, Don Tate, Padma Venkatraman, April Halprin Wayland, Carole Boston Weatherford, and Tamera Will Wissinger. This book will get your kids barking up the WRITE tree!

What People Are Saying about PET CRAZY:

" Children will be able to use their personal experiences with pets as a springboard for writing- you can't beat that! " -Becky Calzada, Library Services Coordinator, Leander ISD

" Rich with resources . . .and the story thread ties it all together for young readers." -Susan Polos, School Librarian, Bedford Central School District

"Entirely accessible for young children . . . a wonderful fit for elementary students." -Marion Rocco, Bilingual Librarian, Professional Resource Library, Austin ISD

"The resources are amazing! I loved the Hidden Language Skills! " -Paige Bentley-Flannery, Community Librarian, Deschutes Public Library

PET CRAZY: A Poetry Friday Power Book is a Children's Book Council "Hot Off the Press" selection and is available now for pre-order and mid-August delivery at QEP Books (call 800-323-6787). 124 pp. Grades K-3.

HERE WE GO: A Poetry Friday Power Book for Tweens & Teens

HERE WE GO: A Poetry Friday Power Bookfor children, tweens, and teens, features 12 PowerPack sets that combine: 1) diverse anchor poems; 2) new original response poems and mentor poems by Janet Wong; 3) PowerPlay prewriting activities; and 4) Power2You writing prompts.

The twelve anchor poems for HERE WE GO were written by: Naomi Shihab Nye, Carole Boston Weatherford, Joseph Bruchac, David Bowles, Ibtisam Barakat, Eileen Spinelli, David L. Harrison, Kate Coombs, Robyn Hood Black, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Renée M. LaTulippe, and Margaret Simon. Their poems are joined together with twenty-four new poems by Janet Wong that form a story featuring a diverse group of kids who are concerned about social justice and work together to fight hunger with a walkathon and school garden. Sylvia Vardell's inventive PowerPlay activities make it easy for writers to get inspired, while her Power2You writing prompts extend the learning. Vardell also created extensive back matter resources for readers and writers. A ges 8 and up.

Note: This is the second book in the Poetry Friday Power Book series and was selected for the NNSTOY Social Justice Book List. Book 1 in the series, You Just Wait: A Poetry Friday Power Book, was published in September 2016 and was selected as a 2017 NCTE Poetry Notable.

"This interactive book and the abundance of resources provided will motivate students to take action through words and ideas to make their world a better place- a must have for today's classrooms." -Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli, Authors of Mentor Texts, Nonfiction Mentor Texts, and Poetry Mentor Texts

" I absolutely love this book! The invitations are inspiring and offer opportunities to think about the world and respond both personally and critically." -Mary Napoli, Associate Professor of Reading, Penn State Harrisburg

"This book will allow all sorts of emotions and thoughts to bubble forth, including difficult and painful ones . . . and that will be a source of healing." -Ed Spicer, Educator and literacy expert

"Really glad and excited that this book will be in the hands of young people." -Jeana Hrepich, Core Faculty, Antioch University Seattle

You Just Wait: A Poetry Friday Power Book for Tweens & Teens

YOU JUST WAIT: A Poetry Friday Power Book for tweens and teens, features 12 PowerPack sets that contain five elements: 1) a PowerPlay prewriting activity; 2) a previously-published Outside Poem (in this case, from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School); 3) a new original Response Poem; 4) a new original Mentor Text poem; and 5) a Power2You writing prompt. PowerPacks = a fun and inspiring approach for a wide variety of readers and writers. Curious? Take a look!

The twelve Outside Poems from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School (an NCTE Poetry Notable) were written by Robyn Hood Black, Joseph Bruchac, Jen Bryant, Margarita Engle, Julie Larios, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Charles Ghigna, Avis Harley, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Charles Waters, and Virginia Euwer Wolff. The way they are joined together here with twenty-four new poems by Janet Wong, they form a story featuring Paz, an Asian-Latina soccer player with dreams of stardom in college, the Olympics, and ultimately the World Cup; Lucesita, her feisty movie-loving cousin; and Joe, an older brother with dreams of the NBA. Sylvia Vardell's inventive PowerPlay activities make it easy for writers to get inspired, while her Power2You writing prompts extend learning. Vardell also created extensive back matter resources for readers and writers.

What People Are Saying about YOU JUST WAIT:

"Imagine a completely original way of writing verse novellas . . . Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell have once again broken barriers with their bold, innovative approach to teaching poetry. I am thrilled to be included!" - Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Surrender Tree

" YOU JUST WAIT is a must-have resource for middle-school teachers, the perfect invitation for teens to explore text-to-self connections through poetry. Comprehensive tools for implementation accompany excellent Poetry Friday selections, and Janet Wong's brilliant connective tissue provides wonderful mentor pieces." - David Bowles, Pura Belpré Honor-winning author of The Smoking Mirror

"Great spirit! Great fun! Let's write!" - Pat Mora, Author of Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems about Love; Founder of Día: Children's Day, Book Day / El día de los niños, El día de los libros

"Every poem tells a story. Every page invites connection. Young readers will find their fingers itching to respond to these verses and to add their own poems and stories." -Carol Jago, Longtime English teacher & Past President of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

Hooray for holidays! The Poetry Friday Anthology® for Celebrations features poems in English and Spanish by 115 poets for 150+ holidays and celebrations, including: Random Acts of Kindness Week, Children's Book Week, World Laughter Day, National Camping Month, International Literacy Day, Global Hand Washing Day, and more! It's available in a Teacher/Librarian Edition and a Children's Edition. Check it out at PoetryCelebrations.com! (And listen to a FREE audio sampler at SoundCloud featuring 35 poems from the book read by David Bowles & Friends!)

Poets include: Jack Prelutsky, J. Patrick Lewis, Joyce Sidman, Margarita Engle, Marilyn Singer, Nikki Grimes, Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy, Ibtisam Barakat, Uma Krishnaswami, Francisco X. Alarcón, Linda Sue Park, Jane Yolen, Kenn Nesbitt, Jorge Argueta, Grace Lin, Joseph Bruchac, Douglas Florian, Laura Purdie Salas, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, and 95 others. See our terrific list of contributors here!

Target audience: PreK - Grade 5; for Public Librarians, School Librarians, K-8 Classroom Teachers, Reading Specialists, and ELL Teachers, and Children (ages 4 and up). Available in a Teacher/Librarian Edition and a Children's Edition; order at Amazon or QEPBooks.com!
"A bubbly and educational bilingual poetry anthology for children." -Kirkus "If you are looking for Spanish language material to use with children in class or at home, you are going to love this book!... I guarantee you will find material to fit your curriculum." -Spanish Playground

Poetry + the Common Core (CCSS)

On Poetry Friday and any day: Integrate the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA) into your curriculum with poetry. Poetry allows you to start small. You can address CCSS requirements in just five minutes with The Poetry Friday Anthology ®!

These editions of The Poetry Friday Anthology® are tailored to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Poetry. Poetry allows you to start small; address the Poetry TEKS and prepare your students for the STAAR in just five minutes every Poetry Friday!

The Poetry Friday Anthology® for Science was designed to align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as well as the science standards of individual states, so the Teacher Edition and The Poetry of Science: The Poetry Friday Anthology® for Science for Kids can be used nationally. For Texas teachers, The TEKS Guide is a supplement with charts that show connections to the Science TEKS, Technology TEKS, and Poetry TEKS at a glance.

A NEW COVER for the Teacher/Librarian Edition!

NEW! An illustrated KIDS edition with 30 Bonus Poems!

"A treasury of the greatest science poetry for children ever written, with a twist!"

"If you only buy one book this year, this is the book you should buy. "

"Vardell and Wong have again provided an outstanding resource for classroom teachers!"

-IRA's Reading Today

"You will find information and guidance for linking poetry to the Common Core State Standards or the TEKS . . . This is a lot of resource and professional development for $29.99!"

- The ALSC Blog

Looking for an e-book? Many of our books are also available in e-book editions. You can load an e-book onto a large screen or Smartboard for the whole classroom to see, or download our e-books on your iPad or other Kindle/compatible device.

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Pomelo Books | Publisher of The Poetry Friday Anthology Series

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The Poetry Friday Anthology® series helps teachers and librarians teach poetry easily while meeting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the Texas TEKS for English Language Arts (ELA)/Poetry and Science & Technology. Celebrate Poetry on Fridays-and any day-with The Poetry Friday Anthology®!

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A book for teachers with lessons, poems by authors, and poems by students. A valuable resource for every teacher.

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1. Learn to Find Writing Ideas from Poems

2. Learn to Choose Perspectives and Point of View from Poems

3. Learn to Structure Texts from Poems

4. Learn to Play with Language from Poems

5. Learn to Craft Beginnings and Endings from Poems

6. Learn to Select Titles from Poems

In this book, you will explore the qualities of strong writing through the craft of particular poems. Depending on your needs and interests, there are many ways you might choose to use this resource, but whichever you choose, please enjoy the poems first. Read aloud together. Read quietly. Sketch or paint a line from a poem. Act out a poem. Play with words and reread. Share a poem each morning or week, collecting favorite lines. Make time to read and fall in love with texts-before you study craft. See, when we as readers care about the words of a poem, we will be interested in learning how the writer moved us. We must fall in love first.

If you're looking for mentor texts or language to help explain a particular writing technique, use this book to add a lesson to an existing writing unit, showing students how they might end articles with a brief word or phrase or find essay ideas by studying artwork. Similarly, as students draft and revise, use this book during writing conferences, sharing model poems by contemporary poets and children as you teach students new techniques. Make sure it's clear that the strong writing students admire in poems translates directly to the strong writing they admire in other genres.

You might use this book to plan a unit of poetry. Choose a few lessons from each chapter to tailor a monthlong or mini poetry unit, and use the mentor texts provided. If you do this, be sure to check out the books and visit the websites of the poets highlighted. The world of poetry for children is vast and beautiful, including yet extending far beyond humor and acrostics.
- From the Introduction

"Like the perfect poem, each writing technique in Poems Are Teachers is elaborated upon with just the right amount of words: part inspiration, part author advice, part adult poet, part children's poems, part lesson language. This is a book you'll return to again and again as you work on your own writing, and support the student writers in your classroom."-Jennifer Serravallo

"I promise that you are about to experience joy reading this book. I am positive that sharing the poems, how-to's, and inner workings of all these poets' hearts and minds with your students will magically, even miraculously, improve their poetry and prose."-Katherine Bomer

"If I'd had this book when I was teaching full time, there would have been far more poetry in my students' lives. Amy has accomplished a most amazing feat: using poetry to teach writing so it is beautiful, purposeful, and doable. I love her use of mentor texts--both the published versions and the student pieces that result from reading like a writer. Her ideas to inspire student writing are timely and creative. Bottom line: This is a book for experienced and inexperienced teachers of writing. Pick it up and turn to any chapter and page for inspiration and ready-to-go teaching ideas that draw upon the majesty of language used well."-Ruth Culham

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"Poetry is our wisest writing teacher." Children's writer and poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater leads us on an adventure through poetry, pointing out craft elements

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Bayou Song: Creative Explorations of the South Louisiana Landscape

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Bayou Song: Creative Explorations of the South Louisiana Landscape

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This book of poems provides invitations for students to write and draw from their own perspectives.

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Bayou Song Creative Explorations of the South Louisiana Landscape

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Bayou Song: Creative Explorations of the South Louisiana Landscape Poetry by Margaret Simon, Illustrations by Anna Cantrell, and Photography by Henry Cancienne Selected to represent the state of Louisiana in the "52 Great Reads" children's book program at the 2018 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

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Teaching Authors has a Wednesday Writing Workout feature that is great to try for yourself and with students.

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Writing Workouts have been a regular TeachingAuthors feature since early on in our blog. We invite writers to try these writing exercises to develop their writing skills, and we encourage classroom teachers to use them with their students. The above logo--a set of barbells and a ribbon with a medal--is meant to represent how everyone who works out with us is a winner! or on the above image, to see all posts containing Writing Workouts .

Beginning in January, 2013, we separated our Writing Workouts into stand-alone posts published on Wednesdays. The Wednesday Writing Workouts are still typically written by members of the TeachingAuthors team, but sometimes they are contributed by guest TeachingAuthors . Click here, or on the revised logo below, to access all our Wednesday Writing Workouts .

And, as always, Happy Writing!
Carmela

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Writing Workouts have been a regular TeachingAuthors feature since early on in our blog. We invite writers to try these writing exercises to develop their writing skills, and we encourage classroom teachers to use them with their students.

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In the month of April, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater wrote a series of poems about a boy and his dog with invitations to students to write in similar form.

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Poetry and lessons for children of all ages by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater for classrooms or homeschools to teach literacy and writing workshop instruction

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Use this resource to connect with poets through author interviews and poetry activities.

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I write children's poetry, picture books, and greeting card copy. My creative challenge is to bring out the natural musicality and rhythm of words and let them bounce around (and otherwise run amok) within the sphere of my imagination. Please visit my website at MichelleHBarnes.com

The following poet/authors contribute educational posts to Today's Little Ditty. Please click on their names to explore their series.

Click on covers to purchase.

In accordance with the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA), Today's Little Ditty does not seek personal information of children under age 13. If a child under age 13 chooses to comment on a post or otherwise participate on this blog (by submitting a poem, for example), he or she must do so via a parent or with written parental consent. Comments or poems submitted by children under 13 without parental consent will be deleted.

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I write children's poetry, picture books, and greeting card copy. My creative challenge is to bring out the natural musicality and rhythm of words and let them bounce around (and otherwise run amok) within the sphere of my imagination. Please visit my website at MichelleHBarnes.com The following poet/authors contribute educational posts to Today's Little Ditty.

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Laura Purdie Salas invites writers to respond to an image with 15 words or less each Thursday. Invite your students to respond.

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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.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC is so haunting. This image makes me think of several things:

And here's my first draft.

It's your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS! (Title doesn't count toward word count.)

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Korean War Veterans Memorial [15 Words or Less] * Laura Purdie Salas

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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. The Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC is so haunting. This image makes me think of several things: homesick firefighters militia groups And here's my first draft.