When I get a chance I like to participate in author Laura Purdie Salas’s weekly 15 words or less Poem Challenge. Each Thursday she posts a photo prompt (guidelines here) and an original poem. She invites others to write a 15 words or less poem in response to the photo. She considers it a “first draft exercise” and, as she says, it’s a “low pressure way to wake up your poetry brain.”  Participating this week was a real upper for me in a downer of a week. It was also a reminder that I can carve out time to write and, even if it’s only a 5-10 minute endeavor, I feel better for having done so.

Her photo prompt on Thursday was this:

Photo credit: Laura P. Salas

In case you can’t tell, Laura explained it was a photo of a cupcake decorated with Cookie Monster eating a cookie. Fun!  I mean who doesn’t love Cookie Monster?! You can read Laura’s poem here along with other contributors. I find it fascinating to read the variety of responses and to see how differently people are inspired by the same photo prompt.

Here is my contribution:

Lessons from Cookie Monster

Dive in with gusto
no regrets
Spray crumbs
Smile blue toothy grins
Embrace your inner cookie!

Molly Hogan (c) 2016