Tag Archives: Wordle

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SOLC Day 14: Wordle-ing

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March 2025 SOLC–Day 14
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org

This post also serves as a Poetry Friday piece today. If you’re interested in checking out what’s on offer poetically, Janice Scully is hosting the Roundup at her blog.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT read this if you haven’t played Wordle yet today!!!

I’m pretty sure there are many unrecognized psychological profiling “tells” in our daily lives. We’ve often joked at school that screeners should add a question about “takes shoes off in class”. (How many of you are nodding your heads right now?) Another one might be if you use the same word or different words each day when you play Wordle. I can see the point for each choice, but I do wonder what it says about us.

Wordle is an entrenched part of my morning routine. Full disclosure: I choose a different word every morning. I don’t know what the says about me, but I typically go with whatever feels right for that day, even if it doesn’t “feel” smart phonologically. Sometimes I’m trying to set a tone for the day. Sometimes I’m thinking about the weather. Sometimes a word just pops into my head. I’ve used the word “tired” a lot this year.

This morning I pulled up the screen. What should I start with?

I glanced at the almost-over lunar eclipse out my window, and regretted not rising in the wee hours to see if the clouds had dispersed. Oh, well. Moon is too short….moony? Nah, that’s not a word …Is it?

I hesitated, then moved on. Peace? That sounds good except the double e feels risky on a first guess.

“Clear” popped into my head. This one combined the unexpectedly clear skies, and also felt like a nice tone for the day.

I typed it in. C L E A R.

1 yellow and 1 green. Not too bad.

Next guess?

Here’s where more phonics comes into play.

I don’t think the “c” will come right before the e…that’s not too common…though “scene would work”… “c” is also probably not the last letter because that would need a vowel before it and the letter before that’s an e…does anything end in “eic”? It could end in “ect” though….erect? Oh, no, there’s no “r” in the word so that can’t be it. Eject? Elect? Either one of those would work. Hmmmm….I don’t think the Wordle makers want to touch on “elect” as anything with the whiff of politics feels deadly these days…although the word was “greed” the other day… I know someone I’d like to eject…

I type in E J E C T.

Ok, that yellow e must go at the end. What ends in “ece”? …Oh! I’ve got it!

I quickly type in P I E C E.

Yes! (Please note the irony that I did initially think of beginning with the word “peace”.)

Now the second layer of fun starts. On most days, I take my Wordle guesses and write a poem in my notebook. They often go in odd directions and lately tend to be bleak. (Surprise!) I don’t usually share them as they are very “drafty” and really just a fun exercise.

Here’s what happened today…

Batten Down the Hatches

Clear feels like a goal–
a nice lens for the day
Clear-headed implies level
clear sailing suggests an easy path
with clear skies ahead…

Ha! Eject that fantasy!
Storm clouds gather
unrelenting
in a tumult of turbulence
All eyes turn to the skies
Warning sirens sound louder and louder
ALARM ALARM ALARM
a constant background blare
inescapable

Everyone is uneasy
Is anything stable?
The winds howl
in a frenzy of acceleration
ALARM ALARM ALARM
What pieces of our lives
will be smashed and scattered?
What will transform unexpectedly
into the next deadly projectile?
Who knows how long the storm will last
Who knows what the toll will be
but surely it’s coming…

©Molly Hogan

So that’s what Wordle and Wordle poem-ing looked like this morning at my house. Do you play? Do you use the same first guess? Or even more interestingly, do you have any unrecognized psychological profiling “tells” to share?

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A Wordle Poem

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t played yesterday’s Wordle, do not go any further! (I’m not even sure if you can go back a day to play, but I don’t want to take any chances! That’s why I waited until Saturday to post– A Wordle-spoiler is an evil thing, indeed!)

So, you might have guessed that I’m addicted to Wordle (and Connections and Spelling Bee and all sorts of word games…) and play daily. A couple of years ago I used to use my Wordle guesses to write poems. I’ve fallen out of that habit, but yesterday the urge struck me to try it again. I solved Wordle in three guesses, and these were my three words (last chance to avoid the spoiler!!): scold, clean, leech.

Here’s the poem they inspired:

August Resistance

As summer’s last days unfold,
I will not scold myself for
failing to clean, to organize,
to do one thing, then yet another.
I refuse to allow duty
to leech joy
from these precious budding days.

Instead, I will honor 
their haphazard blossoming.
I will simply be
content
as I am
amidst the glorious chaos
of my unweeded garden.

©Molly Hogan

Here’s hoping you’re enjoying every bit of the unfolding of these golden summer days.

The Poetry Friday Roundup this week is with Rose at her blog, Imagine the Possibilities.

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Wordle Poems

Are you playing Wordle, the game flavor of the month?

Over the last couple of weeks, as my Facebook page blossomed with shared grids documenting others’ Wordle game outcomes, I had to investigate. I mean, I’m always up for a good word game. So, I went to the site, tried it and was immediately hooked. I love the simple concept, but also the fact that there’s no way it can become a time suck. (With only one new game per day, you can’t go wrong!) Also, since everyone is trying to guess the same word, you can get a competition going with family and friends.

Then, the brilliant Buffy Silverman suggested using Wordle word guesses to create a poem. Count me in! She didn’t impose any other parameters (though she suggested that it should be “vaguely coherent”), but for some reason I decided I needed to use my words in the order I guessed them. I am now having way too much fun doing this and it’s brought a whole new level to my Wordle enjoyment. Here are a few of my efforts:

Word guesses: mouse, stare, spire, shire

Winter in the Night Garden or Whose garden is this anyway?

As I watch through the window
a wee mouse
scales hummocks of snow
stops to stare at me
with unblinking eyes
then turns to wend its way
through the tangled spires
of faded stalks and blossoms
foraging for seed
within its garden shire.

©Molly Hogan

Word guesses: windy, harpy, prosy, proxy

Beware

On these windy days
the air spirals
into harpy mode
keening, crying
clawing at my skin.
No prosy commentary
on the value
of rest and winter retreat,
this is a full-on assault.
Wind as Mother Nature’s proxy.

©Molly Hogan

Word guesses: pared, plums, pinch, point

After the Argument

With one eye on me
she pared down the mound of fruit 
ruthlessly discarding dented apples
rejecting dusky plums
giving the lone kiwi
a sharp-fingered pinch
tossing each
with a decisive thud
into the heaping compost bin

I got the point

©Molly Hogan

Here’s a recent round of guesses. Is there a poem lurking within them? Feel free to get inspired!

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Tabatha Yeatts at her blog, The Opposite of Indifference.