I’ve loved word games since I was a kid. My grandmother introduced me to word find puzzles when I was probably in 3rd or 4th grade. They seemed like treasure hunts to me. Eventually, crossword puzzles usurped word finds (although I would never scorn them), and Scrabble was admitted to my list of favorite games. But for some reason, I’m very late to the Wordle craze. I didn’t start playing until 19 days ago. Why start playing now? Because Mary Lee challenged the Inklings to write a Wordy 30 for our October challenge! According to Mary Lee, “a Wordy 30 is a poem using exactly 30 letters. Each line should have the same number of letters. Each line should use one word. You might have 6 lines with 5 letters in each line (like Wordle), or 5 x 6, 3 x 10, 10 x 3, 15 x 2, 2 x 15, 30 x 1, or (most unlikely) 1 x 30. Have…fun???”
Don’t you love those question marks? Playing Wordle is fun. Writing poetry is fun (mostly). Writing a Wordy 30? Not so much.
For my first attempts, I stuck to five letter words. It was challenging to find six words with the right letter count that worked together in a meaningful way. Talk about a treasure hunt! After a few false starts, I decided this draft wasn’t terrible.
cloud
shape
ideas
arise
heart
bloom
But I didn’t love it. Then, last weekend, as I worked on my latest knitting project, inspiration struck. Realizing I didn’t have to use five letter words, I came up with this:
skeins
unwind
needle
weaves
warmth
Draft, © Catherine Flynn, 2022
Please be sure to visit my fellow Inklings to see their Wordy 30s:
Mary Lee Hahn @ A(nother) Year of Reading
Molly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort Zone
Linda Mitchell @ A Word Edgewise
Heidi Mordhorst @ My Juicy Little Universe
Margaret Simon @ Reflections on the Teche
Then be sure to visit Sarah Grace Tuttle for the Poetry Friday Roundup. Do try your hand at Wordle, if you haven’t already. You never know; it just might inspire a poem or two!
Reading to the Core 
Hi Catherine! I have been away too much. I try to read and catch up but I know I miss way too much poetic gold. I love your knitting poem. “needles weave warmth”…. you came up with a good one. I have never played Wordle. If I had extra time I’d be reading PF posts to catch up. That sweater is darling. Your sweet grandgirl is so lucky. With your guidance here, I might attempt a Wordy 30 poem. Thanks, Mary Lee.
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To finish: Thanks, Mary Lee for this “invented form” and to Catherine and the other Inklings for some inspiration and help.
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Perfect! “needle weaves warmth”. I finished a crochet blanket for my youngest daughter’s baby coming in December. A just right poem to go with it.
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Yes, PERFECT! The form fits the content, the topic fits the poet, and the sweater fits the grandgirl!
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Such warmth emanating from this poem and gorgeous sweater, lovely, thanks Catherine!
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Catherine, I love your knitting poem! And, the juxtaposition of the sweater next to a nest had me applying the same poem to a bird weaving a nest as well, with a beak for a needle (or maybe with pine needles). Lovely imagery all around! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
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Catherine, your little grandgirl is a lucky one to have such a beautiful sweater knitted by you. This sweater looks like it belong in one of those posh children boutiques. Your Wordy 30 fits just right as the sweater must have for Easter.
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One of the things I love about form poetry–or any poem challenge–is the way you have to think sideways or inside out to get to the “answer.” You don’t solve the challenge a certain way, like in Wordle, but you solve it in some way when you get that “click,” like of needles knitting bunny warmth. Beautiful!
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Love it! Yes, I play wordle. Fun, tho I missed dandy because so many options go with
_an_y. Oh well… you can’t win ’em all. I will try a wordy 30! Thanks for the inspiration.
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Oh, that Easter sweater is sooooooo cute! I love that you included knitting with this challenge. Well done.
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Oh dear, this challenge by Mary Lee is tempting… what a lovely “solution” you came up with! The sweater is amazing. Heirloom-worthy. Thanks for sharing all — hugs, a Wordle addict
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This is wonderful, Catherine, and I would like to repeat what Mary Lee said and would like to claim I said it first. It would be a lie, but still, that’s what I would like! lol I adore “needles weave warmth” and that sweater is unbelievably cute. Great response to the prompt!
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PERFECT!
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