2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 25

It’s Day 25 of our month-long daily writing project.This year’s theme is FOUND OBJECTS. For those of you who are new to the project, please read my introductory post. You’ll find more information and all of the Week 4 FOUND OBJECTS at this post.How is everyone feeling now that there are only five days of found object prompts left (counting today)? I'm still trying to catch up on a few days I missed last week. This may be the first year that I don't complete my own challenge!FOUND: KEYSAs usual, I haven't revealed any details or background information about the Day 25 found object until now.This photograph was taken on our 2009 trip to Hawaii. I "found" the keys while we toured a submarine museum at the Pearl Harbor Memorial site. If I had shared that fact, would your responses to the keys have changed?I was interested in the fact that the keys are numbered up to 144. In addition to being the square of 12, 144 happens to be the 12th number in the Fibonacci sequence. That inspired me to write a Fib poem today. The title can be read as part of the poem.144By Laura ShovanKeyshangon board,each one tagged,STATE ROOM, CREWS QUARTERS,each numbered, labeled: PANTRY, TOOLS.How many hands lost at sea long ago used these keys?***The keys reminded Donna Smith of a favorite literary character, Lewis Carroll's Alice.Donna says, "This poem is way longer than I’d had visions of… it just kept going and growing… a little like Alice…"Key to HappinessAlice to herself:“Which do you pick, AliceWhich key will you choose?If you pick the wrong oneYou could stand to lose…”“There’s really no wrong choice,”She heard Cheshire Cat say,“So pick any one;Don’t think, don’t delay.”Alice to herself:“Be cautious, my dear,Use careful detection;One key could be lucky,So take care in selection.”“Please, go on,” said Cheshire,“And make one your choice;One key’s for a clock,One’s for a Rolls Royce.”Alice to herself:“If you pick the wrong keyDon’t pout at your lot;Perhaps it will still beA pretty good spot.”“Which one?” asked the Cat,The big or the little?The left or the right?Or one in the middle?”Alice to herself:“One key may unlockThe best kind of thing,Or maybe the worstIs what it will bring.”“There’s really no wrong choice,”Cheshire Cat said once more,“So pick any one, dear;Just not 74.”Alice to herself:“Well, here goes nothing,I’ll just take the diveAnd say I want key numberOne hundred five.”“Oh, very good choiceYou’ve done very well,For this is the keyFor something so swell!”Alice to herself:“Something that’s swellSounds pretty great!”And with that CC handed herKeys to some skates.Then Alice went swiftlyOff down the streetRejoicing that she’dPicked a key that was sweet.It wasn’t a Rolls RoyceOr other grand treasureBut a smallish-foot-sizedBringer-of-pleasure!©2016, Donna JT Smith, all rights reserved***A short poem from Jessica Bigi today. This one pairs nicely with Donna's Alice theme.PoemBy Jessica BigiKeys inside of keysUnlocking doorsWISDOM***I see the repeating keys showing up in the repetition Heidi Mordhorst uses in her poem today.The action of attractionThere are screws that hold us tightthere are hooks on which we hangthere are locks that shut us inthere are keys that shoot our boltswhichever way the waves risewhichever way the wind blowswhichever way the ship rollswhichever way the floor joltswe’re shot, we’re shut, we’re hooked, we’re screwedour brassy hearts hang hard and coldwaiting for a touch, a handwaiting for the warmth of skinand when it comes we leap to it!we buzz with loosing, waking needto staterooms, quarters, lockers, deck —and now the crossing can begin.©Heidi Mordhorst 2016***Charles Waters is using the key not as a physical object, but as a metaphorical idea.The KeyBy Charles WatersThe key to unlockingmy heart is easy.Be nice to others,be nice to me.***I remember thinking that Carol Varsalona's nest poem yesterday might have been written about today's keys. Today, I'm thinking that Mary Lee Hahn's keys poem has elements from  yesterday's Phoebe nest.The Key to Today’s RoomListen for the first wrenwho sings in the darkat the endof an endlessFebruary.©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016Blogging alongside at: http://www.maryleehahn.com/2016/02/found-object-poem-project_25.html***Speaking of Carol Varsalona, she created a great key-shaped Wordle to go with today's found object. Check it out here: http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2016/02/keys-to-learning.html.Keys unlock doors to learning.Teachers hold the key.Students respondin culturesof trust and engagementwhere passionmixes with purposeforwondermentto evolve.©CVarsalona, 2016***It's great to see Molly Hogan joining us again. Glad you're back, Molly!A Constellation of KeysBy Molly HoganCommon key cardshave no romance,slipping into a pocketwithout a wrinkle,unnoticeable,silent and disposable.Carved metal keyshave characterand reassuring heft.They clink happilyin a pocket,socializing with spare change,or if you please,they sit in hand,guaranteeing imminent accessor denying the same.Patiently waiting on hooks,a constellation of keyshas purpose,power and potential,silently offering upan array of possibilities.***I like the way that a different setting in Diane Mayr's poem changes my ideas about the keys.Key Rack at My-Big-Heart HotelYou asked for the keybut, typically, youneglected to provideyour room number.You take for grantedI know where you’vedecided to settle in.Not so.This is no tiny inn.I have singles,the standard rooms,and a Royal Suite.Where would I put you?I’d say utility closetbetween the elevatorand the ice machine.© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved***The more responses I read today, the more I realize that keys have deep connotations for many of us. A key is a symbolic object. Here is Linda Baie's poem.More Than Door OpenersSuccess shortcutsHeart pathwaysKingdom streetsHappiness highwaysCastle trailsFailure dead endsVictory alleysLinda Baie ©All Rights Reserved***Reminder: Tomorrow, Poetry Friday, we will be at Michael Ratcliffe's new blog for Day 26.Interested in what we’ve written so far? Here are links to this week’s poems:Sunday, February 21FOUND OBJECT: Antique Sewing MachinePoems by: Diane Mayr, Linda Baie, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Jessica Bigi, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Donna Smith, Carol Varsalona, Charles Waters.Note: You will find links to all of  the Week 1, 2, and 3 poems at this post.Monday, February 22FOUND OBJECT: Stick InsectPoems by: Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Carol Varsalona, Jessica Bigi, Charles Watesr, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Linda Baie, Diane Mayr.Tuesday, February 23 at BOOKSEED STUDIOFOUND OBJECT: Library of Congress CartPoems by: Jan Godown Annino, Jessica Bigi, Donna Smith, Linda Baie, Laura Shovan, Carol Varsalona, Diane Mayr, Mary Lee Hahn, Charles Waters, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Heidi Mordhorst.Wednesday, February 24FOUND OBJECT: Phoebe NestPoems by: Jessica Bigi, Diane Mayr, Heidi Mordhorst, Mary Lee Hahn, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Linda Baie, Laura Shovan, Charles Waters, Donna Smith, Carol Varsalona.