Wordsmithing
Unscrambled challenge
Wordsmithing, writing's origin
Tongs hoisting rigid iron rods
Down into storming hot iris
Swing with strong might into midnights
Sigh on, not siring sword or rings
Showing wisdom hiding within
Writhing, ogrish sight in its worst
Grows to wits with wings, rising song
Tiring wrist drowns sown insight
In moist indigo, misting snort
Smog ghost grins, hints to things most dim
Now this word string is in right rows
Shorn its thorns its downright striding
To stir minds with moths sworn to winds
Wishing snow or towns worn to twigs
Wordsmith grinds whims writ into worth
Author’s Note: Very honored that this poem was selected as a 1st place winner in Heather Hubler’s challenge! Check out the other winners linked in the story below!
About the Creator
D.K. Shepard
Character Crafter, Witty Banter Enthusiast, World Builder, Unpublished novelist...for now
Fantasy is where I thrive, but I like to experiment with genres for my short stories. Currently employed as a teacher in Louisville.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Keep reading
More stories from D.K. Shepard and writers in Poets and other communities.
The Longest Minute
A minute. Sixty seconds to say goodbye. That’s all the time that I had left with him as the needle slid into his leg. I stared into his drooping eyes, looked at the blood-tainted saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. They said that this was the best thing that we could do for him, a last kind act for a best friend…but if that were the case, then why did my heart feel so heavy?
By Stephanie Hoogstad5 days ago in Fiction
Comments (20)
Wow that's clever! Don't think I've seen one like that before!
Oh yes. I see the glint of gold here!
This is so beautifully done! Those words and phrases are so odd and perfect - I especially loved "Down into storming hot iris" 😍 Magnificient poem! Congratulations on the win!
Congratulations!
A well-deserved win! I'm actually impressed with how many words aren't in bold, and the poem flows incredibly well. Defintely the right choice!
Well...I am sorry I missed this when you first posted it. I can see why this won. Heather chose well. This is just...I oddly don't have the words lol. The flow is bloody perfect...the fact that it is littered with unscrambled words...that it stays on theme and by using unscrambled words almost exclusively is by definition wordsmithing at its finest. DK, my hat off to you for this one. Bloody genius. And all those times I've said bloody. Please read as fucking. lol. I am impressed. Like a lot. I've always known from my dive into your work, that you were great...but...yeah...I'll shush now. Congrats!
Well deserved win in Heather’s challenge ✅
Wow. This is excellent. Wordsmithing indeed. Congrats.
Feels both classic and fresh... Excellent choice for a win!!!
Congratulations on winning Heather's challenge! It was a well-deserved win!
I'm so blown away by your entry!! You wordsmithed the hell out of this piece! And that last line was gold :) Thank you so much for participating. I loved your entry!!
Extremely impressive entry… an excellent reason why I don’t read any entries before I have an attempt, or I’d chicken out!😵💫🤣✅
Wow, almost the whole poem is bold! This is really creative. =D
Simply amazing, DK, how fruitful your word choice was and how few words you needed beyond the plethora of words generated. Well done!
Lovely !
Whoaaaa, you used sooooo many words! This was freaking fantastic!
Well, that's an exercise in how to do it! I have one started but think that may be where it stays!
This was a very fun read! I loved the word choice. A perfect snapshot of wordsmithing.
Wow! Almost every word! This perfectly captures the inner process. This was really lovely and incredibly well done.
This is AWESOME- vivid, and effective word choices, and with such a good flow to it, I'd love to hear it spoken aloud! Magnificent wordsmithing :)