Here are prompts to get you writing in celebration of National Poetry month. Enjoy!
April 1. April begins with a fool’s day. Write a fool’s poem. Tra la!
April 2. Spring is beginning to make itself felt. Take a healing walk and report back on the signs of renewal. Use at least 5 of the following words: trigger, cat, angry (or anger), spit, yellow, below, blow, sinuous, carpet, linger.
April 3. This year seems to about moving into the world. Write about a specific venture that you have undertaken, currently or in the past. Write four quatrains that all end with the same line (a refrain).
April 4. Use the following beginning: “It was windy out that day.” Then write down what that thought conjures. Take out the beginning or keep it as you see fit.
April 5. Write an anaphora, a poem in which each of the lines begins with the same phrase. A classic example and easy to find on the internet is Joy Harjo’s “She had some horses.”
April 6. How does your “octopuses garden in the sea,” look and feel? What happens when you go there?
April 7. Write a fairy tale from the viewpoint of a frog.
April 8. Eggs have symbolized fertility for millennia. Write an ode to an egg.
April 9. Imagine a picture with a raven, 5 squirrels, voles and mice carrying off strings of berries and a cat lurking behind a bush. What’s going on?
April 10. Compare today to a day last fall. Use robins, ribbons, and a body of water. What color is the color of necessity?
April 11.Let’s talk about self as myth, but do it as a rap song, snappy, full of jazz and rhyme.
April 12. Write a poem featuring a mirror and reflections. What’s visible in the mirror that would not be otherwise visible?
April 13. Write a sonnet. Here are the end words: met/bone/alone/let, threat/ none/ drone/ barette, lad/fortune/beware, mad/done/air. Change them to fit, or use your own end rhymes.
April 14. The night the Titanic went down. 10 lines with a shade of blue in each line. Or “that sinking feeling."
April 15. Use the following items in a poem: a needle, a cow, a brown cone, wool, eggs, bread, a screwdriver, an awl.
April 16. Invent a cocktail or compound with curative effects. What ingredients would you make it from? Sweet? Sour? Try it out (in your imagination). Report the results.
April 17. Find a picture with weather (sun, clouds, wind, etc.). Write an ekphrastic poem (“An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art.” Wikipedia)
.
April 18. Smells often get overlooked. What can you smell at this moment. What does your home smell like? What scents are wafting on breezes outside?
April 19. Find a short poem or passage of a poem that intrigues you. Write down the first line and follow it with several lines of your own. Take the next line, again write it down and continue. After maybe 7 or 8 lines, throw the original lines away.
April 20. Coloring books are popular. Describe a page in one. Give instructions on how to color it. Discover something hidden in it.
April 21. Create a Cento (“At its most basic level, the cento is a poem comprised of lines and phrases from other previously written poems.” Writer’s Digest) from the lines of your own poems—perhaps lines that you have previously discarded.
April 22. Two dogs, a banana, red. You are within distance of the sea and it’s raining. Incorporate in a 10-line poem.
April 23. I remember . . . write about a memory.
April 24. Find a sentence in a non-fiction book that intrigues you. Use it as the first line(s) of your poem. Take it out if unnecessary.
April 25. Write a poem celebrating Tuesday—why should other days of the week get all the glory?
April 26. Write about work. What you do, what you’ve done. Describe in detail.
April 27. Open your window. Describe what’s out there, using all your senses.
April 28. Tell a story, something you heard about someone else a long time ago. Start with “This happened a long time ago.”
April 29. Make punctuation your friend. Write a poem using a colon, a period, a semi-colon, a dash, an ellipsis. Look them up to make sure you’re using them correctly—then, and only then—use them any way you want!
April 30. Last day of the month, last prompt. Write a poem about endings. Three quatrains with end-lines rhyming.
April 2. Spring is beginning to make itself felt. Take a healing walk and report back on the signs of renewal. Use at least 5 of the following words: trigger, cat, angry (or anger), spit, yellow, below, blow, sinuous, carpet, linger.
April 3. This year seems to about moving into the world. Write about a specific venture that you have undertaken, currently or in the past. Write four quatrains that all end with the same line (a refrain).
April 4. Use the following beginning: “It was windy out that day.” Then write down what that thought conjures. Take out the beginning or keep it as you see fit.
April 5. Write an anaphora, a poem in which each of the lines begins with the same phrase. A classic example and easy to find on the internet is Joy Harjo’s “She had some horses.”
April 6. How does your “octopuses garden in the sea,” look and feel? What happens when you go there?
April 7. Write a fairy tale from the viewpoint of a frog.
April 8. Eggs have symbolized fertility for millennia. Write an ode to an egg.
April 9. Imagine a picture with a raven, 5 squirrels, voles and mice carrying off strings of berries and a cat lurking behind a bush. What’s going on?
April 10. Compare today to a day last fall. Use robins, ribbons, and a body of water. What color is the color of necessity?
April 11.Let’s talk about self as myth, but do it as a rap song, snappy, full of jazz and rhyme.
April 12. Write a poem featuring a mirror and reflections. What’s visible in the mirror that would not be otherwise visible?
April 13. Write a sonnet. Here are the end words: met/bone/alone/let, threat/ none/ drone/ barette, lad/fortune/beware, mad/done/air. Change them to fit, or use your own end rhymes.
April 14. The night the Titanic went down. 10 lines with a shade of blue in each line. Or “that sinking feeling."
April 15. Use the following items in a poem: a needle, a cow, a brown cone, wool, eggs, bread, a screwdriver, an awl.
April 16. Invent a cocktail or compound with curative effects. What ingredients would you make it from? Sweet? Sour? Try it out (in your imagination). Report the results.
April 17. Find a picture with weather (sun, clouds, wind, etc.). Write an ekphrastic poem (“An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art.” Wikipedia)
.
April 18. Smells often get overlooked. What can you smell at this moment. What does your home smell like? What scents are wafting on breezes outside?
April 19. Find a short poem or passage of a poem that intrigues you. Write down the first line and follow it with several lines of your own. Take the next line, again write it down and continue. After maybe 7 or 8 lines, throw the original lines away.
April 20. Coloring books are popular. Describe a page in one. Give instructions on how to color it. Discover something hidden in it.
April 21. Create a Cento (“At its most basic level, the cento is a poem comprised of lines and phrases from other previously written poems.” Writer’s Digest) from the lines of your own poems—perhaps lines that you have previously discarded.
April 22. Two dogs, a banana, red. You are within distance of the sea and it’s raining. Incorporate in a 10-line poem.
April 23. I remember . . . write about a memory.
April 24. Find a sentence in a non-fiction book that intrigues you. Use it as the first line(s) of your poem. Take it out if unnecessary.
April 25. Write a poem celebrating Tuesday—why should other days of the week get all the glory?
April 26. Write about work. What you do, what you’ve done. Describe in detail.
April 27. Open your window. Describe what’s out there, using all your senses.
April 28. Tell a story, something you heard about someone else a long time ago. Start with “This happened a long time ago.”
April 29. Make punctuation your friend. Write a poem using a colon, a period, a semi-colon, a dash, an ellipsis. Look them up to make sure you’re using them correctly—then, and only then—use them any way you want!
April 30. Last day of the month, last prompt. Write a poem about endings. Three quatrains with end-lines rhyming.