2026 April Poetry Madness Overview -Updated

by

Jake Cosmos Aller

April 8, 2026

·

April Poetry

https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com/?author=1

2026 April Poetry Madness Overview -Updated

https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com/?author=1

2026 April Poetry Madness Overview

Welcome to this year’s edition of Cosmos’s April Poetry Madness Challenge, where I try to write as many poems as possible in a one-month-long marathon. This is my sixth attempt and may be my final challenge.

This year, I am trying something a bit different. I have been writing poems according to prompts supplied by Writing Com’s Dew Drop In NaPoWrMo, Poetry Super Highway, and Writer’s Digest PAD challenge and posting poems here every week, and cross-posting to All Poetry, Fan Story, Facebook, Medium, Substack, Spotify, and elsewhere

Part One overview preface materials (this page)

Part two to part six poems, plus prompts and bonus materials

Clean copy poems and prompts only, Writing Com “Dew Drop In”

Notional schedule

Part Two Post April 7 poems for days one to 7 because of time differences

Part Three Post April 13 delayed because of travel

Part four Post April 20

Part five Post April 25

Part Six Post April 30

Post final set May 2

Disclosure

The prompts and my seventy years of lived experience inspire these poems: growing up in Berkeley in the 1960s and 1970s; college in the 1970s; Peace Corps service and teaching work in Korea in the 1980s; and graduate school in Seattle in the 1980s.

Following graduate school, I served twenty‑seven years with the U.S. Department of State, which took me to ten countries and Washington, DC, as well as extended periods of semi‑retirement in Korea. Along the way, I traveled to all fifty U.S. states and forty‑five foreign countries, picking up a smattering of Korean, Spanish, Thai, and Hindi.

These poems are my personal observations, unrelated to my prior employment, some of which are intentionally pointed, drawing from neo‑beatnik and outlaw poetic traditions, some are NSFW, and some may cause offense to some readers, but rest assured, that is not my attempt, I write it. You are free to disagree!.

I used Microsoft Copilot as a research and organizational tool to help compile place names and reference lists. The narrative, interpretations, and final presentation are my own.

A Dew-Drop a Day in April for National Poetry Month!

Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

In past years, for consistency’s sake, Forum Host (279) would be first to post on any given day, using Subject line: April 1 Poem, April 2 Poem, etc. Then we’d reply to each day’s new poem/prompt post with your own poem, so we see a whole string of whole poems!

This year, the host WILL be inconsistent! So we’ll post any which way, read and write generously, and only post poems (no comments) during the month of April.

If the host’s post is too darn late, one of you should post first, using the appropriate Subject line: April # Poem!!

NO COMMENTS, please, in this forum, April 1 through April 30. Just the poems! Full text with a link to your item for reviews and comments there.

Respond to the prompt in your own creative way, writing a poem that is true to you! OK to post your poem even if a new prompt has gone up. Just reply to the prompt with your poem!.

Poetry Super Highway

Poetry Writing Prompts 2026 updated weekly

April 7, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Katie Dozier

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Katie Dozier:

Write a poem that features the most unusual vehicle you’ve ever seen in person. Drive that vehicle on the Poetry Super Highway, to a destination we never would have guessed!

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 6, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Lauren Parker

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Lauren Parker:

Write a poem from the perspective of a sworn nemesis. Your least favorite aunt, the worst neighbor you ever had, the meanest dog at the dog park — take an awful thing they said or did and write from inside their head.

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 5, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Anne Leighton

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Anne Leighton:

Contrast, compare, examine, or realize what it was like when you weren’t the smartest person in the room or when you ended up being the smartest person in the room…or both!

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 3, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Tarumi Takagi Inouye

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Tarumi Takagi Inouye:

An intersection of any strict form as an aubade, for example a haiku written in the early morning capturing the natural world at daybreak and doing it in 5-7-5 form.

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 4, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Saroj Kumar Senapati

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Saroj Kumar Senapati:

Write a poem in which a reservoir speaks about what it has stored and what it has lost — memories, voices, or even forgotten rivers.”

Prompt (exercise style):Imagine a reservoir that can speak.

Begin by listing three things it has stored (for example: water, voices, forgotten rivers).
Then, list three things it has lost or released (for example: memories, songs, communities).
Write a poem in the reservoir’s voice, describing both its abundance and its emptiness.
Use at least one metaphor that connects the reservoir’s contents to human memory or emotion.
Optional: Include a closing image of the reservoir addressing the reader directly, as if sharing a secret.

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 2, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Eric Nicholson

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Eric Nicholson:

Choose an unglamorous animal to write in the voice of. Used some description of its life style and ecology based on fact. How it might interact with the human world. Could be surreal rather than all factual. Have it comment on human folly.

This could be political, environmental or any other aspect. It could be humorous, ironic or even theological!

Eg. Jelly fish, worm, solitary bee, ladybird, woodlouse.

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 1, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Robert Wynne

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Robert Wynne:

Verbing the Noun

Write a poem using at least 5 of the nouns below as verbs. Here are a couple examples of verbing a noun: “She zippers into traffic, minivans carouseling around her like circus animals on shiny poles.” Get playful. See where the poem goes with these words propelling it forward.

catastrophe
lazy susan
rabbit
book
gown
elephant
smorgasbord
sieve
trombone
stanza
sausage
lager
credenza
backboard
glass
cheese
tremor
necklace
sweater
tombstone

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

A-Prompt-A-Day 2026

A Poetry Writing Prompt-A-Day starts April 1st. Watch this space for a new writing prompt every day during National Poetry Month. Writing prompts were chosen from user submissions throughout March.

If you write a poem to one of these prompts, consider posting it as a comment to the prompt’s post in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook group!

Happy #napowrimo !

NaPoWriMo — National / Global Poetry Writing Month (2026)

What it is (and isn’t):

Not a contest
Not a publication
The core rule: write one poem per day in April
Participation is informal and global

2026 highlights:

Write 30 poems in 30 days
Daily prompts are posted on the official site
An early‑bird prompt is posted on March 31
Poems may be posted on personal blogs or websites and linked in daily comments
Participant sites can be submitted for listing

NaPoWriMo Announcements and Prompts

(Source text lightly edited for clarity and typos only)

March 31, 2026 — Na/GloPoWriMo Eve

Go!

On April 1, 2026

Yay! April 1 is here again, and so is our yearly poetry writing adventure. Whether you’re new to Na/GloPoWriMo or an old pro, the basics remain the same. Write a poem a day for the month of April, and have fun!

Each day, you’ll find here a new featured participant and daily resource. We’ll also have an optional daily prompt for those of you who find yourself in need of a little inspiration (or just like the additional challenge). If you’d like to get the prompts by email, just click on the title of this post, and you’ll be taken to a page that has an email-subscription form (as well as the comments section for today!)

If you’ll be posting your work to a website or blog, submit the URL for our list of participants’ sites, using the “submit your site” link at the top of the page. And if you like to link to your daily efforts, the comments section for each day’s post is a great place to do that. Again, just click on the title to the daily post, and you’ll be whisked away to a page full of friendly folks that link or post their daily poems and do a lovely job of cheering one another on.

And so, without further ado, our featured participant for the day is Rahul Gaur, who brings us a meditation on holiness in response to our early bird prompt.

Our first daily resource is the Youtube channel for the University of California at Berkeley’s “Lunch Poems” reading series. Here, you can watch and listen to readings from a wide range of contemporary poets.

And now, here is our (optional) prompt for the day! The tanka is an ancient Japanese poetic form. In contemporary English versions, it often takes the shape of a five-line poem with a 5 / 7 / 5 / 7 / 7 syllable-count – like a haiku that decided to keep going.

Some recent examples include L. Lamar Wilson’s “Aubade Tanka,” Tarik Dobbs’s “Commuter Tanka,” and Antoinette Brim-Bell’s “Insomniac Tankas.” And here’s a sort of parody tanka by Paul Violi, which starts out with the kind of cliché image that you might find in a thousand imitations of classic Japanese poetry, and ends up somewhere very different. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own tanka – or multi-tanka poem. Theme and tone are up to you, but try to maintain the five-line stanza and syllable count.

Happy writing!

Get set . . .

On March 31, 2026

It’s March 31, or as we like to call with around here, Na/GloPoWriMo Eve. A time when poetic spirits haunt the land, preparing for their month of fun…

Tomorrow, we’ll have for you our first daily resource and featured participant, as well as a daily prompt. In the meantime, here’s an early-bird prompt for those of you whose geographic relationship with the international date line means that April 1 arrives a bit earlier than it does at National/Global Poetry Writing Month HQ.

Start by reading Katie Naughton’s poem, “Debt Ritual: Oysters.” Now, write your own poem in which you refer to a specific writer or artist (or work of literature/art) and make a declarative statement about want or desire. Set the poem in a, people-filled place, like a restaurant, bus station, museum, school, etc.

Happy writing!

Get ready . . .

On March 30, 2026

Ooh, just two days left until April 1, and the beginning of Na/GloPoWriMo 2026! We’ll be back tomorrow with our early-bird prompt, but if you’re trying to shake off your pre-challenge poetic jitters in the meantime, why not soothe yourself with this brief guide to prosody, the art and science of poetic meter?

On your marks . . .

On March 29, 2026

Happy last Sunday in March, all, and happy three-day-countdown to National/Global Poetry Writing Month. This will be our twenty-third year! It’s sobering to think that if Na/GloPoWriMo were a person, it would already be old enough to drive, vote, drink, and have its own apartment…

Ah, well. Time flies when you’re having fun. And we certainly hope you have fun with this year’s challenge. As usual, we’ll have daily prompts, daily resources, and a daily featured participant. And stay tuned for our early-bird prompt on March 31!

Na/GloPoWriMo Is Nearly Here

On March 15, 2026

Happy Ides of March, everyone (unless you’re Julius Caesar). For those of you who are not doomed Roman emperors, mid-March should hold no terrors — especially because it means that National/Global Poetry Writing Month is upon us. Writing a poem every day for a month is far less intimidating than a bunch of Fairweather friends armed with daggers! Learning to dance on the knife’s edge of verse is a wondrous kind of fun — and the mortality rate is refreshingly low.

All that silliness aside, we’ll be back in the three days leading up to April. In the meantime, why not spend some time exploring The Poetry Archive? This non-profit is dedicated to preserving recordings of poets reading their work, and they have 2,000 recordings freely available online.

Happy listening!

National/Global Poetry Writing Month Is On Its Way!

On March 1, 2026

Hello, all. It’s March 1, which means it’s getting to be that time of year again. Time to start putting on our poetical thinking caps, and gear up to write thirty poems across the month of April.

Whether you’re just learning about Na/GloPoWriMo or returning for the umpteenth time, the idea is simple: Write a poem a day for the month of April. That’s thirty days, thirty poems. That’s the only rule! (And if you break it, remember — there are no poetry police. No one will come hunt you down. It’s fine. This is all for fun!)

To help you along, we’ll be posting a prompt every day through the month, along with a special “early-bird” prompt on March 31, to help tide over all those on the other side of the international date line from Na/GloPoWriMo headquarters, and for whom April begins a few hours earlier than it does here in Maine, USA.

You are wondering what you should do with your daily efforts? Well, if you have a blog or other website, post them there, and then you can link to your daily efforts in the comment section for each day’s prompt. The comment sections are lively and friendly, and you can access them by clicking on the title to each day’s post. You can also submit your blog or website for inclusion in our list of participants’ sites – just click the “Submit Your Site!” link at the top of the page.

Finally, if you would like a little website button or banner to reflect your participation in Na/GloPoWriMo 2026, you can find a few options below.

We’ll be back around March 15, with a little status post that will give you some insight into what we’re working on for April. In the meantime, f you have questions in the meantime, please contact us at NaPoWriMo AT Gmail DOT com.

It’s March 31 — Na/GloPoWriMo Eve — when poetic spirits haunt the land in preparation for a month of fun. Tomorrow brings the first daily prompt, resource, and featured participant. In the meantime, here’s an early‑bird prompt for those east of the international date line.

Read Katie Naughton’s poem “Debt Ritual: Oysters.” Then write a poem referencing a specific writer, artist, or work, making a declarative statement about want or desire. Set it in a people‑filled place such as a restaurant, bus station, museum, or school.

Happy writing!

(Additional NaPoWriMo announcements from March 30, March 29, March 15, and March 1 retained with minor grammar corrections only.)

2026 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

Announcing the 19th annual April Poem-A-Day Challenge! Here are the guidelines for this fun poeming challenge starting on April 1.

Robert Lee Brewer

Published Mar 1, 2026 6:00 AM EST

Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of poems daily. So we must be closing in on April.

In just one month, we’ll start meeting here every day to poem for the 2026 April Poem-A-Day (PAD) Challenge. Past participants have included poets from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Germany, India, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, South Africa, and several other countries. This will be our 19th annual poeming challenge!

Poets who have published multiple collections write alongside people who may not even consider themselves poets (but learn over time they are). Nobody is too overly qualified or inexperienced to participate. All are welcome and encouraged to break lines together, whether the poems rhyme or don’t.

Personally, I’ve written more than a thousand first drafts from the various prompts on here (and I tend to write even more poems on the side that I don’t share on the site). I hope you’ll join me this year.

What is the April PAD Challenge?

PAD stands for Poem-A-Day, so this is a challenge in which poets write a poem each day of April. Usually, I’ll post a prompt in the early morning hours (Atlanta, Georgia, time), and poets will write a poem in response.

Some poets share those poems in the comments on each post; others keep their words to themselves. I don’t require comments to participate, but it does make it more fun when poets are sharing with each other.

Who can participate?

Anyone who wants to write poetry—whether you’ve been writing all your life or just want to give it a shot now, whether you write free verse or traditional forms, whether you have a certain style or have no clue what you’re doing. The main thing is to poem (and yes, I use poem as a verb).

I should also note that I’m open to content shared on the blog, but I do expect everyone who plays along in the comments to play nice. There have been moments in the past in which I’ve had to remove or warn folks who got a little carried away with negativity and attacks. My main goal is to make the challenge fun for all—and a safe space to poem.

(That said, please send me an e-mail if you ever feel like someone is crossing the line. I don’t want to function as a censor—so don’t use me in that way—but I do want to make sure people aren’t being bullied or attacked in the comments.)

Where do I share my poems?

If you want to share your poems throughout the month, the best way is to paste your poem in the comments on the post that corresponds with that day’s prompt. For instance, post your poem for the Day 1 prompt on the Day 1 post in the comments.

You’ll find folks are supportive on this site. And if they’re not, I expect to be notified via e-mail.

Here are some more April PAD Challenge guidelines:

Poeming begins April 1 and runs through May 1 (to account for time differences in other parts of the world—and yes, poets all over the world participate).
The main purpose of the challenge is to write poems, but I will also attempt to highlight my favorite poems of the month from poets who post their poems to each day’s blog posts. Some years this works out better than others.
Poem as you wish, but I will delete poems and comments that I feel are hateful. Also, if anyone abuses this rule repeatedly, I will have them banned from the site. So please “make good choices,” as I tell my children.

Other rules, questions, concerns, etc?

If you need questions answered, put them in the comments below, and I’ll revise this post as needed.

Other than that, I can’t wait to start poeming in April!

Brewer AUTHOR

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer’s Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He’s the author of Solving the World’s Problems, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he’s the editor of Writer’s Market, Poet’s Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.

April PAD Challenge2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 6Robert Lee Brewer

April PAD Challenge2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 5Robert Lee Brewer

April PAD Challenge2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 4Robert Lee Brewer

April PAD Challenge2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 3Robert Lee Brewer

April PAD Challenge2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 2Robert Lee Brewer

Index

(updated weekly)

Part Two March 31 to April 7, 2026

Warm‑Up — March 31
NaPoWriMo

Allen Ginsberg at a Grayhound Station circa 2026

April 1

April 1–Late! (better late than never!)
Hate Being Late

NaPoWriMo

O Dark Hundred Tanka

Poetry Super Highway

Verbing the Noun

O dark Hundred rabbit Holes

2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 1

Seed Poem

No Kings Day Seed of Change in the Air

April 2

Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

April 2–Early!
She Hates Being Early

NaPoWrMo

Wagontire — Trips with My Father

Poetry Super Highway

God’s Weird Sense of Humor

2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 2

Express Way (Highway) to Hell Found Poem

April 3

Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

Dew Drop Inn

April 3–You know what to do

NaPoWrMo

Saga of Big Daddy

Poetry Super Highway

O Dark Hundred Haiku

2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 3

Open Your Mind and the Rest Will Follow

Open Blank

April 4

Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

Dew Drop Inn

Lost

NaPoWrMo Haiku Chain

Korean Seasons – Haiku Suite

PSH

Finding God in a Lake

2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 4

My Best Friends

April 5

Writing Com Dew Drop In

Finding My Soul Mate on a Bus

NaPoWrMO Grumpy Poem

Pet Peeves

PSH-

Not the Smartest Person in the Room?

2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 5

Delusional Illusions of “Public Safety”

Writing Com Dew Drop In

Finding My Soul Mate on a Bus

NaPoWrMO Grumpy Poem

Pet Peeves

PSH-

Not the Smartest Person in the Room?

2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 5

Delusional Illusions of “Public Safety”

April 6

Writing Com Dew Drop In

Random Act of Kindness

NaPoWriMo

Drinking in a Strange Bar

PSH Inside the Mind of an Evil Boss

Writer Digest Water Woes

April 7

Dew Drop Inn

April 7–Make up a new trend or fad that you’d be proud to have created

Return of common courtesy and polite behavior !

NaPoWriMo

Whoa Jake Poem

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest Highway to Limbo Land

April 8

Dew Drop Inn

April 8–Use a favorite form to say whatever you want!

Love Cherita

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 9

Dew Drop Inn

Brevity –

Seven Word Love Poem

I married the lady of my dreams

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 10

Dew Drop Inn

April 10–A poem that is in honor of some event

TBC

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 11

Taxing day lament

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 12

Reading the Classics prose poem

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 13

Unlucky in Cards, Lucky in Love

Need previous poem and quote

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 14

April 14–Destiny or free will

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 15

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 16

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 17

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 18

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 19

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 20

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 21

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 22

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 23

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 24

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 25

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 26

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 27

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 28

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 29

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

April 30

Dew Drop Inn

NaPoWriMo

Poetry Super Highway

Writer’s Digest

End of Overview

Substack

Medium

Wattpad

on to the poems in part two to six posted separately

The End

#april #Challenge #poetry

April 8, 2026, 3:16 am 0 boosts 0 favorites

2026 April Poetry Madness Overview

Welcome to this year’s edition of 2026 April Poetry Madness! where I try to write as many poems as possible in a one-month-long marathon. This is my sixth attempt and may be my last 2026 April Poetry Madness challenge.

This year,for the 2026April Poetry Madness challenge, I am trying something a bit different. I have been writing poems according to prompts supplied by Writing Com’s Dew Drop In NaPoWrMo, Poetry Super Highway, and Writer’s Digest PAD challenge and posting poems here every week, and cross-posting to All Poetry, Fan Story, Facebook, Medium, Substack, Spotify, and elsewhere

Part One Overview of 2026 April Poetry Madness Challenge – preface materials (this page)

Part two to part six

2026 April Poetry Madness poems, plus prompts and bonus materials

Clean copy poems and prompts only, Writing Com “Dew Drop In”

Notional schedule

Part Two 2026 April Poetry Madness Post April 7 poems for days one to 7 because of time differences

Part Three 2026 April Poetry Madness Post April 13 delayed because of travel

Part four 2026 April Poetry Madness Post April 20

Part five 2026 April Poetry Madness Post April 25

Part Six Post 2026 April Poetry Madness April 30

Post final set 2026 April Poetry Madness May 2

Disclosure

The prompts and my seventy years of lived experience inspire these poems: growing up in Berkeley in the 1960s and 1970s; college in the 1970s; Peace Corps service and teaching work in Korea in the 1980s; and graduate school in Seattle in the 1980s.

Following graduate school, I served twenty‑seven years with the U.S. Department of State, which took me to ten countries and Washington, DC, as well as extended periods of semi‑retirement in Korea. Along the way, I traveled to all fifty U.S. states and forty‑five foreign countries, picking up a smattering of Korean, Spanish, Thai, and Hindi.

These poems are my personal observations, unrelated to my prior employment, some of which are intentionally pointed, drawing from neo‑beatnik and outlaw poetic traditions, some are NSFW, and some may cause offense to some readers, but rest assured, that is not my attempt, I write it. You are free to disagree!.

I used Microsoft Copilot as a research and organizational tool to help compile place names and reference lists. The narrative, interpretations, and final presentation are my own.

A Dew-Drop a Day Inn for the 2026 April Poetry Madness for National Poetry Month!

Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

In past years, for consistency’s sake, Forum Host (279) would be first to post on any given day, using Subject line: April 1 Poem, April 2 Poem, etc. Then we’d reply to each day’s new poem/prompt post with your own poem, so we see a whole string of whole poems!

This year, the host WILL be inconsistent! So we’ll post any which way, read and write generously, and only post poems (no comments) during the month of April.

If the host’s post is too darn late, one of you should post first, using the appropriate Subject line: April # Poem!!

NO COMMENTS, please, in this forum, April 1 through April 30. Just the poems! Full text with a link to your item for reviews and comments there.

Respond to the prompt in your own creative way, writing a poem that is true to you! OK to post your poem even if a new prompt has gone up. Just reply to the prompt with your poem!.

Here at the Dew Drop Inn, we gather together to write a poem a day in April as a way to celebrate National Poetry Month.

A Dew-Drop a Day in April for National Poetry Month!

In past years, for consistency’s sake, Forum Host (281) would be first to post on any given day, using Subject line: April 1 Poem, April 2 Poem, etc. Then we’d reply to each day’s new poem/prompt post with your own poem, so we see a whole string of whole poems! This year, the host may be inconsistent! So if you are the first to post we can all reply to you!

If the host’s post is too darn late, one of you should go ahead and post first, using the appropriate Subject line: April # Poem!!

NO COMMENTS, please, in this forum, April 1 through April 30. Just the poems! REPLY to the first post with current date (usually a pinned post) with full text of your poem. Provide a link to your item for reviews and comments there.

Respond to the prompt in your own creative way, writing a poem that is true to you! OK to post your poem even if a new prompt has gone up. Just reply to the prompt with your poem!.

April 2026 Prompts:

April 1–Late! (better late than never!)
April 2–Early!
April 3–You know what to do
April 4–Loss (indicated in both form and content)
April 5–Something found, or found again (& see how form can help express this)
April 6–Define or defend, support or reject a trend or fad really out there now or in the past
April 7–Make up a new trend or fad that you’d be proud to have created
“6-7” is whatever it is (a trend or fad? or a true expression of a new generation)!!

April 8–Use a favorite form to say whatever you want!
April 9–Brevity
April 10–A poem that is in honor of some event
April 11–An outright lament or elegy
April 12–Poem about a book (or books in general)
April 13–Lucky or unlucky
April 14–Destiny or free will

April 15—Deadlines
April 16—Fish or fowl
April 17—Rhyme, subtle or overt
April 18—A sense of an ending
April 19—A literal sense/senses poem
April 20—Salient image (most memorable or resonant image in your day)
April 21—Growing up

April 22—Doubleness
April 23—Shakespeare
April 24—An unsung hero/heroine
April 25—A moment of joy or delight
April 26—An arrival
April 27—Something undone, forgotten, or lingering in the mind
April 28—Satisfaction or completion

April 29—Coincidence or synchronicity or déjà vu
April 30—Moving on…

Poetry Super Highway

Poetry Writing Prompts 2026 updated weekly

April 13, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Susan Taylor

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Susan Taylor:

Pay attention to how your shoulders feel right now. Do they ache or feel heavy? Maybe you haven’t even noticed your shoulders up to now.

Write a poem with shoulders as a metaphor for your emotional state.

Example:

The King

“Shrug,” said his shoulders.
“I’m glad he’s dead, I really am.”
Mine tensed, cold and numb.

April 12, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Sheri Knauth

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Sheri Knauth:

Reimagine childhood playground rides and objects as pathways in adulthood.

April 11, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Suzanne Austin-Hill

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Suzanne Austin-Hill:

You can be badgered to death, experience a fate worse than death. You can be snatched from the jaws of death and situations can be a matter of life or death. Battles are fought to the death. And skaters have a maneuver called the death spiral. There’s even death by spell check. Apparently nothing can save us from death, so write a poem about getting good with death.

April 10, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Jen Karetnick

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Jen Karetnick:

Surprise!

Use an unexpected punctuation mark that you don’t usually see in a poem (or you’ve been told never belongs in a poem), such as an ellipsis, brackets, or an exclamation point. Build that punctuation mark into the volta of the poem, prompting it to turn in a different direction. See how that singular mark changes meaning for you and for the reader. Challenge: Use as many punctuation marks as you can get away with, including question marks, quotations, colons, and semi-colons. Extra challenge: Include words that have diacritical marks.

April 9, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Antasia Armour

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Antasia Armour:

Create a piece from a younger person to an older person about the ways of life and what that has taught them.

April 8, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Trevor Cunnington

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Trevor Cunnington:

Re-write one of your favourite narrative poems by a different poet from the perspective of a different player in the mini-drama the poem narrates.

April 11, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Suzanne Austin-Hill

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Suzanne Austin-Hill:

You can be badgered to death, experience a fate worse than death. You can be snatched from the jaws of death and situations can be a matter of life or death. Battles are fought to the death. And skaters have a maneuver called the death spiral. There’s even death by spell check. Apparently nothing can save us from death, so write a poem about getting good with death.

April 10, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Jen Karetnick

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Jen Karetnick:

Surprise!

Use an unexpected punctuation mark that you don’t usually see in a poem (or you’ve been told never belongs in a poem), such as an ellipsis, brackets, or an exclamation point. Build that punctuation mark into the volta of the poem, prompting it to turn in a different direction. See how that singular mark changes meaning for you and for the reader. Challenge: Use as many punctuation marks as you can get away with, including question marks, quotations, colons, and semi-colons. Extra challenge: Include words that have diacritical marks.

April 9, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Antasia Armour

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Antasia Armour:

Create a piece from a younger person to an older person about the ways of life and what that has taught them.

April 8, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Trevor Cunnington

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Trevor Cunnington:

Re-write one of your favourite narrative poems by a different poet from the perspective of a different player in the mini-drama the poem narrates.

April 6, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Lauren Parker

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Lauren Parker:

Write a poem from the perspective of a sworn nemesis. Your least favorite aunt, the worst neighbor you ever had, the meanest dog at the dog park — take an awful thing they said or did and write from inside their head.

April 5, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Anne Leighton

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Anne Leighton:

Contrast, compare, examine, or realize what it was like when you weren’t the smartest person in the room or when you ended up being the smartest person in the room…or both!

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 3, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Tarumi Takagi Inouye

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Tarumi Takagi Inouye:

An intersection of any strict form as an aubade, for example a haiku written in the early morning capturing the natural world at daybreak and doing it in 5-7-5 form.

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 4, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Saroj Kumar Senapati

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Saroj Kumar Senapati:

Write a poem in which a reservoir speaks about what it has stored and what it has lost — memories, voices, or even forgotten rivers.”

Prompt (exercise style):Imagine a reservoir that can speak.

Begin by listing three things it has stored (for example: water, voices, forgotten rivers).
Then, list three things it has lost or released (for example: memories, songs, communities).
Write a poem in the reservoir’s voice, describing both its abundance and its emptiness.
Use at least one metaphor that connects the reservoir’s contents to human memory or emotion.
Optional: Include a closing image of the reservoir addressing the reader directly, as if sharing a secret.

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 2, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Eric Nicholson

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Eric Nicholson:

Choose an unglamorous animal to write in the voice of. Used some description of its life style and ecology based on fact. How it might interact with the human world. Could be surreal rather than all factual. Have it comment on human folly.

This could be political, environmental or any other aspect. It could be humorous, ironic or even theological!

Eg. Jelly fish, worm, solitary bee, ladybird, woodlouse.

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

April 1, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Robert Wynne

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Robert Wynne:

Verbing the Noun

Write a poem using at least 5 of the nouns below as verbs. Here are a couple examples of verbing a noun: “She zippers into traffic, minivans carouseling around her like circus animals on shiny poles.” Get playful. See where the poem goes with these words propelling it forward.

catastrophe
lazy susan
rabbit
book
gown
elephant
smorgasbord
sieve
trombone
stanza
sausage
lager
credenza
backboard
glass
cheese
tremor
necklace
sweater
tombstone

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

#napowrimo #poetry

A-Prompt-A-Day 2026

A Poetry Writing Prompt-A-Day starts April 1st. Watch this space for a new writing prompt every day during National Poetry Month. Writing prompts were chosen from user submissions throughout March.

If you write a poem to one of these prompts, consider posting it as a comment to the prompt’s post in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook group!

Happy #napowrimo !

NaPoWriMo — National / Global Poetry Writing Month (2026)

What it is (and isn’t):

Not a contest
Not a publication
The core rule: write one poem per day in April
Participation is informal and global

2026 highlights:

Write 30 poems in 30 days
Daily prompts are posted on the official site
An early‑bird prompt is posted on March 31
Poems may be posted on personal blogs or websites and linked in daily comments
Participant sites can be submitted for listing