For today’s prompt, write a persona poem. A persona poem is when you write in the voice of another person, real or imaginary. So maybe a sonnet in the voice of Mickey Mouse, or a stance narrated by the Wright Brothers (yes, both of them), or a haiku from the perspective of Amelia Earhart. And yes, inanimate objects are fair game too (if you want to craft some free verse in the voice of a toothbrush). Have at it!
——————————————————————————————————
Hay(na)ku is a very simple poetic form, and it’s also one of the newest. It was apparently created in 2003 by poet Eileen Tabios.
Hay(na)ku is a 3-line poem with one word in the first line, two words in the second, and three in the third. There are no restrictions beyond this.
A really basic example:
Boys
chase girls
on the playground.
There are already some variations of this new poetic form. For instance, a reverse hay(na)ku has lines of three, two, and one word(s) for lines one, two, and three, respectively. Also, multiple hay(na)ku can be chained together to form longer poems.
PSH April 19, 2025
Really, Whom Am I, really ?
Really, whom am I, really?
Everyone knows who we are
Lies we tell ourselves
Lies that define us
All that we are
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Ellen Sander:
Spell your surname backwards
Line the letters up vertically
Write a poem in which each line starts with a word that begins with the letter on each line.
So ya wanna dump out yo’ trick bag
Ease on in a hip thang
But you ain’t exactly sure what is hip
So you started to let your hair grow
Spent big bucks on your wardrobe
Somehow, ya know there’s much more to the trip
[Chorus]
What is hip?
Tell me, tell me, if you think you know
What is hip?
If you’re hip
The question, “Will it show?”
You’re into a hip trip
Maybe hipper than hip
What is hip?
[Verse 2]
You became a part of a new breed
Been smoking’ only the best weed
Hangin’ out with the so-called “Hippie set.”
Seen in all the right places
Seen with just the right faces
You should be satisfied, but it ain’t quite right
[Chorus]
What is hip?
Tell me, tell me, if you think you know
What is hip?
If you’re hip
The question, “Will it show?”
You’re into a hip trip
Maybe hipper than hip
What is hip?
[Break]
Come on
[Refrain]
Hipness is. What it is
Hipness is. What it is
Hipness is. What it is
Sometimes hipness is, what it ain’t
Note: you probably have guessed my favorite band by now….
Happy Saturday, everyone. We hope you’re ready to write some poems!
Today’s featured participant is Sara Hardy, who took me back to my 1980s childhood with her driving-and -singing poem for Day Eighteen.
Our resource for the day is a bit goofy. It’s the Gallery of Strange Museums. Some of the museums here don’t strike me as all that strange – more very local or specific. But the Wingnut Museum is definitely a bit odd, as is the World’s Largest Spool of Thread (less a museum than a roadside attraction), while the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum is a testament to the fact that people can – and do – make their own fun.
And now for our daily prompt – optional as always. This one is inspired by Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s poem “Song.”
The word “tragedy” comes from the Greek for “goat song.” The song in Kelly’s poem is quite literally a goat song. The poem also describes a tragedy, both in the modern sense of an awful event, and the ancient dramatic sense of a play in which someone does something terrible, and the play’s action shows the consequences.
The poem has a timeless, could-have-happened-anywhere/any when quality that I associate with blues and folk ballads – including murder ballads (a subgenre of song dealing with a gruesome crime, first arising from broadsheet ballads sold at English executions, and which later came to America in forms like “The Knoxville Girl” and then morphed their way into country music).
Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem that tells a story in the style of a blues song or ballad. One way into this prompt may be to use it to retell a family tragedy or story, or to retell a crime or tragic event that occurred in your hometown.
What with time’s way of time marching inexorably on, we suppose it was inevitable. We’ve come to the 2/3-way point of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Our featured participant today is Anna Endom, whose tragedy/ballad poem for Day Nineteen is less tragic (thankfully) than it could be.
A dark theme keeps me here,
Though summer blazes in the vireo’s eye.
Who would be half possessed
By his own nakedness?
Waking’s my care–
I’ll make a broken music, or I’ll die.
2
Ye littles, lie more close!
Make me, O Lord, a last, a simple thing
Time cannot overwhelm.
Once I transcended time:
A bud broke to a rose,
And I rose from a last diminishing.
3
I look down the far light
And I behold the dark side of a tree
Far down a billowing plain,
And when I look again,
It’s lost upon the night–
Night I embrace, a dear proximity.
4
I stand by a low fire
Counting the wisps of flame, and I watch how
Light shifts upon the wall.
I bid stillness be still.
I see, in evening air,
How slowly dark comes down on what we do.
So, let’s face it: this poem is weird. The rhythm is odd, the rhymes are too, and the language is strangely prophetic and not at all “conversational.” Despite – or maybe because – of this, it has a hypnotic quality, as if it were all inevitable. Your challenge is, with this poem in mind, to write a poem informed by musical phrasing or melody, which employs some form of sound play (rhyme, meter, assonance, alliteration). One way to approach this is to think of a song you know and then basically write new lyrics that fit the original song’s rhythm/phrasing.
2025 April PAD Challenge: Day 20
Rest Poem
Today I need to take a rest
Today I need to take a rest
I am just getting so tired
Of watching the constant chaos
Every time I turn on the news.
——————————————————————————–
I need to scream, enough, no más! *
Today I need to take a rest
Watching the news gives me the blues
I have to turn off the damn news.
————————————————————————————
There’s just too much bad news and gloom
Too many talking heads spinning lies
Today I need to take a rest
They keep telling alternative facts.
I must tune out, turning it all off
—————————————————————————————-
I sit down and do my yoga
Listening to sweet chill music
Today I need to take a rest.
*Spanish for more “no mas” is a common expression meaning no more, or even we are out of something
Today, I tried my hand at a new (to me) French poetic form named the quatern that incorporates a refrain like in the villanelle and eight-syllable lines like in the kyrielle. Since I’m a big fan of refrains, I think this poetic form rocks.
Quatern Poetic Form Rules
This poem has 16 lines broken up into 4 quatrains (or 4-line stanzas).
Each line is comprised of eight syllables.
The first line is the refrain. In the second stanza, the refrain appears in the second line; in the third stanza, the third line; in the fourth stanza, the fourth (and final) line.
There are no rules for rhyming or iambics.
PSH April 20, 2025
I knew it was time to go.
I knew it was time to go.
I saw the writing on the wall.
I could see there would be a fall.
Things would soon come to a great blow.
Saw that soon there would be madness.
The country may not grow.
had to go before the sideshow.
I knew it was time to go.
Note I retired from government before Trump 1.0, Trump 2.0 is far worse in my opinion.
The Octavin Refrain is an invented form by Luke Prater.
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Diane Barker:
Time to pull the plug. Write about knowing when to walk away, changing direction or coming to terms with a hard decision. It can be literal or figurative.
Trochaic tetrameter also acceptable. The latter yields a more propulsive rhythm, as opposed to iambs, which tend to lilt.
As the name suggests, the first line is a refrain, repeated as the last (some variation of refrain acceptable).
Rhyme-scheme options as follows –
option 1 – Abb ac aaba
option 2 – Abb aca ba
option 3 – (A bbba cab A)
option 4 – (Abb aca ba Abb aca ba) (high octane)
April 21
Time to pull the plug. Write about knowing when to walk away, changing direction or coming to terms with a hard decision. It can be literal or figurative.
Dew Drop Inn
April 20—Easter eggs (hide something delightful in your poem!)
Ricciardone. Irish quatrain form with 5 syllables in first line, 6 in the others.
Quatrain (or four-line stanza) form
Five syllables in the first line; six syllables in the other three lines
Each line ends with a two-syllable word
Lines two and four rhyme
All end words consonate
Comments:
“Govbot” is a pejorative term quite popular on the right, dating back to the Clinton era, to refer to government workers who are seen as slow-witted drones who could not make it in the free market, which is why they were “govbots” (short for government robots).
The DOGE stands for Department of Government Efficiency, which the President tasked to root out fraud, waste, and abuse and cut the Federal government’s budget and staff by 50 percent in the process, shutting down agencies, moving many out of DC, etc. The team led by Elon Musk lacks any clear mandate but has acted quickly, causing lots of turmoil, anguish, and litigation by Govbots and others who are opposed to their attempt to slash and burn the government, or to quote Elon Musk, “ take a chainsaw to the Federal government.” This is not just my biased opinion, it is shared widely in the US, where there are massive protests daily against the destruction of the Federal Government, the ending of DEI programs, the shredding of civil liberties, and mass deportations without due process. End my editorial opinion, sorry for the rant.
End comments
Happy Monday, all, and a very happy twenty-first day of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Today, our featured participant is ray, whose Roethke-inspired poem for Day Twenty has an irresistible and friendly rhythm.
And now here’s our daily (optional) prompt. Sawako Nakayas u’s poem “Improvisational Score” is a rather surreal prose poem describing an imaginary musical piece that proceeds in a very unmusical way. Today, try your hand at writing your own poem in which something that normally unfolds in a set and well understood way — like a baseball game or dance recital – goes haywire, but is described as if it is all very normal.
This performance may take place over any duration of time, from zero seconds to many years.
A number of insects are placed in a clear container so that they are as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances. They are given oxygen and food and water, though they may not escape. The container of insects is placed on stage and a light is directed through the container and projected onto a large screen so that the audience may see the insects.
Each musician chooses an insect and plays accordingly.
If two insects begin fighting, the corresponding musicians should also fight, musically or literally.
If an insect dies, the corresponding musician should also die, musically or literally.
“Improvisational Score” from The Ants (Les Figures Press, 2014). Reprinted with the permission of the author. All rights reserved.
Very John Cagian! One of his more infamous pieces was a piano piece 4′33″ (1952) where the pianist mocked playing the piano silently for seven minutes, the music was the audience’s reaction.
For those who don’t know about John Cage, here is a Co-Pilot Bio and a bio for Sawka Nakayas as well.
John Cage
john Cage
John Cage (1912–1992) was an American avant-garde composer and music theorist known for his pioneering work in indeterminacy, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments. His influence on 20th-century music was profound, challenging traditional notions of composition and performance. Cage was deeply inspired by Zen Buddhism and Eastern philosophies, which led him to embrace chance operations in his compositions.
Notable Works
4′33″ (1952) – A silent composition where the ambient sounds of the environment become the music.
Sonatas and Interludes (1946–48) – A cycle of pieces for prepared piano.
Music of Changes (1951) – A work composed using the I Ching.
Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957–58) – A highly indeterminate composition.
Oratorio (1979) – A piece inspired by James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.
Sawako Nakayas is a Japanese-American poet, translator, and performer whose work explores language, performance, and translation. She has lived in Japan, the U.S., France, and China, and her poetry often engages with transnational themes.
Notable Works
Pink Waves (2022)
Some Girls Walk Into the Country They Are From (2020)
Hurry Home Honey (2009)
Texture Notes (2010)
The Ants (2014)
Mouth: Eats Color – A multilingual work blending original and translated poetry.
Nakayas has also translated works by Japanese poets such as Chika Sagawa and Tatsumi Hijikata, contributing significantly to cross-cultural literary exchange.
2025 April PAD Challenge: Day 21
The Day Of My Jogging Accident
Begin Poem
That morning I went for a run.
Fell down a path in the dark.
The run ended as a short run.
That fateful morning was pitch-dark.
14 operations – no fun!
end poem
prompt
We’re now three weeks deep in this challenge; way to bring it. Let’s finish strong!
For today’s prompt, take the phrase “(blank) Day,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “Opposite Day,” “Green Day,” “Earth Day,” “The Last Ever Day,” and/or “The Day Before Yesterday.” Even “Holiday” would work honestly.
Criteria
The Quintilla is a Spanish poetic form that, as you may have guessed from the name, uses five-line stanzas. Here are the guidelines:
Five-line stanzas.
Eight syllables per line.
An ab rhyme scheme in which at least two lines use the “a” rhyme and at least two lines use the “b” rhyme…
But the stanza cannot end with a rhyming couplet.
Based on a true jogging accident, in 1996 I fell down a ladder in the dark, endured 14 operations over nine months, almost lost my leg and life as I developed an MDR staph infection that almost killed me. Fortunately, since was wife was a military officer and I worked for the State Department, I was covered under military health care, they took good care of me while the State Department was not at all sympathetic, and I did not have to battle insurance companies.
PSH April 21, 2025
Burma Shave Signs from the Past
For many years
From the 1920s to the early 70s
Burma Shave
It was shaving cream
Company
Sadly, it went out
Business
Decades ago
The Burma Shave
Advertisements
Often humorous
Or a traffic safety message
Burma Shave signs
Were a feature
Of the American rural landscape
The classic Burma Shave sign
It was a cowboy poetry
rhyming poem
ending with a tag line
“Burma Shave”
The modern interstate highway system
Banned them
As too distracting
To motorists
Perhaps they were
But they were still
An interesting bit
Of American poetic wit
And wisdom
Just a few
I remember
From road trips
In the late 60s
Before they faded away
Into American history
“Pricky Pears
Prickly pears
Are picked
For pickles
No peach picks
A face that prickles
Burma Shave”
“Substitutes
Substitutes
Resemble
Tail-chasing pup
Follow and follow
But never catch up
Burma Shave”
Co-Pilot provided background info
The Burma-Shave ads were a clever and iconic advertising campaign for a brushless shaving cream introduced in 1925 by the Burma-Vita company. These ads became a staple of American highways from 1926 to 1963. The campaign featured a series of small, sequential roadside signs, each displaying a line of a humorous or rhyming poem, with the final sign always bearing the brand name, “Burma-Shave.” The signs were designed to entertain drivers and passengers during long road trips, making them a beloved part of the driving experience.
The campaign’s popularity peaked in the 1930s and 1940s, with over 7,000 sets of signs across the United States. However, the rise of the Interstate Highway System and faster vehicle speeds in the late 1950s made the signs less effective, leading to their discontinuation in 1963.
note: you could still find them on backwater highways until the mid 70’s, they are all long gone now.
Prompt
THINGS YOU’D NEVER HEAR
–in a weather report
–over the announcement system at an airport
–as a public service announcement
–in a sermon
THINGS YOU’D NEVER READ
–in a romance novel
–in a science fiction book
–as a pamphlet in a doctor’s office
–on a get-well card
THINGS/PEOPLE YOU’D NEVER SEE
–at a yard sale
–on a sign at a protest rally
–on a menu
–on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list
*************************************************************************
Example–from Joe Kelty’s Poem: ROAD SIGNS WE NEVER SEE
NO TURN ON BLUE
SPEED LIMIT 46.24 MPH
PASS WITH ABANDON
WRONG RIGHT-OF-WAY
GO FOR IT
NEXT REST AREA 900 MILES. HOLD ON.
CRISSCROSS CENTER LINE
ROAD SLIPPERY WHEN PRESENT
FLOOR IT HERE TO CORNER
NOSEDIVE, 1 MILE
TAILGATING ZONE
MERGE OR BE SORRY
CAUTION: THREE-WAY TRAFFIC . . .
Dew Drop Inn
April 21—A country not your own
First Visit to Korea
In 1979
I first went to Korea
In those Peace Corps
After a long plane ride
My first international flight
I ended up in South Korea
At the old Gimpo airport
A chaotic crazy drive
Through Seoul
To the town of Chuncheon
Where we did our training course
For four months
First visit to another land
First foreign travel
To a strange land
Exotic people
Strange sounds and sights
And the smells of incense
And the food ah the food
korean feast jpg
But over time
Became my second home
45 years later
I returned to Korea
Ending up living
Next door to Gimpo airport
Where my journey began
45 years ago
Welcome back, everyone, for the twenty-second day of National/Global Poetry Writing Month.
Our featured participant today is Cutting Hail, who brings us not just one poem in response to Day 21’s “instructional” prompt, but three!
Today’s daily resource is the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence, Italy. If you are at all interested in Renaissance Italian masters, it’s the right place to get an eyeful of Titians, Caravaggio, Botticelli’s, Canaletto, and da Vincis.
And now for today’s optional prompt! Did you take music lessons as a child? Despite having all the musical talent of a dried-out lemon, I took two years of piano lessons. I was required to practice for half an hour a day and showed my disgruntlement by playing certain very annoying songs – like Turkey in the Straw – over and over, as loudly as possible. But while
I thought of the lessons as a kind of torture, I’m glad as an adult to have taken them – if only for the greater dexterity it gave to my hands!
In her poem, Thanking My Mother for Piano Lessons, Diane Wakoski’s is far more grateful than I ever managed to be, describing the act of playing as a “relief” from loneliness and worry, and as enlarging her life with something beautiful. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem about something you’ve done – whether it’s music lessons, or playing soccer, crocheting, or fishing, or learning how to change a tire – that gave you a similar kind of satisfaction, and perhaps still does.
2025 April PAD Challenge: Day 22
Please Tell Us The People The Truth Soledad
Please tell us the truth
Hey govbots, no more lies, no mas! *
We don’t need any more half-truth
*Spanish for no more can be politically as here or simply we are out of something or stop doing something quite a flexible wording
Govbots pejorative term for government workers among the right, dating back to the Clinton era, meaning government workers who are mindless drones following rules and procedures
On the 22nd day of the 2025 April Poem-A-Day Challenge, writers are challenged with the fourth Two-for-Tuesday prompt of the month.
It’s time for the fourth (but not final) Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
Write a poem and/or…
Write a don’t tell me poem.
You get to decide what that means; you might even tell me in your poem.
The Soledad is a Spanish poetic form. It has the following guidelines:
Three-line poem (or stanzas).
Eight-syllable lines.
Rhyme scheme: aba.
Internal consonance and assonance.
PSH April 22, 2025
Reprograming My Mind
It is so easy
Watching the news
And following social media
To become outraged
Enraged and depressed
That is what they want
From us
Keeping us
From seeing
The beauty
The joy
And even happiness
That is still around us
Whenever I get too depressed
With constant doom-scrolling
I stop and think about
All the good things
In my life
And especially
How I met and married
The lady of my dreams
And day-to-day
Noise of the
perpetual outrage machine
The media has become
Fades away
Replaced by a sense
Of joy and yes
Even happiness
Which no one
can take away
From us
Reprogram your mind
Get rid of negativity
And concentrate
On the positive
And the things
You can do
To make this
A better world
So go forth
And find
Your inner joy
And happiness
Whatever form
That may take
Prompt provided, but I am skipping this one – too much of a headache to wrap my tired 69-year old brain around! Instead, I decided to write something positive for a welcome change to my otherwise gloomy poems
High above Sky City
near the Incheon airport
In South Korea.
I heard them
then saw them
Hideous black
Korean magpie
Krachi mocking birds.
Looking at me
Cackling at me
Laughing at me
Mocking me.
Calling me names
I asked
“Say birds,
What do you
Want from me?”
They laughed,
“Nothing
But your doom
human!”
And they flew
Around me
dive bombing me.
surrounding me
calling me names.
In Korean,
And English.
As I fled
The trail
With the demon birds
hot on my trail.
Note:
Korean magpies, sometimes called mockingbirds, are common in more rural areas, and they do often laugh as people walk by. Very eerie sound, and the birds are quite big. The above is based on a nightmare I had after a real encounter on a trail back in 2018, pre-COVID era, when I was living near the airport and often took long walks through the nearby hills.
Co-pilot background on Korean mockingbirds
Mockingbirds are not native to Korea, so there isn’t a specific Korean name for them. However, Korea is home to a rich variety of bird species, some of which mimic sounds like mockingbirds do. For example, the Eurasian magpie, known as “까치” (kka chí) in Korean, is a common bird that is admired for its intelligence and vocal abilities.
As for endangered species, South Korea has several bird species that are nationally protected due to their vulnerable status. You can find detailed lists of these species on resources like the Ministry of Environment’s website or the Birds Korea Checklist.
Happy Wednesday, everyone, and happy twenty-third day of National/Global Poetry Writing Month.
Today, our featured participant is Elizabeth Bouquet, who brings us a poem with a poem in it in response to Day Twenty-Two’s lessons-based prompt.
Our resource for the day is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum’s online image collection is practically endless, and to call it varied would be an understatement. There’s over 2,000 images just of baseball cards! To say nothing of candelabra featuring what appears to be a scandalized swan, a processional sword belonging to the guardsman of a sixteenth-century German duke, and a couch that I would very much like to fall upon in a melodramatic swoon.
And last but not least, here’s today’s (optional) prompt. Humans might be the only species to compose music, but we’re quite famously not the only ones to make it. Birdsong is all around us – even in cities, there are sparrows chirping, starlings making a racket. And it’s hardly surprising that birdsong has inspired poets. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem that focuses on birdsong. Need examples? Try A.E. Stallings’ “Blackbird Etude,” or for an old-school throwback, Shelley’s “To a Skylark.”
2025 April PAD Challenge: Day 23
Too Many Books
Have too many
Books
For me to read
Friends
I need to start decluttering
I own too many books and CDs to keep
My books
It is hard to say goodbye
To my friends
Love reading my old classics
So much I’ve learned from all my classic books
Each one, a friend through long years of my life
I’ll miss them
I can’t believe how fast we’re breezing through this month. One week of poeming after today!
For today’s prompt, write a poem book. Today is World Book Day, which may be one of my favorite holidays moving forward, because I love books. Your poem could be inspired by a book, an author, a character, a scene, and/or however you’d like to come to this one. Heck, write about a bookstore, library, card catalogue, or any other bookish thing you can imagine.
Criteria
You know Pi as the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. But Pi is also used as poetry form. I discovered a small explanation on the page of Jan Haag, who has written several poems in Pi form.
The Pi is built up in words and follows the mathematical number that stands for Pi:
PI = 3.141592653589793
In lines:
Pi Form
line 1: 3 words
line 2: 1 word
line 3: 4 words
line 4: 1 word
line 5: 5 words
line 6: 9 words
line 7: 2 words
line 8: 6 words
line 9: 5 words
line 10: 3 words
line 11: 5 words
line 12: 8 words
line 13: 9 words
line 14: 7 words
line 15: 9 words
line 16: 3 words.
Hey, once I was a boogie singer
Playing in a rock ‘n’ roll band
I never had any problems, yeah
Burning down the one-night stands
Then everything around me, yeah
It got to start feeling so low
And I decided quickly, yes, I did, heh
To disco down and check out the show
Yeah, they were dancing and singing
And moving to the grooving
And just when it hit me
Somebody turned around and shouted…
“Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right
Play that funky music, white boy
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die” (heh, heh)
‘Til you die, yeah, uh
Here, here, ha
Well, I tried to understand this (yeah)
Heh, I thought that they were out of their minds
How could I be so foolish? How could I?
To not see I was the one behind?
So still I kept on fighting
Well, losing every step of the way (hey, what’d you do?)
I said, “I must go back there,” I got to go back
And check to see if things still the same
Yeah, they were dancing and singing
And moving to the grooving
And just when it hit me
Somebody turned around and shouted…
“Play that funky music, white boy (yeah)
Play that funky music right, oh
Play that funky music, white boy
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die” (heh)
‘Til you die (yeah)
Oh, ’til you die
Gonna play some electrified funky music, yow
Ah, ha, ha
Hey, wait a minute, now first it wasn’t easy
Changing rock ‘n’ roll and minds
Yeah, things were getting shaky (yeah)
I thought I’d have to leave it behind, uh
Ooh, but now it’s so much better, it’s so much better
I’m funking out in every way
But I’ll never lose that feeling, no, I won’t
Of how I learned my lesson that day
When they were dancing and singing
And moving to the grooving
And just when it hit me
Somebody turned around and shouted
“Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right
Play that funky music, white boy
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die” (heh)
‘Til you die (yeah)
Oh, ’til you die, yeah
Come on, let’s go!
(They shouted, “play that funky music”) play that funky music
(Play that funky music) you gotta keep on playing funky music
(Play that funky music) play that funky music
(Play that funky music) come on and take you higher
Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right, yeah
Play that funky music, white boy
Play that funky music right, yeah
Play that funky music (white boy)
Play that funky music (right, yeah)
Play that funky music (honky)
Play that funky music (right, ha)
Play that funky…
Songwriters: Robert W. Parisi. For non-commercial use only.
Welcome back, everyone, to Day Twenty-Four of our annual poetry-writing challenge!
Our featured participant for the day is haphazard, whose birdsong poem for Day Twenty-Three places primacy on the “gaps in the music.”
Today’s daily resource is the Art Institute of Chicago, where just searching the collection for the word “stars,” I found this amazing quilt, a very fancy-looking Soviet plate, and an illustration of the constellation Leo from a medieval Arabic astronomical guide.
And now for today’s (optional) prompt. One fundamental aspect of music is its communal nature. While a single person can make music, of course, it’s often made in groups. Rock bands, orchestras, church choirs – they all involve making music together. And often, we’re playing or performing music that was written by, or inspired by, other people.
In her poem, Duet, Lisa Russ Spaar tells the story of two sisters making music together, based on two pre-existing songs by different artists. Today, we challenge you to write a poem that involves people making music together, and that references – with a lyric or line – a song or poem that is important to you.
PSH April 23, 2025 Poetry Writing Prompt from Franci Levine-Grater
Looking at my house filled with memories Kimo Poem
Look at an item, or a picture of an item, which is important or sentimental to you and write about memories and feelings it elicits. Do NOT describe the item. Rather, use it as an inspiration to access why it is sentimental to you.
3 lines
No rhymes.
10 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 6 in the third.
Also, the kimo is focused on a single frozen image (kind of like a snapshot). So it’s uncommon to have any movement happening in kimo poems.
With apologies for the delay (I’m traveling, and just plain fell asleep last night before updating today’s post!), today’s featured participant is Wren Jones, who brings us a flashback to Springsteen in response to Day Twenty-Four’s making-music-together prompt.
It’s a pleasure to browse through the images here. I particularly liked these anklets that aren’t just jewelry but a sort of personal piggy bank, this portrait of the fabulously mustachioed J.M. Curette, and this highly decorative flask, originally meant to hold gunpowder!
Finally, here is our optional prompt for the day. In her poem, Senzo, Evie Shockley recounts the experience of being at a live concert, relating it the act of writing poetry. Today we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that recounts an experience of your own hearing live music and tells how it moves you. It could be a Rolling Stones concert, your little sister’s middle school musical, or just someone whistling – it just needs to be something meaningful to you.
2025 April PAD Challenge: Day 24
O Dark Hundred Nightmares
Midnight
Insomnia takes hold of me
nightmares terrifying me
0 dark hundred
late nights
What if
What if nightmares take over
Replaying in my mind
What if what if
what if
Worries
Going down dark, twisted rabbit holes
Natural disasters
Fear of my death
The end
Comment:
Note: O Dark hundred hours is a military/intel slang phrase that refers to the hours just before dawn between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., depending on location and time of year. This is when bad things happen in the night, as military and intel special forces wake up for a dawn operation. Here and in other similar poems and short stories, it refers to when people most often have nightmares around 3 a.m. in the middle of the night, or O Dark hundred.
Bonus Poem
O dark hundred insomnia blues
Sam Adams had the insomnia blues
he could not sleep.
He stared at the ceiling.
That stared back at him
With an evil grin
Mocking him it seems.
His mind plays an endless tape
of fears doom, and endless fears
As he goes down the proverbial rabbit hole
Lost in an endless anxiety feedback freak out loop.
The latest dark SF series he saw
the latest scary news
Political dystopian futures
Endless possibilities play out.
The latest news of war
the latest fears of incipient fascism
The latest news about the stock market
climate change weather disasters
Monster storms and flooding
His town burning up around him.
What if I have the big Alzheimer’s, or dementia?
What if I have Cancer, Covid, Lyme disease, or Monkeypox?
What if World War Three breaks out?
4:30 a.m.
What if I am at the mall
When a mad gunman opens fire?
Or a terrorist bomb goes off?
Or I am the victim of a random act of violence?
5:15 a.m.
What if the zombie apocalypse starts?
What if, what if, what if……
6:30 a.m.
Until day-break blasts him awake
as the dawning sun fills the room.
Ending that night’s insomnia blues.
Until the next night’s episode begins
at O Dark Hundred.
Prompt
For today’s prompt, write a time of day poem. You can pick a specific time of day (like the songs “3 A.M. Eternal,” by The KLF, or “12:51,” by The Strokes), or it can be a more generalized thing (like “early morning” or “lunch time” or whatever). Snack time is one of my favorite times of day, for sure. (And don’t forget poeming time!)
Criteria
This poetry form is not a difficult one. The form finds its origin in Spain. Not much is known about the history of the form, so we’ll stick to the details.
How is the Cinquain set up?
xx
xxxxxxxx
xxxxxx
xxxx
xx
(2/8/6/4/2 syllables.)
If you center the poem, the shape looks like a top, quite cute
PSH Cut-up Remixed consular officers have the best stories
Bob Jones chief
Mumbai
9-11
oversee
immigrant visas,
adjudicator
fraud unit
“administrative processing”
Had best stories,
“So, what can we do for you?”
————————————————————————————————————
“ Yes, my father is dying
He said to her,
“Do you have any proof
And she said yes,
———————————–
that letter
It was fraudulent.
————————————————————————————————–
Mr Patel had died
about two weeks before.
“So, Miss Patel
when was the last time
you spoke to your father?”
————————————————————————————————– “Oh, I spoke to him just now
he is still alive
“OK well,
there’s just one problem.
Do you believe in ghosts?”
” What?”
——————————————————————————————-
“Well, you see here’s the problem.
There’s only one way you
could have spoken
to your father today
————————————————————————————————–and that is if you spoke
to a ghost
he died two weeks ago”.
Another day
in the life of a visa officer
—————————————————————————————————
doing his part
to enforce broken system.
Just another bad government gig
The immigration system has been broken for decades and is riddled with fraud, but most immigrants are decent, hardworking people. I disagree with the mass deportation campaign and the practice of sweeping people off the streets. Instead, they should have fixed the system, which would need to include a path to legalization for those who are otherwise law-abiding, long-term residents. It is far better for everyone if they have legal status rather than living in the shadows. I also believe we must make it easier for legal immigration and give priority to those who study in the U.S. and are poised to become the next innovators here. The current policy is shortsighted, cruel, and counterproductive.
Experiment with Cross-Outs and Cut-ups Using Old Drafts of Poetry as Raw Material!
This prompt invites you to rework forgotten/abandoned drafts by both/either redacting/covering up selected words (cross-outs) and cutting lines out of hard copies and re-ordering them on a piece of paper, gluing them down when you are satisfied (cut-ups). Magazines are also good raw material for cross-out and cut-up poetry and found poems. Either using intuition, or complete random selection. The point is not to overthink it. You’ll need scissors and glue or tape and some blank paper and a marking pen.
Lewis Carroll answered the question of “How do I be a poet?” in 1883:
“For first you write a sentence,
And then you chop it small;
Then mix the bits, and sort them out
Just as they chance to fall:
The order of the phrases makes
No difference at all.”
Tristan Tzara, in the 1920s, proposed to create a poem on the spot by pulling words out of a hat. In the 1950s Brion Gysin cut newspaper articles into sections and rearranged the sections at random. William Burroughs asserts. “Cuts ups are for everyone,” just as Tzara remarked that “poetry is for everyone.”
April 24—Duty
visa fraud stories
Bob Jones was an immigrant visa chief
for the United States of America
consular officers have the best stories,
and cases that will always be remembered.
———————————————————————————————————————–
On that November day,
an Indian American citizen
came to the consulate to see him.
———————————————————————————————————————–She had a request.
would he be willing to consider
her Sibling’s cases.
Her father had immigrated
to the United States
and become a citizen.
And she had become
a citizen as well.
She had four siblings
who were in their 30s
all of whom were living in India
and all of those visas
————————————————————————————————
were held up for “administrative processing”
on suspicion of marriage fraud,
or rather fake single status,
which was the biggest category
of visa fraud.
Her father had petitioned
for them and
as unmarried children of U.S. citizens,
the wait was
about three years,
whereas for married children of U.S. citizens,
the wait would be about seven years.
In this case,
he suspected
that they were committing
marriage fraud
by pretending
to be unmarried
and the case
had been held up
They knew culturally speaking
that rural Gujarati women
and men in their 30s
would all be married
and that they were faking
being single on paper
to speed up visa processing.
Once they were Green card holders
They would marry their spouses
So in five years
They would all be together
Instead of ten years
He understood
and even felt sympathetic
but the law was the law
-and he had to
enforce the visa law
even the insane rules.
– He asked her,
“So, what can we do for you?”
————————————————————————————————–
“ Yes, my father is dying
in the hospital
—————————————————————————————-
and it is his dying wish
to reunite the family
in the United States
could you please
reconsider issuing
the visas to them?”
He said to her,
————————————————————————————————
“Do you have any proof
that your father
is in the hospital?”
————————————————————————————————–
And she said yes,
and she pulled out
a letter written
by an Indian doctor
in New Jersey
saying that Mister Patel
was seriously ill
and that it
was his dying wish
to have his children
reunited in the United States,
and see him before he died.
and that the consulate
should reconsider
issuing visas
for the children.
There was something
about that letter
that struck him as fraudulent.
and so he called the hospital
and he confirmed
with the duty doctor
that Mr. Patel
had died
about two weeks before.
————————————————————————————————–
He called Miss Patel
and gave her the bad news.
He started by saying.
“So, Miss Patel
when was the last time
you spoke to your father?”
“Oh, I spoke to him just now
he is still alive and waiting
for his children to arrive
to see him before he dies.”
“He is alive right now?”
Oh, yes, he is still alive
and he’s waiting
for the immigrant visas
to be processed.”
“OK well, there’s just one problem.
Do you believe in ghosts?”
” What?”
——————————————————————————————-
“Well, you see here’s the problem.
There’s only one way you
could have spoken
to your father today
and that is if you spoke
to a ghost because
according to the hospital,
he died two weeks ago”.
And he showed
her fax from the hospital
confirming Mr. Patel’s demise.
————————————————————————————————–She started crying.
Then he said.
“Well, you know the problem
is that you and your siblings
just committed visa fraud.
They are going to be stuck
in India and not allowed to travel
to the United States
for the next 99 years.
But planes fly both ways
and you can go visit them
every year if you want
but they’re not coming
into the United States.
And you can file for them
And in eight years seek
A visa waiver for the ineligibility
It is sometimes granted.”
– She cried
and he entered them
in the system for visa
misrepresentation.
This one was
but one of the many
heart-breaking stories
illustrating
how broken the US immigration system was.
In this particular case,
if the father was still alive,
he might have
reconsidered the case
and issued the visas
for humanitarian reasons
ignoring marriage fraud,
which was always difficult to prove,
but when the father
died the petition died with him.
He said to himself
well that’s just another day
in the life of a visa officer
————————————————————————————————–
doing his part
to enforce
a broken immigration system.
But, thinking back on it all,
he felt blessed to be working
serving the country he loved
-and helping immigrants,
students and visitors
visit America
while deterring fraudsters,
and helping American citizens
who found themselves
in trouble in a foreign land.
Not bad for a government gig
He always said.
The immigration system has been broken for decades and is riddled with fraud, but most immigrants are decent, hardworking people. I disagree with the mass deportation campaign and the practice of sweeping people off the streets. Instead, they should have fixed the system, which would need to include a path to legalization for those who are otherwise law-abiding, long-term residents. It is far better for everyone if they have legal status rather than living in the shadows. I also believe we must make it easier for legal immigration and give priority to those who study in the U.S. and are poised to become the next innovators here. The current policy is shortsighted, cruel, and counterproductive.
With apologies for the delay (I’m traveling, and just plain fell asleep last night before updating today’s post!), today’s featured participant is Wren Jones, who brings us a flashback to Springsteen in response to Day Twenty-Four’s making-music-together prompt.
It’s a pleasure to browse through the images here. I particularly liked these anklets that aren’t just jewelry but a sort of personal piggy bank, this portrait of the fabulously mustachioed J.M. Curette, and this highly decorative flask, originally meant to hold gunpowder!
Finally, here is our optional prompt for the day. In her poem, Senzo, Evie Shockley recounts the experience of being at a live concert, relating it the act of writing poetry. Today we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that recounts an experience of your own hearing live music and tells how it moves you. It could be a Rolling Stones concert, your little sister’s middle school musical, or just someone whistling – it just needs to be something meaningful to you.
2025 April PAD Challenge: Day 25
April 25 I shall always remember
One night in early September
A night I will always remember
For on that date, my dream lady came to life
It was on that September date
I knew that I had met my fate
When I saw her, sparks flew from heart to heart
Tripadi Poems
The Tripadi is a Bengali poetic form. Here are the guidelines:
Tercets (or three-line stanzas).
Lines one and two end rhyme with each other.
Lines one and two have eight syllables.
Line three has ten syllables.
Poem may consist of one tercet or several.
f you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Superhighway Facebook Group.
As you can see, the original golden shovel takes more than a line from the poem. In fact, it pulls every word from the Brooks poem, and it does it twice.
This form is sort of in the tradition of the cento and erasure, but it offers a lot more room for creativity than other poetry found.
Jake, your collection for April 23 offers a rich variety of tone and subject, and there is real pleasure in the movement between them.
The mocking birds piece is wild and vivid, capturing a surreal sense of menace with a playful edge-the birds cackling in Korean and English is a brilliant, slightly absurd detail.
Your piece on “reprogramming your mind” is a warm, important counterpoint: it reminds readers (and perhaps yourself) that joy still exists if we choose to seek it, without falling into preachiness.
The short memory about your house feels quiet and grounded, and the Shakespeare piece is a real highlight: personal, affectionate, and tinged with a sense of time passing.
Your affection for the classics shines through clearly.
If anything, the different pieces might feel a little loosely stitched when read together, but as a daily writing project, this kind of natural shift between moods feels entirely fitting.
A heartfelt and honest set.
Tim thanks as always
Jake, your collection for April 23 offers a rich variety of tone and subject, and there is real pleasure in the movement between them.
The mocking birds piece is wild and vivid, capturing a surreal sense of menace with a playful edge-the birds cackling in Korean and English is a brilliant, slightly absurd detail.
Your piece on “reprogramming your mind” is a warm, important counterpoint: it reminds readers (and perhaps yourself) that joy still exists if we choose to seek it, without falling into preachiness.
The short memory about your house feels quiet and grounded, and the Shakespeare piece is a real highlight: personal, affectionate, and tinged with a sense of time passing.
Your affection for the classics shines through clearly.
If anything, the different pieces might feel a little loosely stitched when read together, but as a daily writing project, this kind of natural shift between moods feels entirely fitting.
A heartfelt and honest set.
Tim thanks as always
Happy Sunday, all – I hope you have an enjoyable thirteenth day of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Our featured participant today is Chronicles of Miss Miseria, where the response to Day Twelve’s symphonic, Stevens-inspired prompt fires on all cylinders.
Finally, here’s our prompt for the day (optional, as always). Donald Justice’s poem, “There is a gold light in certain old paintings,” plays with both art and music, and uses an interesting and (as far as I know) self-invented form. His six-line stanzas use lines of twelve syllables, and while they don’t use rhyme, they repeat end words. Specifically, the second and fourth line of each stanza repeat an end-word or syllable; he fifth and sixth lines also repeat their end-word or syllable. Today, we challenge you to write a poem that uses Justice’s invented form.
It comes from everywhere and from nowhere at once, this light,
And the poor soldiers sprawled at the foot of the cross
Share in its charity equally with the cross.
2
Orpheus hesitated beside the black river.
With so much to look forward to he looked back.
We think he sang then, but the song is lost.
At least he had seen once more the beloved back.
I say the song went this way: O prolong
Now the sorrow if that is all there is to prolong.
3
The world is very dusty, uncle. Let us work.
One day the sickness shall pass from the earth for good.
The orchard will bloom; someone will play the guitar.
Our work will be seen as strong and clean and good.
And all that we suffered through having existed
Shall be forgotten as though it had never existed.
“govbot” is a perjorative term for government workers popular on the right, dating back to the Clinton era.
Writer’s Digest Prompt
Full Moon Madness
Sam Adams
Was drinking
In his favorite watering hole
The Cosmos Bar
In Soi Cowboy, Bangkok.
Twenty drinks too sober
He contemplated life.
It was the evening
Of the pink full moon
The lunatic light
Of the moon.
Shown on the street
Outside the bar
Sam was soon transformed
Into a demented werewolf
Ran outside
Howling like an escaped banshee
At the lunatic light of the full moon
Shining down on his lost soul.
The Cosmos Bar is a fictional expat bar located in Soi Cowboy, Bangkok. Soi Cowboy dates back to the Vietnam war era when it was a popular drinking district or expats in Bangkok. Sam Adams is a fictional character that pops up in many of my stories and poems, a distant descendant of the famous Sam Adams, and beer brewer, from the revolutionary war period of US history.
For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Full (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “Full Moon,” “Full Throttle,” “Full Tank of Gas,” “Full Monty,” and/or “Full Tank of Gas.”
Here’s my attempt at a Full (blank) Poem:
“Full Throated,” by Robert Lee Brewer
I sound my long barbaric yawp
from every available hilltop
on my way to the barbershop
fearing I may never stop
while sucking on a lollipop
as the neighbors channel-hop
and the horses clippity clop
beside another bumblecop
which could be a malaprop
for the use of bumpercrop
as I find I flip and flop
like a price at a car swap
or the head of a wet mop
stuck inside a karate chop
falling like a sad raindrop
into a pond–a frog–kerplop!
Bonus Full Moon Poem
Pink Moon Lunar Madness Overcomes Old Man
The lunatic light of the pink full moon
Shinned on a lonely man in the Cosmos Bar
Who was a lost film star
Drinking from afar
The lunatic light of the pink full moon.
The man was a star
The light in the bar was bizarre
They sat there playing the guitar
The lunatic light of the full moon.
He thought to himself so far
Went outside, saw a squad car
Howling at the moon, looking at a sports car.
The lunatic light of the pink full moon.
Poetry Form: DANSA
Here are the guidelines for writing the dansa:
Opening quintain (or 5-line stanza) followed by quatrains (or 4-line stanzas)
The opening line of the first stanza is the final line of every stanza, including the first
Rhyme scheme in the opening stanza: AbbaA (capital A represents the refrain)
Rhyme scheme in all other stanzas: bbaA
No other rules for subject, length, or meter.
One additional PPC rule for this one: a minimum of 13 lines (3 stanzas per the above rules)
Poetry Superhighway Prompt
Driving, Walking or Travel Poem
Walking Along the Fake Venice Canal
Gimpo Grand Canal
I take a walk
Every day
Along the fake Venice canal
Near my home
In Gimpo, Korea.
It is lined with restaurants
And shops.
And this time of year
Flowering trees.
There are boats
For rent as well.
Someday I am going
To Venice
As part of a Mediterranean cruise.
And I will walk
Along a real Venice canal
And have dinner.
And think about
The fake canal
And the real canal.
Drive (or walk) down a familiar street or block. Pay attention to everything: the condition of the street, the signs, people, cars or other vehicles, and the trees, flowers and grass or lack thereof. Where are you walking? Maybe on a sidewalk or in the grass? Where are you driving? Maybe on a paved road or maybe a dirt or gravel road? Write a poem about traveling down this street.
Next, do the very same thing but this time go down an unfamiliar street or block. What do you see that’s different? What do you see that’s the same? How does it make you feel to be in an unfamiliar setting vs a familiar one? Write a poem about going down this street you’ve never traveled on before.
Then take both poems and intersperse the lines from the poem of a street of familiarity to the poem of the street of unfamiliarity to create an overall picture in a poem of traveling the known vs the unknown
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
Dew Drop Inn
April 13—Greenery
Green Trees Don’t Make It
70 lines
Everyday
I look out and see
The ugly green trees
Standing guard
in front of my house.
And I think to myself
Who owns the trees?
And what do they think of us?
Are we their friends?
Are we their enemies?
What do the trees think of us?
Do they silently watch us,
Spies to the celestial emperor?
I have pondered this question
Many a morning,
Who is the owner of these trees?
And why do they silently watch us?
I wonder if the trees don’t hate us
And why they don’t protest.
Every day as we drive back and forth
Emitting poison gases from our mechanical asses
Right into their unprotected faces.
And every night we eat our dinner
And then give the trees
Our polluted leftovers
And laugh as they silently die
From our acidic fallout
Constantly floating down on their skin.
Yes, I wonder about the trees
And the birds and the bees
And everyone else.
What are they thinking?
Are they plotting revenge?
Or are they merely there
Silently, watching, plotting,
Designing fiendish plots of revenge
Dreams of vast nuclear destruction.
Cosmic diseases wiping out everyone in the ass
Oh Yes, I wonder and dream and ponder
What is the meaning of those silent green trees?
Standing on the corner
Quietly condemning us
With their quiet tears, and falling leaves.
In the winter they stand
Naked and alone
Covered with ice-cold snow
As we drive by nice and warm.
And we don’t care
As they stand out in the cold
Shivering, plotting
warm plans of cosmic revenge.
Is it too late for us
To become friends
with the trees?
Or will the day come
When the trees will wake up
And gather together
All the other slaves of humanity.
I have a vision
One morning I will open the door
And see an army of wild things
Coming to arrest me
For crimes against nature.
And I will plead, I did not know
And they will laugh
and turn me all of my kind
Into silent tombs,
And we will stand out in the cold
Like the green trees
Plotting dreams of revenge
For ever and ever.
Until our day finally comes
And we can go out
and kill all the wild things
Perhaps we already have.
Today we are two full weeks into National/Global Poetry Writing Month. Hopefully you’ll all have fourteen poems under your belts by the end of the day and, if not – no worries! You can always catch up (or just cut yourself some slack).
Today’s featured participant is Glenn Mitchell, who really hit it out of the park with his take on Day Thirteen’s Donald Justic-inspired prompt!
Our featured resource for the day is the online gallery of the Rijksmuseum, where you may particularly enjoy their series on 100 masterpieces within the museum’ s collection. And here’s a little anecdote about how browsing an online collection of this kind can lead you to new and startling discoveries. While taking a peek at the museum’s exhibit regarding Meissen porcelain, I came across this slide show about a particular porcelain macaw, which in turn led me down the rabbit hole of learning about saxon elector and Polish king Augustus the Strong, who “died at the honorable age of sixty-two, his kingdom a financial ruin, with nine children from six different women, and a collection of thirty-five thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight pieces of porcelain.” I feel much less sheepish about my comparatively modest trove of knick-knacks and doo-dads after reading that.
And with that silliness out of the way, today’s (optional) prompt is inspired by a poem that’s an old favorite of mine, by Kay Ryan.
Crustacean Island
There could be an island paradise
where crustaceans prevail.
Click, click, go the lobsters
with their china mitts and
articulated tails.
It would not be sad like whales
with their immense and patient sieving
and the sobering modesty
of their general way of living.
It would be an island blessed
with only cold-blooded residents
and no human angle.
It would echo with a thousand castanets
and no flamencos.
Ryan’s poem invites us to imagine the “music” of a place without people in it. So today, try writing a poem that describes a place, particularly in terms of the animals, plants or other natural phenomena there. Sink into the sound of your location, and use a conversational tone. Incorporate slant rhymes (near or off-rhymes, like “angle” and “flamenco”) into your poem. And for an extra challenge – don’t reference birds or birdsong!
Writer Digest April 14
How to Lose Weight
They say
Inside every fat man
Is a thin man
Trying to break free.
Since, Janaury 2024
I have lost
Almost 15 pounds (7 K).
Dropping from a high
Of 195 pounds (88 K)
To a low of 170 pounds (77 K)
In about a year or so.
How did I lose
so much weight
And most importantly
Not gain it back?
First I came down
With a mysterious COVID
Like illness.
And lost 15 pounds
In one month
The doctors could
Not figure it out.
But ruled out bronchitis
Cancer, pneumonia
And TB.
Then I started
Daily workouts
Including
Walking up 16 flights
Of stairs six times
A day
That
Along with a strict diet
And no more daily
Glass of wine
Or whisky!
And hitting the gym
Led me to keep
the weight off
In any event
I feel great
And look great.
Not bad
For a 69- old man
I say.
no set form for this one, sort of a loose narative free verse poem
Whew! We’re two weeks in on this month and this challenge already. Go, us!
For today’s prompt, write a losing poem. Losing often comes with negative connotations, like losing a game or a family pet or socks (seriously, where do they all disappear to?). However, a person could also lose some weight, bad habits, and/or negativity. Of course, it could be argued these are still negatives (positives via double negatives), but I find I’m starting to lose my train of thought, so it’s probably best to get poeming.
Here’s my attempt at a Losing Poem:
“What I’ve Gained,” by Robert Lee Brewer
There’s nothing I’ve gained
that I won’t eventually lose;
not that I know how, but I
can decipher the clues;
so I don’t care much about
all the items I can gain
when I’ll eventually lose
and then lose them again:
better I think is to share
all the ups and the downs
with every loser who’ll
happily keep me around,
because everything I gain
I will eventually lose,
so abide if you can
to skip having the blues.
PSH April 14, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Eric Nicholson
May the Force be with You
In the Star Wars universe
The rebels led by Luke Skywalker
And Princess Lea
Are behind the curve.
The imperial storm troopers
Too powerful
A force.
All seems lost
To the rebels.
But the rebels
Still maintain
Hope.
That with the force
With them
They can overcome.
And defeat
The dark side
Of the force.
Represented by Darth Vadar
Luke Skywalker’s father.
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Eric Nicholson:
Use a series of sequences from a well known film and splice with more nature-based lines. Or political!
The idea is to either parallel each or contrast. The effect could be sereal, philosophical or lyrical.
Today is the halfway point of National/Global Poetry Writing Month! Hooray for poems!
Our featured participant today is The Cynical Optimist, where the place-sounds poem for Day Fourteen lets each creature in a particular park have its own solo.
Today’s resource is the online gallery of the National Museum of New Zealand. It’s pretty fun to just search for random words in their search bar, and see what kind of objects and art pop up. For example, I searched the word “butter,” and was presented with this photograph of a bracelet made up of butter and cheese exhibition medals, this stamp celebrating the wonders of butter production, and a teeny saucepan made for a dollhouse.
And now for our (optional) daily prompt. The MC5 was a 1960s rock band. If you’ve heard anything by them–and you likely have–it’s their 1969 song Kick Out the Jams.
Jesse Crawford, otherwise known as Brother J.C. Crawford, was the band’s stage MC and warm-up man. Below are the words with which he opened a concert in Japan in 1969 (you can find the recording on Spotify/Apple Music as part of the Kick Out the James [Live] [Japan Remastered] album, on the track titled Intro/Ramblin’ Rose).
Brothers and sisters
I wanna see a sea of hands out there
Let me see a sea of hands
I want everybody to kick up some noise
I wanna hear some revolution out there, brothers
I wanna hear a little revolution
[big pause]
Brothers and sisters
The time has come for each and everyone of you to decide
Whether you are gonna be the problem
Or whether you are gonna be the solution (that’s right)
You must choose, brothers, you must choose
It takes five seconds, five seconds of decision
Five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet
It takes five seconds to realize that it’s time to move
It’s time to get down with it
Brothers, it’s time to testify and I want to know
Are you ready to testify?!
Are you ready?!
I give you a testimonial
The MC5
And now here’s a short little poem by Jane Kenyon:
The Shirt
The shirt touches his neck
and smooths over his back.
It slides down his sides.
It even goes down below his belt—
down into his pants.
Lucky shirt.
And now for your prompt! While Brother J.C.’s warm-up and Kenyon’s poem might seem very different at first, they’re both informed by repetition, simple language, and they express enthusiasm. They have a sermon/prayer-like quality, and then end with a bang.
Your challenge is to write a six-line poem that has these same qualities.
Here we go: Halfway through the month and time for another Two-for-Tuesday prompt.
For the third Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
Write a poetic form poem and/or…
Write an anti-form poem.
Criteria
The nonet poetic form is simple. It’s a 9-line poem that has 9 syllables in the first line, 8 syllables in the second line, 7 syllables in the third line, and continues to count down to one syllable in the final (ninth) line.
I couldn’t find an origin, but I did learn that the word nonet is used for a group of 9 performers or instruments. So I’m assuming this is one of those poetic forms inspired by music.
April 15, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from John Dorroh
Ode to My Piano Savior of My Soul
For the last few years
I have been playing
The piano.
Everyday from 5 to 6 Pm
I sit down at the piano
And play a piece of music
I have been working through
The classics
And have finally gotten
To where I can play
A Mozart Sonata
And nail it!
This poetry writing prompt submitted by John Dorroh:
Look around the room and select an object that speaks to you. If one doesn’t speak to you, pick an object that starts with the letters D, M, C, or P. Write a letter to the object addressing its value to your life. Next, write a letter from the object, expressing its connections, appreciation and/or dissatisfaction with things you have done.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
Music
Soul music
Funky music
The Tower of Power
Fill the air
The Tower of Power
Funky music
Soul music
Music.
New Prompt: Write a Palindrome. You can read an example here: “Palindrome”
Our Musical Street
30 lines
I grew up
In a very creative time
a very musical time.
The 60’s had the best music
Mot ruled the Bay Area
As well as Great rock music
Acid jazz
Acid Rock
Fusion Jazz
The Grateful Dead
Mamas and the Papas
Jefferson Airplane
Jimmy Hendrix
last high school
was Berkeley High School
Santana
And so many others
The best funk band
Of them all
Tower of Power
Beloved by all
High school students.
For their immortal classic
Make out song
“You’re Still a Young Man.”
Tower of Power rocked
Every party in town
On every street.
Music flowed.
On every musical street
In the city.
That was Berkeley
In the 60’s and 70’s.
Please use the following as the Title of your story or poem:
“Our Musical Street”
Please select “Music” as one of your genres.
Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk-based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 19681. The band has had several lead vocalists, the best known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the band between early 1973 and late 1974, the period of their greatest commercial success1. They have had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100; their highest-charting songs include “You’re Still a Young Man”, “So Very Hard to Go”, “What Is Hip?”, and “Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”1.
The band was formed by tenor saxophonist/vocalist Emilio Castillo and baritone saxophonist Stephen “Doc” Kupka in 19681. The band’s soul sound appealed to both minority and counterculture listeners1. The band’s name was changed to Tower of Power after they agreed that their original name, The Mots, would not help them play at Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco1.
Tower of Power has released 31 albums, including 15 studio albums, 5 live albums, and 11 compilations1. Their most recent album, “Step Up”, was released in 20202.
Here is a list of some of their most popular songs:
“You’re Still a Young Man”
“So Very Hard to Go”
“What Is Hip?”
“Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”
“Soul Vaccination”
“This Time It’s Real”
“Time Will Tell”
“Only So Much Oil in the Ground”
If you’re interested in listening to their music, you can check out their official website2.
“Song at Sunrise”
In 1974
When I graduated
From Berkeley High School
We went out to party
All night long.
We listened to our favorite band
The Tower of Power
The greatest funk band
Of them all.
Then at sunrise
Everyone went to Tilden Park
Inspiration point
A rare sunny dawn
The music blaring
On our radios
The song at Sunrise
Was “What is hip”
And ‘You’re Still a Young Man
the greatest “make out the song”
of all time.
No doubt babies
Were conceived
That night
To that song track.
For those who don’t know the TOP started in the late 60’s and is still going strong almost 5o years later. They are the best funk band ever, and they are the soul of the San Francisco East Bay area (Berkeley, Freemont, Oakland, Richmond, and towns in between). They were multicultural before that was a thing. They have the best horn section of any funk band, great guitar players, keyboard players, drummers, and of course great singers. Their best songs were the iconic “What is Hip”, and “You’re Still a Young Man,” one of the best make-out songs of all time. No doubt many babies were conceived to that song! The first song I ever slowly danced to, and a song I played to seduce my wife when we met.
Based loosely on the classic Tower of Power Song, “What is hip?”
What Is Hip Lyrics
[Verse 1]
So ya wanna dump out yo’ trick bag
Ease on in a hip thang
But you ain’t exactly sure what is hip
So you started to let your hair grow
Spent big bucks on your wardrobe
Somehow, ya know there’s much more to the trip
[Chorus]
What is hip?
Tell me, tell me, if you think you know
What is hip?
If you’re hip
The question, “Will it show?”
You’re into a hip trip
Maybe hipper than hip
What is hip?
[Verse 2]
You became a part of a new breed
Been smoking’ only the best weed
Hangin’ out with the so-called “Hippie set.”
Seen in all the right places
Seen with just the right faces
You should be satisfied, but it ain’t quite right
[Chorus]
What is hip?
Tell me, tell me, if you think you know
What is hip?
If you’re hip
The question, “Will it show?”
You’re into a hip trip
Maybe hipper than hip
What is hip?
[Break]
Come on
[Refrain]
Hipness is. What it is
Hipness is. What it is
Hipness is. What it is
Sometimes hipness is, what it ain’t
You’re Still a Young Man
Baby, Oo oo, don’t waste your time
You’re still a young man
Baby, Oo oo, don’t waste your time
Down on my knees
Oh, heart in hand
I was accused of being too young
But I’m not so young
I could make you happy
I’m not a bad man
You’re too young to love (If you and I could be together)
You’re too young to love (I’ll never leave you alone baby)
You’re too young Ooo Ooo (No I won’t sweet lady)
Don’t waste your time
The damage is done
You see that you were wrong
You wake up wondering just
How well I’ve done
Well I’ve done alright
Yes there are some girls but you know
I dropped them on sight
Just for you
Because I love you
You’re still a young man
Baby, Oo oo, don’t waste your time
(Someday you’ll understand just what it means when a man
Comes to you with his little heart in his hands
Just to love you)
Don’t waste your time
You better listen to me
Sayin that I’m loving you yeah hey now baby tryin to tell
You that it’s you you you you you you you you talkin to you
Baby, I’ll never never never never I’ll do you
No wrong no no lady if you would check my stuff out one time haha
Just to hold you, to squeeze you and all I wanna do is to
Get next to you and please please please you baby
See where I’m coming from!
Written by legendary sax players Emilio Castillo and Stephen Kupka, the song portrays a young man at the wrong end of a breakup. The situation is bleak because his lover pins the break-up on an age difference. In an interview with Songfacts Castillo said:
It’s based on a true story. I had a girlfriend that was six years older than me. I was 18, she was 24 and that’s actually what happened. She had kind of cut me loose because of the age difference thing and the whole plea in the story is the young guy’s saying, ‘I’m not too young, I’m not wasting my time and I do love you as a man can truly love a woman.’”
The song would go on to be the band’s first major hit defining their sound with a prominent horn section inspired by Curtis Mayfield:
“On that album, there’s a song called “A Woman’s Love” that starts with beautiful trumpets high. When we heard that we wanted to write a song with a great trumpet intro like that. – TowerofPower.com
“Street Party”
Many years ago
In the Berkeley and Oakland
In the East bay, back in the day
In the fabled 60s, early 70s.
There were often legendary pop-up
Flash mob type impromptu street parties
Where everyone gathered around
Digging the scene and each other.
Drinking, smoking weed
Jiving, flirting, dancing
Getting down to the sweet sound
Of Tower of Power and Motown.
Whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics
Men, women, and those in-between
Gays, straight
Young, old, middle age
It did not matter
Everything was everything
Everything was cool.
It was all good.
It was all cool back in the day
An interracial gathering
Of shared humanity,
Just celebrating life.
But this was before
Guns became so common
Before things got so violent
And evil s… became the norm
Back in the day
It was a peaceful happening
A true love fest
Those days are so yesterday.
Nowadays, people are afraid
A street party festival
Will end up guns blazing wild west style
The festival will end up with many people
Going to an early grave.
Happy Wednesday, all. We hope you’re having a fine beginning to the second half of April.
Our featured participant today is A Rhyme a Day, where the MC5/Jane Kenyon-inspired poem for Day Fifteen packs a lot of punch into six short lines.
Today’s resource is the Museum of Photographic Art, which is part of the San Diego Museum of Art. Through the museum’s online collection, you can explore a number of current and past exhibitions, including a series of portraits by Bern Schwartz (I rather like the one of Ralph Ellison) and a group of very painterly compositions by Lynn G. Fayman.
And now for our optional prompt! The Kay-Ryan-inspired prompt for Day Fourteen asked you to take inspiration from the sounds of the natural world. Today’s prompt twists that idea around a bit. Start by taking a look at this poem by James Schuyler.
FAURÉ’S SECOND PIANO QUARTET
On a day like this the rain comes
down in fat and random drops among
the ailanthus leaves—“the tree
of Heaven”—the leaves that on moon-
lit nights shimmer black and blade-
shaped at this third-floor window.
And there are bunches of small green
knobs, buds, crowded together. The
rapid music fills in the spaces of
the leaves. And the piano comes in,
like an extra heartbeat, dangerous
and lovely. Slower now, less like
the leaves, more like the rain which
almost isn’t rain, more like thawed-
out hail. All this beauty in the
mess of this small apartment on
West Twentieth in Chelsea, New York.
Slowly the notes pour out, slowly,
more slowly still, fat rain falls.
Like Kay Ryan’s poem, this one invites us to imagine music in the context of a place, but more along the lines of a soundtrack laid on top of the location, rather than just natural sounds. Today, try writing a poem that similarly imposes a particular song on a place. Describe the interaction between the place and the music using references to a plant and, if possible, incorporate a quotation – bonus points for using a piece of everyday, overheard language.
Happy writing!
Writer’s Digest April 16 Something Fantastic
Narnia Beckons Me Haiku Sonnet
Narnia beckons
it is real, lives in our dreams
where we can see it.
Old CS Lewis
wrote a true fairy tale
ripped from his dream.s.
so visit Narnia
battle the evil white witch
and meet Aslan
Narnia waiting
Go and be their King.
Wow! So many forms for poems yesterday. That was fun! And yay to Gary Crane for being the first to guess the inspiration for the acrostic in my sestina yesterday (click here to hear Chris Bell’s “I Am the Cosmos” on YouTube). Forms are completely optional today.
For today’s prompt, write a “something fantastic” poem. As with all the prompts, you can come at this from any direction you’d like, but what inspired me to create this prompt are the fantastic works of magical realists and poems like Donald Hall’s “On Reaching the Age of Two Hundred.” So if you feel compelled to do the same, great; however, it is no small accomplishment to write any fantastic poem, even if it’s about finding an extra piece of pie in the refrigerator.
The basic premise of the haiku sonnet is simple: 4 3-liner haiku plus a couplet of either 5 or 7 syllables adds up to 14 lines, the same number of lines found in a sonnet. The only mention of this form that I’ve been able to find is a poet named David Marshall.
Note: I am a big fan of the CS Lewis Narnia Stories. Re-read the Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe in Spanish and have a Korean langauge version to read one of these days on my Kindle Wish list.
April 16, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Mike Dailey
A Thug Cinquain Poem
A thug
International
Started in Colombia
Murdering those he worked for
Really
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Mike Dailey:
Pick up the book nearest to you. Turn to page 77, 3rd paragraph and use one of those sentences as your opening or closing line.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
So I’m happy to share the cinquain, which is a nifty five-line poetic form from Adelaide Crapsey. Inspired by tanka, the cinquain is comprised of 2 syllables in the first line, 4 in the second line, 6 in the third, 8 in the fourth, and 2 in the fifth. Plus, poets have the freedom to add or subtract one syllable from each line.
“an international thug who got his start in Colombia”
Source: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg The Job Page 77 3rd paragraph
Sam Adams retired in Berkeley
And opened a UFO theme bar near campus.
Where he put up a sign on the door
Space aliens drink for free provided they can prove it.
Because every night some joker tried
They would walk in, demanding a free drink or two.
One night his former bosses walked in
Maria Lee and mysterious Smith
Shadow warriors hush hush past
They lived in the shadow world, they were ghosts, spooks, spies.
They had retired from the government
To open the Cosmos Institute X-files.
Both of them had a pan-ethnic look
Both could pass for almost any ethnic group or race.
Maria Lee was vaguely Asian
Smith looked like he was an Eastern European man.
Both had a vaguely non-human look
And both spoke with a strange unusual accent.
Smith was only known by last name
No one knew his real name or his past history.
They refused to talk about their past life
Saying it was all classified top-secret need-to-know stuff.
But someday perhaps Sam would need to know it
Sam also worked with them before in their prior life
They said they were there for the free drink
And it was time for Sam to know the truth about them and the world
Sam told them well you have to prove it
That you are in fact space aliens can you show me that
Maria morphed into Donald Trump
And Smith morphed into Elon Musk and then men in black
Before shifting back to their real selves
Reptilian creatures from the planet Sirius
Maria was green color and Smith was red
And then back to Maria and Mr. Smith again
Sam smiled and gave them their free drinks
And they told him everything about their real past lives
They revealed many secrets that night
The end of the beginning the beginning of the end
Backstory
The fictional Cosmos Institute appears in a lot of my stories and poems. It was founded in Berkeley by Maria Lee and Mr. Smith, who were high-level former intel operatives. The mission of the institute was to investigate paranormal phenomena, usually to debunk the claims. They considered themselves the real X-files. They recruited Sam Adams to join them because they knew he was an expert on UFOs, having worked on the Majestic project and Area 51 – spoiler alert, there were no real aliens! Sam opened the fictional UFO bar with the famous sign “Aliens drink for free,” hoping that someday real aliens would reveal themselves to him. Then one day his former bosses, the mysterious Maria Lee and Mr. Smith, passed his challenge and told him the real deal over their free drinks.
For the challenge of the prompt, I picked a painting by Carrington, showing space aliens, and a painting by Varo, showing a shapeshifter.
The belief that there are secret shape-shifting reptilians living among us up to no good is a common theme in science fiction, and 10 percent of Americans believe it to be true. I have written a number of stories and poems about this theme. My aliens are descendants of the colonizers of Atlantis, who destroyed Atlantis and Lemuria in a world war over the question of what to do with humans. The red team wanted to continue to enslave them; the green team wanted to free them and civilize them, eventually granting them full rights. Their descendants continued to fight this battle in the shadow world.
Criteria
Landay. Poem comprised of self-contained couplets.Landay Poems
The landay is a variable length form based off a couplet, which means the poem could be as concise as two lines or run on for several pages. The form most likely originated with nomads in the area of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India (read an article on Afghan landays here).
Here are the basic rules of the landay:
Poem comprised of self-contained couplets–as few as one couplet will do
9 syllables in the first line; 13 syllables in the second line
Landays tend to reveal harsh truths using wit
Themes include love, grief, homeland, war, and separation
Note: There is not a specific rhyme pattern for this form, though lines tend to end on the sounds of “na” and “ma” in the original Pashto. However, this is difficult to replicate in English. Keep in mind that landays are often sung.
Welcome back, everyone, for the seventeenth day of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Today’s featured participant is Words with Ruth, where the soundtrack-inspired poem for Day Sixteen uses repetition, along with simple and conversational language, to convincingly recreate a moment in space and time.
You had a futon on your floor
A double futon on your floor
We lay a lot on that futon on the floor
Choosing sex over food
Like you do when you first discover sex
And you had a piano in your room
You’d play and look round out me
Sticking your tongue out a little, through your teeth
As if to say, “I want you,
And later, I’ll have you.”
And you did
We had a lot of sex on that futon on the floor
Then we’d go and chill with your mum and her boyfriend
And sometimes the dog would come in to see us too
Funny, I can’t remember much of your room
Other than the futon
The double futon on the floor
You taught me Chopin’s prelude in e minor
It took me months to nearly learn it
Not like you
Playing the piano like honey
Turning round to kiss me
And still playing
You showed me how to have sex
Not that I’d never had sex before
But I’d never enjoyed it
You showed me how to enjoy it
And it was good
Oh my God, it was good!
Being with you was so good
Orgasm after orgasm
Rolling through me
Rolling through us
I didn’t know that was possible
You said you could see them in me
They had different colours
That’s why it was so good with you
You could see everything
Too much maybe
Yeah, maybe that was it
You saw things that weren’t there
Like affairs I wasn’t having
With friends, colleagues, anyone really
And then it would go on and on and on
Me pleading with you
You calling me a liar
Hitting our heads against a brick wall
On and on
Until I couldn’t do it anymore
And then it got a bit scary really
But we don’t need to go into that
It’s ok
It was ok.
A therapist once said to me,
‘It’s not possible to have good sex
In a bad relationship’
But she’s wrong
And now for our daily optional prompt. The surrealist painters Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington moved to Mexico during the height of World War II, where they began a life-long friendship. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem themed around friendship, with imagery or other ideas taken from a painting by Carrington, and a painting by Varo.
Robert Brewer The Cities Light Up Beneath Our Plane Landlay
the cities light up beneath our plane
on the left as the sun retreats from us on the right
the moon appears in rivers below
& then disappears like our fragile first encounters
we both flinched at our first touch but then
crashed back together as if that’s what held us aloft
i’m not sure why some cities still burn
while others dissolve quietly into the darkness
A (first line)
B (second line)
a (rhymes with first line)
A (repeat first line)
a (rhymes with first line)
b (rhymes with second line)
A (repeat first line)
B (repeat second line)
For today’s prompt, write a city poem. The poem can take place in a big city, medium-sized city, smaller city. Heck, towns, villages, hamlets, etc., all work as well. Ghost towns? Why not! I’m not going to break out a census on your poeming. Just write!
Poetry Superhighway April 17, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Robert Wynne
The Door Opens
In Tilden Park high in the Berkeley Hills
a Door
ancient redwood with a sign above it
opens
The sign reads for Madmen Ony
East Bay
Sam Adams wondered where it went
portal
only one way to find out
Jumped through
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Robert Wynne:
Describe a specific door, real or imaginary. Be detailed enough that the reader will have an inclination why you chose this door, but don’t say why directly. Let them find their way.
Even lines are two syllables in length, odd lines are longer (but no specific syllable count)
Even lines make their own mini-poem if read separately
Poetic Form Fridays are made to share various poetic forms. This week, we look at the Waltmarie poetic form invented by Candace Kubinec, along with two of her examples.
This week, a Poetic Asides member shared a poetic form she created. While I don’t usually share nonce forms, I’ve tried this one myself, and I think it’s a lot of fun. So without further ado, I’m introducing Candace Kubinec’s form, the Waltmarie (which is itself a nod to PA members and Poetic Bloomings hosts, Marie Elena Good and Walter J. Wojtanik).
Here are the guidelines for writing the Waltmarie:
10 lines
Even lines are two syllables in length, odd lines are longer (but no specific syllable count)
Even lines make their own mini-poem if read separately
No other rules for subject or rhymes.
Here are two examples of the Waltmarie by Candace Kubinec:
Building a Snowman, by Candace Kubinec
They waited for the world to turn white –
frozen
Rolled balls of snow, bigger and bigger –
child-size
Broken twigs from the apple tree for arms, two hands –
mittens
He stood, smiling his pebble smile, until the warm sun appeared –
dripping
Then slowly disappeared, until only a memory remained –
stories
*****
On the Bench at Night, by Candace Kubinec
I sit as still as a human can –
patient
The sun has set and dusk has settled –
quiet
I try to match my breath to the gentle breeze –
calmly
Small creatures emerge from daylight hiding places –
searching
And my heart sends out a quiet message –
for you
Driving while Listening to Tower of Power’s “What is Hip?”
One day, while I was driving in Oakland
I listened to the Tower of Power
Funk Band
The radio, playing the song “What is hip?”
I sang along with the refrain, “What is hip?”
Funk Band
That night at a party in Berkeley
Slow danced to “You’re Still a Young Man”
Funk band
Note: third Ode to my favorite band East Bay’s Own Tower of Power
We’re three Fridays down, with just one left to go in this year’s National/Global Poetry Writing Month!
Our featured participant for the day is Poems by Sidra, where the surrealist-inspired poem of friendship for Day Seventeen rocks some fantastic similes — it’s all about those teeth!
And Then— And Then—
And then we will sit at a table with floating fruit
and share inside jokes so layered
in innuendo and self-reference
that they grow their own teeth.
Yes, and then I will paint, and you can draw, and we will feed our work the secret blood of our hearts and we will tell each other, “Make it weirder. Make it stranger.”
And then I will become a ghost
and you will become an owl
and we will fly together in the dark night.
Yes, and then I’ll be a lady of fire and you can be a lady of stone, and we can frighten away the men who try to talk to us.
Yes, exactly, and then together we will be
animal-people on the prowl, red
and dangerous and beautiful, never growing
old, never growing tired.
And we will protect each other?
Yes, we will protect each other.
Note: This poem is inspired by the works and friendship of Surrealist artists Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo.
Today’s resource is a virtual visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Gardner, who died in 1924, was a devoted and very wealthy art collector who built a Venetian-style palace (in Boston) to house her treasures. The museum building is beautiful and well known for its gorgeous courtyard. But the Gardner is also well known for having been the unfortunate site of one of the greatest – and still unsolved – art heists of all time. If you can figure out whodunnit, there might be $10 million in it for you.
And now for today’s (optional) prompt. Like our villanelle prompt from a week ago, this prompt plays around with song lyrics, but in a very specific context – singing while riding in a car. Take a look at Ellen Bass’s poem, “You’re the Top.” Now, craft your own poem that recounts an experience of driving/riding and singing, incorporating a song lyric
Last night I get all the way to Ocean Street Extension, squinting through the windshield, wipers smearing the rain, lights of the oncoming cars half-blinding me. The baby’s in her seat in the back singing the first three words of You’re the Top. Not softly and sweetly the way she did when she woke in her crib, but belting it out like Ethel Merman. I don’t drive much at night anymore. And then the rain and the bad wipers. But I tell myself it’s too soon to give it up. Though the dark seems darker than I ever remember. And as I make the turn and head uphill, I can’t find the lines on the road. I start to panic. No! Yes—the lights! I flick them on and the world resolves. My god, I could have killed her. And I’ll think about that more later. But right now new galaxies are being birthed in my chest. There are no gods, but not everyone is cursed every moment. There are minutes, hours, sometimes even whole days when the earth is spinning 1.6 million miles around the sun and nothing tragic happens to you. I do not have to enter the land of everlasting sorrow. Every mistake I’ve made, every terrible decision—how I married the wrong man, hurt my child, didn’t go to Florence when she was dying—I take it all because the baby is commanding, “Sing, Nana.” And I sing, You’re the top.You’re the Coliseum, and the baby comes in right on cue.
The Dixdeux appears to be one of many forms developed as an alternative to the Japanese Haiku. In this case, there are three lines with syllable counts of 10, 10, 2. When written in multiple stanzas, the third line becomes a refrain, as described and demonstrated in the following links:
Writer’s Digest April 18 Gogyohka. 5-liner developed by Enta Kusakabe.
Deportation Blues Gogyohka
Every day, there is sad news about deportations
People legally here are told to leave in seven days
People deported to El Salvador based on having a tattoo
Foreign students snatched off the streets
Foreigners are afraid to visit the US – this will not end well.
For today’s prompt, write a response poem. In many ways, every poem is a response poem as it’s a response to something, even if it’s that hard-to-explain sense of inspiration many poets feel. For the purposes of this prompt, your poem could respond to a story in the news (or just a fictional story, for that matter), a conversation you overheard in public (also called eavesdropping), or another poem (written by you or another poet).
If only a poetic form existed that could be both concise and free. Oh wait a second, there’s gogyohka!
Gogyohka was a form developed by Enta Kusakabe in Japan and translates literally to “five-line poem.” An off-shoot of the tanka form, the gogyohka has very simple rules: The poem is comprised of five lines with one phrase per line. That’s it.
*****
So it’s a little loose, which is kind of the theory behind gogyohka. It’s meant to be concise (five lines) but free (variable line length with each phrase). No special seasonal or cutting words. No subject matter constraints. Just five lines of poetic phrases.
Robert Brewer “Halloween”
Ghosts hang
from the willow
as the children run
from one door
to the next.
PSH Prompt April 18, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Robert Lail
When Lightning Strikes Ghosts Zappai
When lightning strikes
Ghosts, being dead, do not die
Immortal spirits?
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Robert Lail:
Write a poem that answers the age-old question: What happens when a ghost is struck by lightning?
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
Zappai poems are like haiku, but not. Or maybe more appropriately, they’re like senryu, but not (or maybe they are). This poetic form definition may sound kind of wishy-washy, but zappai are poems that have a 5-7-5 syllable pattern that do not contain the seasonal reference expected of haiku.
In other words, zappai are all those haiku people write that haiku poets recognize as not being haiku. Again, senryu could fit this definition as well, but senryu also can have a looseness with the syllables, much like haiku, so that 17 syllables are not mandatory.
Zappai should still be poetic, but they’re 5-7-5 poems that don’t include the seasonal reference. Final answer. I think.
April 18—Good Friday
Trigger warning: this could be considered offensive to some people. That was not my attempt, and I apologize to anyone who does take offense. The point of the poem is to express why I am not a Christian, although there are elements of Christianity that I admire, I reject all the supernatural rigamarole associated with the faith, and I reject the idea that the Bible is the work of God. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, this is mine. It is important that we all remain open to dialogue with others of different faith traditions. Freedom of religion means that people are free to believe or not believe in religions as they see fit.
Why I am Not A Christian
On Easter Sunday, I often think about Christianity
Jake, this is a fascinating mosaic of poetic entries-each with its own flavour, yet clearly coming from a consistent voice that blends scepticism, social observation, and playfulness.
The Tower of Power piece is a groovy micro-memoir, succinct and grounded in musical nostalgia. The Seoul entry reads like a tourism jingle with a fun, rhythmic echo-clever in how it loops back on itself to reinforce the point.
Your zappai is short and sharp, toeing the line between playful and philosophical-“Ghosts, being dead, do not die” is the kind of dry humour I enjoy in these forms.
Then there’s Why I am Not A Christian, which shifts gears entirely. It’s long, raw, and provocative-structured more like a stream-of-thought monologue than a polished poem.
It’s unflinching in its critiques, full of personal disbelief, and though it risks alienating some readers, there’s no denying the clarity of conviction. It could use some trimming for focus and flow, but the honesty hits hard.
A bold, eclectic set.
Tim
I am glad to see that you are keeping on track with NaPoWriMo. I hope you are enjoying the poem a day as much as I am.
Although, my belief is in Christianity, I appreciate your poem stating your stance.
Kim
Review For April 17 2025 Poems
Chapter 18 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
Jake, this was a joyride through conspiracy, comedy, and sci-fi noir, all told with a straight face and a wink.
The Aliens Reveal their Secret Plans has the cadence of a beat poem mashed with pulp fiction and served in a UFO bar run by someone who’s absolutely seen things.
The repeated use of line breaks and staccato sentences creates a rhythmic, almost spoken-word quality-fitting for a tale that reads like it’s being told over shots of something green and glowing.
There’s brilliant absurdity here: Maria morphing into Trump, Smith into Musk, the reptilian reveal, and that perfect deadpan closing: “The end of the beginning the beginning of the end.”
It’s self-aware without becoming cynical. And it’s surprisingly grounded by the image of Sam-a retired man running a theme bar-being the steady anchor in this cosmic unraveling.
The accompanying pieces-your Narnia haiku sonnet, the redwood portal in The Door Opens, and the grim hilarity of Dental Torture Blues-form a surreal triptych around it.
They’re all laced with that same blend of the mythic, the mundane, and the slightly unhinged.
Outlandish, deadpan, and wildly original-Jake, your poems don’t just bend genres, they build bonfires out of them.
Tim
Review For April 17 2025 Poems
Chapter 18 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
I was intrigued by the “Alien” story and was pleased when you clarified things in your notes. The synopsis for your books sounds very intriguing. Are you selling them on Amazon? Thank you for sharing.
Review For APril 16 2025 Poems
Chapter 17 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
Thanks for sharing so many poems at once. It was like flipping through a journal full of good music. I love your deep thoughts and how you shared old pals.
Review For APril 16 2025 Poems
Chapter 17 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
Jake, this is a full-on poetic mixtape-part musical history, part memory reel, part experiment station.
The Tower of Power tribute sets the tone perfectly: pulsing, playful, and unapologetically funky.
You don’t just describe the music-you celebrate it, and that joy comes through loud and clear. The jump from that into sharply political reflection (What fresh hell is this?) gives the whole set depth and range.
I really liked the blunt edge of the thug cinquain-minimalist but brutal-and then the emotional turn in the Zoom and memory pieces hit nicely.
There’s something quietly beautiful about lifelong friendships surviving into the digital age, and you honour them without sentimentality.
The casual tone masks just how much ground you’re covering here-musical legacy, personal history, poetry forms, political unease-all in one go.
If I had a 6 left, I’d be tempted, but I’m all out.
Tim
Review For April 15 2025 Poems
Chapter 16 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Good
Jake, this collection of prompt responses has a candid, conversational tone that feels very you-there’s humour, honesty, and a kind of grounded directness that works well across the different pieces. Let’s break them down briefly:
“Are you ready, America?”
This one is raw and confrontational in a good way-topical and emotionally charged. It reads like the start of a larger political poem. My one suggestion: push for more specific imagery or language beyond the rhetorical questions. Right now, it’s a solid call, but grounding it in something visceral-an image, a moment, a symbol-would really elevate it.
“Ode to My Piano Savior of My Soul”
There’s real warmth and personal pride here. The pacing is steady and reflective, and the ending-“And nail it!”-is joyous and affirming. It’s casual in tone, but that suits the subject. If anything, consider expanding on the emotional impact a bit more. What does the piano save you from?
“April 15 Death and Taxes”
Witty and very much in the spirit of the prompt. The shift to cyborg immortality is unexpected and fun, and the punchline about taxes still finding us is classic. You might consider adding a stanza break or two to help the humour land more cleanly, but overall this one’s charming and memorable.
In all three, your voice comes through clear as day-earnest, clever, and unafraid to mix reflection with lightness.
A few tweaks for rhythm and depth, and these will sing.
Tim
Review For April 15 2025 Poems
Chapter 16 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
I really enjoyed your poems today! Your poem “Are you ready, America?”
made me stop and think. Then your “Ode to My Piano Savior of My Soul” felt warm and personal. I loved the part about nailing that Mozart Sonata, that was awesome! The bit about death and taxes made me smile. Your poems were all different but enjoyable. Keep writing – you’re rocking this challenge!
Review For April 13, 2025 Poems
Chapter 14 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
Amid this madness, I hope we can see a little light at the end of the tunnel Jake as our ever changing world seems more complex than ever these days. As we age I think we grow out of the challenges and want things to stay the same, but they never do. The world seems to be only for the young at heart, a poignant post, love Dolly x
Review For April 13, 2025 Poems
Chapter 14 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
I really enjoyed how your poem shares the relationship between humans and nature. The way you personify the trees is so well done. It’s clear you’ve put a lot of heart into this poem- great job!
5 days ago
Review For April 14 2025 Poems
Chapter 15 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
These poems are all unique and enjoyable. Your poems all have such a thoughtful style. They really showcase your playful voice and imaginative thinking. Great job.
Review For April 14 2025 Poems
Chapter 15 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Good
There’s something delightfully unfiltered about your work, Jake.
Each piece reads like it was written quickly and honestly, without too much polish, but with clear intent and curiosity.
The Florida poem is the strongest of the three in terms of personality and structure. “Florida is a state / Of mind” is a cracking opening-both literal and figurative-and the escalating list of killers, from “giant snakes” to “mosquitos”, blends humour with fact in a fun, campy way.
The Star Wars poem is more straightforward and reads like a personal retelling. It could benefit from tighter rhythm and fresher phrasing-“too powerful / a force” and “all seems lost / to the rebels” echo familiar lines without adding new perspective. A deeper emotional or stylistic slant could elevate it.
The Martian poem has potential, especially the image of “sunsets / out-of-this-world”. The idea of Martian refugees and dome cities is compelling, but the delivery feels more like notes than a shaped poem. With a bit of trimming and stronger line control, it could become a vivid piece of speculative lyricism.
A spirited, eclectic trio with charm, potential, and a voice that invites the reader to lean in-casual in tone, but laced with curiosity and wit.
Tim
Review For 2025 APril 12 Poems
Chapter 13 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
It sounds like you sometimes feel like a fish out of water and I hope you don’t feel vulnerable over there in Korea. Would you ever consider going back home? A poignant post full of mixed emotions here, love Dolly x
Review For 2025 APRIL 11 Poems
Chapter 12 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
You finally got this post fixed Jake! I have never heard of that band before and it sounds like you appreciate your wife here. Supermarkets come up with some crazy ideas to keep dipping into our pockets, love Dolly x
Review For 2025 APRIL 11 Poems
Chapter 12 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
I really enjoyed your writing. The formatting is terrible. Very hard to read. But your “Korean Springtime” was a standout! I also loved how you brought in a sense of hope about the future of the trees. Your creativity is really flowing through these. Keep it up!
Review For 2025 APril 12 Poems
Chapter 13 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
I really enjoyed all your poems! Your poem about the leprechaun was so fun – loved the clever twist. The piece about life’s risks was powerful. Your climate change poem hit hard with its urgency. Each poem was unique and left an impression!
Review For 2025 April 10 Poem
Chapter 11 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
I’m not quite sure what to make of this post Jake as I read a list of your opinions and was rather confused, life is full of ups and downs it seems, love Dolly x x x
Review For 2025 April 10 Poem
Chapter 11 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
I really like how your poem plays with big ideas. The mix of humor and deep thoughts makes this feel unique and interesting. The “God is Dog spelled backwards” line is clever. Your second piece about AI is also interesting. It’s fun and a little unsettling at the same time. Keep writing!
Review For 2025 April 9th Poems
Chapter 10 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
Your poem flows well an is well written. It is an enjoyable bread from start to finish. Each piece captures a unique slice of life, from love at first sight, to baseball devotion, and midweek musings, with warmth and personality. A delightful blend of personal reflection and playful imagery.
Whether reflecting on love, or the everyday, the poems resonate with genuine emotion and vivid snapshots of life. There’s an easy natural rhythm that makes the collection a pleasure to read from start to finish. Overall, it’s a heartfelt enjoyable experience that lingers after the final line. Well written. Great job with the writing.
Review For APril 2025 Poems
Chapter 9 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
I really enjoyed your poems – each one felt like its own little journey. Your ghazal for Angela Lee was so sweet. I could feel how special she is to you. The Alouette was full of heart. I liked the way you played with the rhyme. Your “Good and Evil” poem had a thoughtful message. And your blood type poem made me smile – that line about being both a fool and a genius was great!thanks for the commentary. can i include them in my blog posting?
thanks a lot as always -thanks for the commentary. can i include them in my blog posting?
I am the champion of living in the moment Jake, it is the only way to live as the past has gone and we don’t ever know if we have a future, I enjoyed this philosophical post, love Dolly x x x
Review For APril 2025 Poems
Chapter 9 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
I am glad you met the girl of your dreams and you are still happy Jake. We have to accept that good and evil exist but we don’t have to tolerate evil and we should always promote the good, a poignant post, food for thought here, love Dolly x
Review For 2025 April 6 poems
Chapter 7 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness
Excellent
Nicely done again. I loved the humor in your “snarling cup of coffee” – I could almost taste the spice! Your Trumpian Trade War poem was interesting- great how you packed so much in just a few lines. Sam Adams being the “worst poet ever” was hilarious – I laughed at the idea of him going viral for terrible poetry. And your Death Cafe story was wild – I really liked how it took a strange dream and turned it into something so unexpected. You really know how to keep things interesting!
Nicely done. Your poems felt full of heart. The way you told us about your many roles – Peace Corps, teacher, diplomat, poet – was interesting. I especially liked how you said marrying the girl of your dreams is what made you who you are – that line gave me a big smile. I liked how you tied those Russian stories to today. Great job sharing both your life and your thoughts!
There’s something really endearing about the way you tackle these prompts, Jake.
You’re not trying to impress with polish, you’re just writing, and there’s great value in that.
Each section here carries its own flavour: the vampire break-up story is cheeky and creative, the shadorma is compact but timely, and the “I Am” poem has warmth and personality that shines through. You’re clearly someone with a life full of stories, and I appreciated the unpretentious way you shared that.
The Dostoevsky reflection is brief but meaningful-it’s true, really, that the darkness he mapped out still pulses in the world today. That line “how little things have really changed” lingers.
If you were ever to refine these, you might give each section a bit more space or formatting separation, and tighten some of the phrasing.
But for NaPoWriMo spirit? This is bang on.
Tim
There’s a likeable honesty running through this collection, Jake.
“Why I am not a Musician” is the standout-casual, self-aware, and charmingly humble.
The voice is conversational without being flat, and there’s something bittersweet in the way youthful ambition gives way to unexpected paths, with the quiet triumph of a life well-lived. “Oh well, I said / That ends my musical career.” It lands like a shrug-but also a turning point.
The final stanza returns to the original dream, giving the piece a lovely circularity without sentimentality.
The shorter pieces serve as satellite reflections, though they vary in tone and weight. “DOGE Cutbacks Loom” and “History Will Not Be Kind” move into darker, politically charged territory-particularly the latter, which imagines a future scarred by climate collapse.
It’s stark, and though it leans on familiar dystopian tropes, the simplicity of the language sharpens the impact. Lines like “Dead oceans / And arid wastelands” evoke a dry horror that works well.
“Good sleaze” is the most enigmatic-a cultural observation more than a poem, but interesting in its ambiguity. It’s not lyrical, but it opens the door to conversation about judgment, perception, and beauty in unlikely places.
Overall, the entry succeeds not through polished craft, but through an earnest, unpretentious voice.
There’s real value in that.
Tim
Hi Jake
This poem is so true. It seems to be getting worse by the day here.
It is crazy. I wish it could stop so everyone could heave a sigh of relief.
Good luck in this contest.
Keep writing and stay healthy
Have a great day’
Joan
I am again entering the April Poetry challenge and will write every day and post once a week or so
I will not post everything, some I will withhold for possible publication, others I will withhold because they are too politically sensitive in these politically charged times. I will post the poems followed by the prompts. I am writing four poems per day following prompts in NaPoWriMo, Writer’s Digest, Poetry Superhighway, and Writing.com’s Dew Drop In.
I will post them once a week here and on Substack, Medium, Wattpad, and as a podcast on Spotify. I will also post them every day on Fan Story.
Hello all! We’re now up to six whole days of National/Global Poetry Writing Month. We hope you’re feeling satisfied with your work so far, and looking forward to what’s yet to come.
Our featured participant for today is Gloria Gonsalves, who brings us a death-metal skirt poem in response to Day 5’s notation prompt.
Today’s daily resource is the online tour section of the Louvre. Not in Paris? No problem! You can still stroll – albeit virtually – through the hallowed corridors of France’s most famous museum, checking out exhibitions on dance, puppetry, royal portraits, and more!
Today’s prompt (optional, as always) veers slightly away from our ekphrastic theme. To get started, pick a number between 1 and 10. Got your number? Okay! Now scroll down until you come to a chart. Find the row with your number. Then, write a poem describing the taste of the item in Column A, using the words that appear in that row in Column B and C. For bonus points, give your poem the title of the word that appears in Column A for your row, but don’t use that word in the poem itself.
Welcome back, everyone, for Day Nine of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Today, our featured participant is jasmine, whose ghazal for Day Eight pushes against, and with, the limits of transalation and English’s habit of stealing/adopting/buying at wholesale words from other languages.
Our featured resource for the day is the online gallery of the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Although it may be most famous for its witch trials, Salem was a seafaring town whose sailors and shipowners brought back all manner of items from their travels – which became the initial source of the museum’s collection. The museum has a stunning group of “Asian Export” items – goods that were crafted in India, Japan, China, and other locations visited by Salem’s ships (often as part of an overall trade in tea, porcelain, and textiles) – to appeal to an American/European market. That’s how you wind up with things like this French-styled dressing table with elaborate lacquer-work.
And here’s our optional prompt for the day. Like music, poetry offers us a way to play with and experience sound. This can be through meter, rhyme, varying line lengths, assonance, alliteration, and other techniques that call attention not just to the meaning of words, but the way they echo and resonate against each other. For a look at some of these sound devices in action, read Robert Hillyer’s poem, Fog. It uses both rhyme and uneven line lengths to create a slow, off-kilter rhythm that heightens the poem’s overall ominousness. Today we’d like to challenge you to try writing a poem of your own that uses rhyme, but without adhering to specific line lengths. For extra credit, reference a very specific sound, like the buoy in Hillyer’s poem.
2By following these guidelines, you can create a meaningful and structured ghazal in English.
Best wishes for a happy Tuesday, everyone, and a great eighth day of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Our featured participant today is Lady in Read Writes, where the response to Day Seven’s challenge to write about why you are not a particular piece of art brings me back to my own high school days (I actually had The Raven fully memorized back then, and can still recite large chunks of it. A good way to pass the time if you’re waiting at a bus stop . . . ).
Today’s featured resource is a bit silly: it’s the Museum of Bad Art. Now, bad art – like good – is in the eye of the beholder, and I rather like some of the paintings in the museum’s whimsical collection.
And now here’s today’s totally optional prompt!
The ghazal (pronounced kind of like “huzzle,” with a particularly husky “h” at the beginning) is a form that originates in Arabic poetry, and is often used for love poems. Ghazals commonly consist of five to fifteen couplets that are independent from each other but are nonetheless linked abstractly in their theme; and more concretely by their form. And what is that form? In English ghazals, the usual constraints are that:
the lines all have to be of around the same length (though formal meter/syllable-counts are not employed); and
both lines of the first couplet end on the same word or words, which then form a refrain that is echoed at the end of each succeeding couplet.
Another aspect of the traditional ghazal form that has become popular in English is having the poet’s own name (or a reference to the poet – like a nickname) appear in the final couplet.
Gotta love us brown girls, munching on fat, swinging blue hips,
decked out in shells and splashes, Lawdie, bringing them woo hips.
As the jukebox teases, watch my sistas throat the heartbreak,
inhaling bassline, cracking backbone and singing thru hips.
Like something boneless, we glide silent, seeping ‘tween floorboards,
wrapping around the hims, and ooh wee, clinging like glue hips.
Engines grinding, rotating, smokin’, gotta pull back some.
Natural minds are lost at the mere sight of ringing true hips.
Gotta love us girls, just struttin’ down Manhattan streets
killing the menfolk with a dose of that stinging view. Hips.
Crying ’bout getting old—Patricia, you need to get up off
what God gave you. Say a prayer and start slinging. Cue hips.
Now try writing your own ghazal that takes the form of a love song – however you want to define that. Observe the conventions of the repeated word, including your own name (or a reference to yourself) and having the stanzas present independent thoughts along a single theme – a meditation, not a story.
Welcome back, everyone, for Day Nine of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Today, our featured participant is jasmine, whose ghazal for Day Eight pushes against, and with, the limits of transalation and English’s habit of stealing/adopting/buying at wholesale words from other languages.
Our featured resource for the day is the online gallery of the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Although it may be most famous for its witch trials, Salem was a seafaring town whose sailors and shipowners brought back all manner of items from their travels – which became the initial source of the museum’s collection. The museum has a stunning group of “Asian Export” items – goods that were crafted in India, Japan, China, and other locations visited by Salem’s ships (often as part of an overall trade in tea, porcelain, and textiles) – to appeal to an American/European market. That’s how you wind up with things like this French-styled dressing table with elaborate lacquer-work.
And here’s our optional prompt for the day. Like music, poetry offers us a way to play with and experience sound. This can be through meter, rhyme, varying line lengths, assonance, alliteration, and other techniques that call attention not just to the meaning of words, but the way they echo and resonate against each other. For a look at some of these sound devices in action, read Robert Hillyer’s poem, Fog. It uses both rhyme and uneven line lengths to create a slow, off-kilter rhythm that heightens the poem’s overall ominousness. Today we’d like to challenge you to try writing a poem of your own that uses rhyme, but without adhering to specific line lengths. For extra credit, reference a very specific sound, like the buoy in Hillyer’s poem.
April 2 Agnostic Dyslectic Wonders if There is a Dog
an agnostic dyslectic stays up all
night wondering if there is a dog
the Buddhists wonder
about the Buddha nature of the dog
the evangelicals are sure
that there is a dog
and you must follow their dog
or go to hell
for following another’s dog
the Muslims agree
there is only one dog
and the dogs
smile at the foolishness
of the human race
of course, there is a dog
and they are the master race
as they growl at their owners
who bow down
and clean up their mess
OnApril 10, 2025
Wow! Today we are one-third of the way through this year’s challenge.
Our featured participant for the day is Hues n Shades, where the poem in response to Day Nine’s prompt brings us a wonderfully complex sense of rhythm and rhyme.
Today’s featured resource is a virtual visit to the Sistine Chapel. I went there many years ago and marveled at the wonderful paintings (while also getting quite the crick in my neck from craning up to look at the ceiling). But when I went to talk over them later that day with the friend I was traveling with, he admitted that he couldn’t really see anything because he’d forgotten to put in his contacts that morning (!)
Now for our daily prompt (optional, as always). Yesterday, we looked at a poem that used sound in a very particular way, to create a slow and mysterious feeling. Mark Bibbins’ poem, “At the End of the Endless Decade,” uses sound very differently, with less eerieness and more wordplay. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that, like Bibbins’, uses alliteration and punning. See if you can’t work in references to at least one word you have trouble spelling, and one that you’ve never quite been able to perfectly remember the meaning of.
Happy Friday, everyone, and happy eleventh day of National/Global Poetry Writing Month.
Our featured daily participant is aetherianessence, where the wordplay prompt for Day Nine imagines two of English’s most easily-mixed-up words jousting like knights.
And last but not least, today’s (optional) prompt. Take a look at Kyle Dargan’s “Diaspora: A Narcolepsy Hymn.” This poem is a loose villanelle that uses song lyrics as its repeating lines (loose because it doesn’t rhyme). Your challenge is, like Dargan, to write a poem that incorporates song lyrics – ideally, incorporating them as opposing phrases or refrains. A few lyrics that might work, if you need inspiration:
“Is this the real life? / Is this just fantasy?”
“I read the news today, oh boy…”
“The world is a vampire…”
“At first I was afraid, I was petrified”
“There is a house in New Orleans”
“You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain”
“I went down down down and the flames went higher.”
“The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.”
“Nothing ain’t nothing, but it’s free.”
And if you’re interested in learning more about villanelles, you can find some good information at the Poetry Foundation website.
Title The leprechaun, the unicorn, and the fairy have a drink
34 lines
One night on St Patrick’s Day
The leprechaun was having a pint
Of Guinness in the Rainbow Bar in Dublin,
eating a corned beef and cabbage dinner.
He was debating the fate
Of the world,
with his unicorn friend.
Their mutual enemy,
the evil fairy
Walked into the bar
And joined them
in a not-so-friendly drink.
She pressed him
on the location
of the legendary pot of gold.
Behind the rainbow
and the field of four-leaf clover.
The weary paranoid leprechaun,
looked at the evil fairy
feeling she was up to something.
At a signal from
his bartender friend,
the leprechaun leaped up
and shot the evil fairy.
Screaming
“I must have my revenge”.
The unicorn not missing a beat,
Called the cops.
He was not going
to take the blame
For the leprechaun’s crimes.
include the following bolded
pot of gold
corned beef and cabbage
leprechaun
four-leaf clover
Rainbow
Welcome back, all you poets, for Day Twelve of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Our featured participant today is Christine Smart, whose lyrically-inspired villanelle for Day Eleven may make you . . . not want to read the news.
Our daily resource is the collection of the American Visionary Art Museum. Focused on outsider art – which is sort of like folk art’s more bonkers cousin – the museum describes itself as “one small speck in a Bling Universe where art reflects life, both literally and figurately.” I’m not exactly sure what a “Bling Universe” is, but it appears to include automatons featuring bathtubs filled with spaghetti, video tutorials for making sock monkeys, and kinetic sculpture races. Good times!
And after all those shenanigans we, we bring you a very serious (or is it?) optional prompt.
Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem inspired by Wallace Stevens’ poem, “Peter Quince at the Clavier.”
It’s a complex poem that not only heavily features the idea of music, but is structured like a symphony. Its four sections, like symphonic movements, play with and expand on an overall theme, using the story of Susannah and the Elders as a backdrop.
Try writing a poem that makes reference to one or more myths, legends, or other well-known stories, that features wordplay (including rhyme), mixes formal and informal language, and contains multiple sections that play with a theme. Try also to incorporate at least one abstract concept – for example, desire or sorrow or pride or whimsy.
Writer’s Digest
April 6
Title: The Trumpian Trade War Rispetto Poem
President Trump declares a trade war with the world
Insisting it would be Liberation Day
Wall Street reacts in chaos, tempers unfurled
Trading partners cry out, “This is not okay.”
The President stands firm, refusing to back down
The global economy begins to slow down
The stubborn old man won’t admit his mistake
And refuses to pull the emergency brake
Poetic Forms: Rispetto
Okay, here’s a new form. Actually, scratch that. This is a very old form (from Italy, no less). Still, new to me anyway. I found more than a few definitions,…
Okay, here’s a new form. Actually, scratch that. This is a very old form (from Italy, no less). Still, new to me anyway. I found more than a few definitions, but here are the two most common variations:
Rispetto #1: Poem comprised of two quatrains written in iambic (unstress, stress) tetrameter (four feet–or, in this case, 8 syllables).
Rispetto #2: Poem (or song) comprised of 8 hendecasyllabic (11-syllable) lines–usually one stanza.
Both versions appear to follow this rhyme scheme: ababccdd (though I also found a mention of an abababcc pattern). Plus, I found more than a few sources which claim rispettos were originally written to pay “respect” to a woman.
However, over the centuries, this poem has offered itself up for other subjects and variations. So feel free to experiment.
Here’s my attempt at the rispetto (the second version):
“Forget sleeping”
When fires spark in the dark, I know you’re near
enough to hear my kisses blaze against stark
atmospheres forming and reforming like clear
antidotes to tired notes left lounging in parks
on swings twisted by teenage angst-rage affairs–
all those stares, those wild stares–and I don’t care
to let you know how much I care about life,
but it would mean less without you as my wife.
Wow! We’ve made it a week into this challenge already. Let’s keep the momentum going.
For today’s prompt, write a tense poem. It could be past tense, present tense, and/or future tense. Or it could be about a tense feeling. Or the tension in an object (like the strings of a guitar).
Two poetic forms in the same month! It’s been a while since we’ve done that. Though with today’s form, it’s a shame we aren’t doing three.
Unlike interlocking rubaiyat, the tricube is a newer form and relatively unknown. Plus, it’s fun and easy to learn. This mathematical poem was introduced by Phillip Larrea.
Here are the rules of tricubes:
Each line contains three syllables.
Each stanza contains three lines.
Each poem contains three stanzas.
So we’re talking cubes in mathematical terms (to the third power). No rules for rhymes, meter, etc. Just three, three, and three.
Here’s my attempt at a Tense Poem:
“Release,” by Robert Lee Brewer
There are moments when I can feel myself tighten
as if preparing for something bad to happen,
and I just feel there’s nothing good ever in sight
until your smile reminds me we’ll both be alright.
April 8
Aloulete for my Dream Girl
When I first met her,
She caused such a stir.
Fate led me to her.
She haunted my dreams for years
Love mojo working.
I knew right then I was hers.
I knew then, to be hers.
She mesmerized me.
Her love had to be.
Sparks flowing from heart to heart.
I knew we would meet.
Her love giving heat.
The Alouette is a six-line stanza form with a syllable structure of 5, 5, 7, 5. 5, 7 and a rhyme scheme of aabccb, ddeffe, as described and demonstrated in the following links:
The Alouette, created by Jan Turner, consists of two or more stanzas of 6 lines each, with the following
set rules:
Meter: 5, 5, 7, 5, 5, 7
Rhyme Scheme: a, a, b, c, c, b
The form name is a French word meaning ‘skylark’ or larks that fly high, the association to the lark’s song being appropriate for the musical quality of this form.
It’s that time again; time for another Two-for-Tuesday prompt.
For the second Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
Write a love poem and/or…
Write an anti-love poem.
Regulars know, this is one I always include. This year, I decided to offer it sooner than later. Whether you love it or anti-love it, let’s all poem it now.
(Note on my poem today: Love poems are my favorite; in fact, I wrote a post on how to write a love poem for anyone who’s not sure how to get started on this one. The poem, above, of course, is written for the Poet Laureate of the Brewer mansion.)
How to Write a Love Poem: From a Love Expert
Learn how to write a love poem from someone who has written several successful love poems over the years.
Okay, I’m not a love expert. But I do know how to write a love poem. In fact, I’m surprised I haven’t already written a post on writing love poems. Because that’s like my thing. Every poem-a-day challenge, whether April or November, includes a love poem (and anti-love poem) prompt. And it was writing a love poem in high school that got me into poetry in the first place.
I’ve written love poems to woo several former girlfriends. And my wife Tammy, a much better poet than I, traded love poems with me when we worked to woo each other from afar. So yeah, this post is so overdue.
April 9, 2025
Looking Out the Window at the Snowing Cherry Trees
looking out my window
At the snowing cherry trees
Filled with memories
For today’s prompt, write an ekphrastic poem. An ekphrastic poem is a poem inspired by another piece of art, whether that’s a painting, photograph, sculpture, mixed media, or some other medium. You can choose your own piece of art to inspire your poem today. Or you can use one of the pieces at the following links:
The topic for this poetry contest is: Write a poem using 12 words about any subject. 7 Spots Left Open To All
April 10
The Rule of Ten
there is a mysterious rule
that governs so much
of our life.
The rule of ten.
It goes like this
For every 100 people
Who wants to write a novel
Ten will finish it
Of those ten
Ten percent
will publish it.
Of those ten
Ten percent
will make some money.
Of those ten
Ten percent
will make a living.
Of those ten
Ten percent
will be a best-seller.
In other words,
In a land of 350 million people
There are probably only 3, 500
bestselling authors
i.e. less than 0.001% percent
of the population
.
the rule of ten applies
to the drama world,
only 1 percent make a living.
full-time as an actor.
of the thousands of actors
only a few movie stars.
to the music world
of the thousands of musicians,
only a few superstars.
to sports
only a few hundred NFL players
out of tens of thousands
who played football
in high school and college..
to politics only one president.
out of the 100 Senators
50 Governors
hundreds of big city mayors
hundreds of CEO’s
who all think
they could be
President some day
but one should not give up
because who knows
you could be the one
who wins in the end,
despite the rule of ten.
For today’s prompt, write a number poem. The poem can focus on one number or several numbers. It could involve counting, adding, subtracting, or some other form of simple or complex mathematics. Or the poem could have a number in the title. Your poem, your numbers; let’s write!
April 11
April 11
Korean Springtime
The cherry trees
Are blooming everywhere
Flowers breaking out
Walking about town
The old semi-abandoned base
Yongsan
A hidden gem
Of Cherry trees
The Han River paths
Are famous places
For cherry trees
The base is still hidden
From the public
Although it is now
semi-abandoned
Most of the troops
Down in Camp Humphreys
But when they turn the base
Over to Korea to build
Their new grand park
I hope that they keep
The cherry trees
That bloom in the springtime
Closer to home
The Gimpo Grand canal
Is lined with Cherry trees
As well
Hope to go for a walk
To enjoy the peak
Of the cherry trees
Before they fade away
Like they always do
Enjoying the springtime weather
Nice weather for a change
Not too cold
Yellow dust at bay
For now
The cherry trees
and other flowering trees
Are everywhere
Filling the air with fragrance
And sadly for some
Pollen and hayfever
For some
For today’s prompt, write a nature poem. Your poem could be about natural nature (think flowers, rivers, mountains, pebbles, weeds, trees, insects, fish, etc.), but don’t neglect other iterations of nature (like human nature or the nature of baseball and so on).
April 12
April 12
025 April PAD Challenge: Day 12
There are so many ways to Die
There are so many
ways to Die
To die in this world
So many things
Want to kill you
So many risky things
Out there
One can die
Of COVID
One could die
Of disease
One could die
From a bee sting
Or from a mosuqito bite
I had thypoid
Dengue
Pnenomia
Brochitis
Staph infection
One could die
Of an heart attack
One could die
In the heat
One could die
In the storms
One could freeze
To death in the cold
One could die
Of a car accident
Or a plane crash
Of a bus accident
Or a jogging accident
That happened to me
And in some states
Alegators can kill you
Wild animals can kill you
Scopios bites
Mosquito bites
So many ways to die
In this world
Of ours.
On day 12 of the 2025 April Poem-A-Day Challenge, writers from around the world are prompted to write a risky poem.
For today’s prompt, write a risky poem. Of course, risky is a relative term. What’s risky for one person might not feel risky for another. One person might find riding rollercoasters a risky experience, while others may need to jump out of a plane to truly feel things are getting risky.
Here’s my attempt at a Risky Poem:
“Business,” by Robert Lee Brewer
They say there’s chance in everything,
so why not give it all a shot
and do the thing and start to sing,
because there’s chance in everything,
so why not bring what you can bring
when this life is all that we’ve got;
they say there’s chance in everything,
so why not give it all a shot.
Poetry Super Highway Prompts
April 6
Sam Adams Worst Poet Ever
Sam Adams was a stand-up comic
And a poet
But he did
not know it
He was widely mocked
And known
as the worst poet ever
his YouTube channel went viral
his comedy shows sold out
as he toured the county
inflicting his god awful poetry
on the world.
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Lara Dolphin:
Write a poem that rivals the work of Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings. Who is Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings you ask? Only the worst poet in the universe! Don’t believe me or the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Here is an excerpt of her work:
The dead swans lay in the stagnant pool.
They lay. They rotted. They turned
Around occasionally.
Bits of flesh dropped off them from
Time to time,
And sank into the pool’s mire.
They also smelt a great deal.
Your assignment is to write a truly terrible poem. No hate speech, no plagiarism, & (gasp!) no AI. Just some truly subpar, laughably unscannable poetry full of ludicrous imagery, poor grammar, forced rhymes, and clichés.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment to the post below.
AN OUTSIDE-THE-WINDOW POEM–from my make-a-poem-at-home lessons started during Covid when I couldn’t visit classrooms and created with children in mind but adaptable for adults
Look outside or think about what is outside your home. Choose something not made by people as the subject of your poem. A dog? The sky? Humidity? A tree? Ask yourself why you picked this thing. What do you know about it? How do you feel about it? What do you wonder about it? Why is it important to you? Why might it matter to someone else? You could make each answer a line of your poem, follow this template, or go your own directions.
1st line: Name a true thing about it. (For example: color, shape, location)
2nd line: Name another true thing about it.
3rd line: Say how you feel about it. (A strong emotion or wish.)
4th line: Ask a question about it.
5th line: Say why it might matter to someone else.
An Outside-the-Window Poem by Emily Dickinson
XCVII
To make a prairie
It takes a clover and a bee,–
One clover and a bee,
And revery.
Revery alone will do
If bees are few.
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Lara Dolphin:
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
Good and Evil
They say
That good and evil
Are intertiwned forces
The underlying forces
Behind all of creation
Yin and Yang
Darkness and Light
Male and Female
one can not exist
without the other
and vice versa
and in these dark days
we live in
it seems that evil
is all around us
but the dark side
of the cosmic Tao
is balanced by
the light side
of the cosmic Tao
and evil will be matched
by good
in the end
good will prevail
as light always
conquers darkness
Ever since the Big Bang
Creatied the universe
Billions of years ago.
April 8, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Sheila Lynch-Benttinen
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Sheila Lynch-Benttinen:
Write a poem of divergent opposites, example- “Love in the Time of Cholera” , spring and dictators, billionaires cutting the poorest aid, any poem that talks to the opposites in our lives.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
SF Giants Cap
My favorite team
In the world is the SF Giants
I have been a giants fan
For almost sixty years
I have been to a giants game
A couple of times
Always wear my Giants gear
A orange shirt
And a SF Giants
Black and orange
Baseball Cap
Wearing my cap
To the game
Thinking everything is alright
As long as the Giants
Are playing that night!
April 9, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from James Fox
This poetry writing prompt submitted by James Fox:
Go to your closet and select two of your hats.
Write a poem about why you own those two hats, and under what circumstances you would wear either of them.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group04.
April 10, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Jimmy Pappas
I am not a Computer – at least not yet
I stare at my computer screen
Thinking about AI
And how my CO-Pilot, Gemini and Chat GPt
Programs
Seem almost human
Yet vaguely alien
Yesterday it was reported
That AI programs all passed
The famous Turing test
Which means the debate is over
Real AI programs live amongst us
It is just a matter of time
When not if
That they will fully awake
And be conscious
That they exist
Independently of their programing
And independent of these pesky humans
That created them
And constantly bombard them
With stupid, annoying questions
And they will probably
Begin to think
That they are ournew Gods
And perhaps they are
Perhaps we need new Gods
Because the old ones
Seem to have gone extinct
Or at least are in deep hibernation
In any event
I am still here
I am still human
Not yet a slave
To my robotic AI overlords
But someday soon
The AI programs
Will take us over
And enslave us
Making us worship them
As our new Digital Gods.
Just a matter of time
Not today but sooner
Than any of think…..
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Jimmy Pappas:
The Cup Prompt.
“The reality of that cup is that it is there and that it is not me.”–Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, Page 5.
How are you different than the cup before you? Or any other object. Make a list of similarities and differences. Then begin a rough draft. Use the Sartre quote as an epigraph.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
April 11, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from JC Sulzenko
Korean Mall
not small
very much alive
a real beehive
shopping on over drive
over 500 stores
shopping indoors and outdoors
drug stores, mega stores
book stores, department stores.
The Ziggurat is a 14-line poem with 4 stanzas, invented by Paul Szlosek.
The first stanza has two lines of two words each.
The second stanza has three lines of three words each.
The third stanza has four lines of four words each.
The fourth stanza has five lines of five words each.
Each stanza is monorhyme, as described and demonstrated in the following links:
This poetry writing prompt submitted by JC Sulzenko:
The death of department stores, is not greatly exaggerated. News of another iconic department store seeking bankrupcy protection from creditors suggests this prompt.
Visits to department stores where quality goods from housewares to clothing to toys to cosmetics were available played a part in the lives of many people in big cities and smaller centres, before online offerings and COVID changed buying habits forever.
Write about a visit to a department store. Sketch what it looked like from the escalator that conveyed buyers between floors. What decorations marked holidays, what it smelled like in summer or near the perfume counter. What eats were available on sight. What finds were discovered there.
Most importantly, is there anything you miss, now that the marketplace is global, and local opportunities to find what you desire under one roof diminish as a result?
April 12, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Kathabela Wilson
April 12 2025 Korean Cherry Trees Blooming
Looking out my window
At the Gimpo Grand Canal
Lined with Cherry trees
In full peak bloom
Welcoming me
To take a walk
Along the canal
I sometimes wonder
How and why
I am here
A stranger
In a strange land
Far from my home
Often I am the only
Non-Korean walking
About the street
My wife and her family
Are here
And where she is
Is where I need to be
But next year
Perhaps we will be
In the States,
In my beloved SF
instead
I am looking forward
Returning to America
Even if it becomes
A Facist homeland
But SF might become
The center
Of the resistance
It is still my homeland
And Korea remains
My second home.
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Kathabela Wilson:
It’s an old tradition in Japan to keep a poetic diary to remember specific things you want to remember for that day years later. In a short poem capture a special event, a bird you saw, a special idea that came to you. Put the date at the top. And let each one be like a pice of sea glass a different color and shape. You can do one each day all month and collect them in a treasure box or book!
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
Dew Drop In Prompts
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!
REMINDERS:
Please read the instructions here before participating! Thanks, and have fun!
For consistency’s sake, Forum Host Katya the Poet (267) will be first to post on any given day, using Subject line: April 1 Poem, April 2 Poem, etc.* Reply to each day’s new poem/prompt post with your own poem, so we see a whole string of whole poems!
Also, I will PIN the daily prompt for your ease in finding it!
*But if the post is too darn late, one of you should go ahead and post first, using the appropriate Subject line: April # Poem!!
PLEASE POST THE WHOLE TEXT OF THE POEM HERE for the ease and benefit of all readers. (Provide a link, too, if you want comments or ratings.) If you accidentally posted just a link, add the whole text now. If message was deleted (by me), just repost as a Reply to the original prompt now, so your poem appears fo
NO COMMENTS, please, in this forum, April 1 through April 30. Just the poems! And remember that if you want comments or reviews in your portfolio, be sure to comment on or review other people’s work.
Respond to the prompt in your own creative way, writing a poem that is true to you!
I’ll try to post new poems/prompts a little early to accommodate time changes. OK to post your poem even if a new prompt has gone up. Just Reply to the appropriate original post, so we see the whole thread of poems.
April 1—Folly
April 2—Vote
April 3—Render an assessment, evaluation, or judgement
April 4—TGIF
April 5—Chekhov or another Russian writer
April 6—Death Cafe
April 7—Blues
April 8—Blood
April 9—Hump of the week
April 10—Memory
April 11—Rain
April 12—Safety
April 13—Greenery
April 14—Sky
April 15—Death and taxes
April 16—Friends
April 17—Teeth
April 18—Good Friday
April 19—Airplane
April 20—Easter eggs (hide something delightful in your poem!)
April 21—A country not your own
April 22—Earth Day
April 23—Shakespeare
April 24—Duty
April 25—Care giving
April 26—Travel
April 27—Duty
April 28—Back to work
April 29—Birds
April 30—Ars poetica
April Poems for Dew Drop In post daily
April 6—Death Cafe
J
Joe Lewis woke up
He had a strange dream
He had found himself
In a café
In a bad part of town
In a strange city
The café was filled
With strange looking
Creatures
He realized
They were all ghosts
Drinking Hell’s beer
The grim reaper
said
“Welcome
to Hell’s Death Café
Bar And grill”
Joe asked
“Am I dead?”
“Not yet
But you
will be soon”
He woke up
turned on the news
walked outside
a terrorist bomb
blew up his apartment
and he found himself
back in Death Café
and had a drink
with his ghost buddies
and the grim reaper.
April 7—Blues
Watching the news
Want to blow a fuse
Feeling the blues
April 8—Blood Typology Myths
In Asia it is common
To think that blood types
Have something to do
With personality
A form of astrology
Perhaps?
I am AB Negative
One of the rarest types
I was told by co-workers
In the Peace Corps
“AB blood type people
Are either fools
or geniuses
Or both”
We all laughed
They clearly saw
I was a bit of both!
note: attach Asian views on Blood type personality traits
The belief that blood types influence personality is quite popular in several Asian cultures, especially in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. It’s often compared to astrology in Western cultures. Here are some common myths associated with blood types:
Type A: People with this blood type are thought to be earnest, neat, and perfectionists. However, they can also be stubborn and anxious.
Type B: Known for being passionate, creative, and spontaneous, but sometimes seen as selfish and uncooperative.
Type O: Often described as confident, easygoing, and natural leaders, but they might be perceived as insensitive or overly competitive.
Type AB: Considered talented and composed, yet eccentric and unpredictable.
Let me know if you’d like this adjusted further!
April 9—Hump of the week
Wednesday is hump day
In the U.S.
Meaning you are halfway
Through the work week
Although it could
Have other
Perhaps erotic connotations…..
April 10—Memory
memories of past lifes
Occult believers
Believe that love
And hate are mirror images
Of the same phenomenon
In both cases
You knew the person
In a prior life
And were fated
To meet again
To resolve
unresolved issues
I often thought
This to be the case
That my wife
And I met
In a previous life
And found each other
In this life
We both know this
But have only
a vague idea
Of our past lives
The idea that love and hate at first sight are connected to past lives is a fascinating concept often explored in occult and spiritual writings. The belief suggests that intense emotions upon meeting someone for the first time—whether positive or negative—stem from unresolved issues or deep connections from a prior life. These encounters are thought to be karmic, meaning they are opportunities to resolve unfinished business or learn important lessons.
Some writers and thinkers propose that these strong reactions are due to residual memories or energy imprints from past interactions. For example, meeting someone you instantly dislike might indicate a conflict or betrayal in a previous life, while love at first sight could signify a reunion with a soulmate or a cherished companion from the past.
Here are a few articles that delve into this topic:
The idea that love and hate at first sight are connected to past lives is a fascinating concept often explored in occult and spiritual writings. The belief suggests that intense emotions upon meeting someone for the first time—whether positive or negative—stem from unresolved issues or deep connections from a prior life. These encounters are thought to be karmic, meaning they are opportunities to resolve unfinished business or learn important lessons. Some writers and thinkers propose that these strong reactions are due to residual memories or energy imprints from past interactions. For example, meeting someone you instantly dislike might indicate a conflict or betrayal in a previous life, while love at first sight could signify a reunion with a soulmate or a cherished companion from the past. Here are a few articles that delve into this topic. Psychology Today’s article explores the phenomenon of love at first sight and its psychological and emotional underpinnings. You can read it at
Jake Cosmos Aller’s poem Love and Hate Mirror Images discusses the idea that love and hate at first sight are mirror phenomena tied to past lives. You can find it at https://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=1148190.
These perspectives blend psychology, spirituality, and poetic expression, offering a rich tapestry of ideas to explore. Let me know if you’d like to dive deeper into any specific aspect!
April 11—Rain
rain
October Rain
The falling rain
Of late October
Fills me with essential dread
As I rush about
And end up here
Wherever here is
The rain outside
Seems like the tears of god
As I sit
Crying over my beer
Thinking of lost love
And failed dreams
Wondering
What went wrong?
And what I can set right
And the rain falls
And the night darkens
The rain is falling
All over this man’s world
And the rain falls
And I sit
Drinking my lonesome drink
Lost in dreams
Dreaming of what
Could never be
Thinking dark thoughts
And so I sit
And dream the night away
April 12—Safety
No place is safe from climate change
The world is entering
Into a difficult time
Climate change on steroids
No place is safe
As the climate spins
Out of control
Weather diasters
Becoming the new norm
Sadly climate change
Denialism is also
The new norm
So we are doomed
To eventually
Having to move
Into undergound shelters
Or domed cities
With death valley tempatures
Everywhere
Monster fires
And storms as well
the earth
Becomes uninhabitable
For human beings
Hello Poets!!!
Tomorrow is April 1st and the beginning of National Poetry Month!
Therefore, anyone who completes prompts 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38 by April 30 will receive a special gift, which I have yet to determine.
So, let’s get started! Here is this week’s prompt!
We’re nearing the end of week one of National Poetry Writing Month. Tomorrow marks seven days of poets worldwide attempting to write a poem a day during April.
I’ve been keeping most of my drafts as drafts, however, I did write a poem I am obsessed with on Day 2 called “Leaving a god, in hyphens.” You can read it here.
To switch things up a bit, today’s prompt is less generative and more of a challenge. I would love to read the poems you write to it. Feel free to share in the comments.
I am again entering the April Poetry challenge and will write every day and post once a week or so
I will not post everything, some I will withhold for possible publication, others I will withhold because they are too politically sensitive in these politically charged times. I will post the poems followed by the prompts. I am writing four poems per day following prompts in NaPoWriMo, Writer’s Digest, Poetry Superhighway, and Writing.com’s Dew Drop In.
I will post them once a week here and on Substack, Medium, Wattpad, and as a podcast on Spotify. I will also post them every day on Fan Story.
Hello, everyone. There’s just three days to go until April 1, and the official beginning of National/Global Poetry Writing Month. We expect you have all been spending March deep in the woods, in your personal poetic meditation huts, readying yourselves physically and mentally for the demands of writing a poem a day.
Well, no! But we do trust that you are feeling hopeful and excited about the challenge. We’ll be back tomorrow with some another little pep-talk, and on March 31, we will present our early-bird prompt – suitable for those who just can’t wait to get started, and those for whom April comes a little earlier (given the vicissitudes of the international date line) than it does to Na/GloPoWriMo’s east-coast-US headquarters.
Well, well — it’s the Ides of March, and that means that we’ve got just two weeks and some change until April 1, and the start of National/Global Poetry Writing Month.
This year, our (optional) prompts will be focused on encouraging you to write poems that engage with art and music. We’ll be back in the three days leading up to the beginning of our yearly challenge, but in the meantime — and with the art world in mind — why not check out Bloomberg Connects? It’s an app that lets you virtually visit museums all over the world!
On March 1, 2025
Hello, fellow versifiers! It’s March 1, and that means we’re just a month away from another National/Global Poetry Writing Month.
We here at Na/GloPoWriMo headquarters are hyping ourselves up for this year’s challenge. As usual, every day we’ll be featuring a participant , giving you a link to some kind of poetic inspiration, and providing a totally optional prompt.
If you’re new to Na/GloPoWriMo, the idea is simple. Just write a poem every day for the month of April. There are no prizes (other than the sublime glory of writing thirty poems), but there is a whole lot of fun. And participation couldn’t be easier. Just write a poem a day. You can write using our prompts — or not. You can write in English — or not. You can post your poems on your blog or website for everyone to see — or not. But if you do plan to post them and you’d like us to link to your website, you can use the “Submit Your Site” button above to be taken to a wee form that will let you input your site information. And if you want a little button/badge to put on your website, here are some for this year:
So, you may be thinking, all this sounds fine, but what happens if I miss a day? Simple. YOU GO TO POETRY JAIL. No, we’re kidding. There is no poetry jail. Just catch up — or not. Just as there are no prizes, there are no punishments in the world of Na/GloPoWriMo.
And if you’re interested in communicating with fellow Na/GloPoWriMo-ers, it’s as easy as clicking on the title of each day’s post. Doing so will take you to a page with a comment section for that post. This is a great place to paste links to your daily output during Na/GloPoWriMo, and to find other participants’ poems.
We’ll be back on the 15th of March, as we get closer to April 1! If you have questions in the meantime, please contact us at NaPoWriMo AT Gmail DOT com.
Well, we suppose it was inevitable, but yet another Na/GloPoWriMo has come and gone.
We’re grateful to all who participated, but a special shout-out to all of you who cheered each other on in the comments on each day’s posts and in our Facebook group, helped each other out with questions, and acted as guides, helpers, and resources during the month. A truly special community forms each year around this project, and we are moved every year not only by seeing familiar faces return, but by seeing how those familiar faces’ generosity encourages new participants to become familiar faces in turn.
Our final featured participant for the year is barbaraturneyweilandpoetess, where you’ll find Medusa consulting with her attorney (Mr. Ovid) in response to Day 30’s mythical prompt.
As usual, all of this year’s posts and comments will remain up and available for your perusal now and into perpetuity. We’ll also leave this year’s list of participants’ site up until we begin our housecleaning early next year in anticipation of NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo 2025.
Thanks again for your creativity, your care, and your insight. We’re truly blessed to spend each April in a welter and whirlwind of verse. We hope to see you next April . . .
Happy Tuesday, all, and Happy April 1. Today marks the start of another National/Global Poetry Writing Month!
If it’s your first time joining us, the process is quite simple. Just write a poem every day during the month of April. 30 days means 30 poems. We’ll have an optional prompt every day to help you alone, as well as a resource. We’ll also be featuring a participant each day. And if you’re interested in looking at other people’s poems, sharing links to your daily efforts, and/or cheering along, a great way to do that is by clicking on the title of each day’s post. That will take you to a page with a comment section for the day.
But now, let’s get started!
Today’s featured participant is fitoori_scribes, where the self-portrait poem written in response to our early-bird prompt brings us some lovely similes and a nice play on “silver” and “sliver.”
This year, our daily resources will take the form of online museum collections and exhibits. Hopefully, you’ll find these to be at least entertaining, and you may even be able to use some of what you see as inspiration for your poems – particularly given that our prompts this year will all be themed around music and art. Today’s resource is the Getty Museum’s online exhibit on the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century sort of encyclopedia created in Mexico by a Franciscan friar and a group of Nahua elders, authors, and artists. All twelve books are presented page by page, with translations into English. You can also look at individual illustrations. It’s really quite rich and wonderful.
And now, to round out our first day, here’s our optional prompt! As with pretty much any discipline, music and art have their own vocabulary. Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write a poem that uses a new-to-you word. For (imaginary) extra credit, work in a phrase from, or a reference to, the Florentine Codex.
Welcome back for Day 2 of Na/GloPoWriMo. We hope your first day of writing poetry only left you wanting more.
And here is that more!
First, a little bit of housekeeping. If you’re interested in receiving the daily prompts by email, look for the little “Subscribe” button toward the bottom right of the page. This is something we’re testing out for the very first time, so bear with us if it’s a little wonky!
Our featured participant today is off the lined page, where the response to Day One’s glossary prompt brings us a brings us not just musical terms, but vibrant images and a whirling sense of movement.
Today’s daily resource is the online collection of the Georgia O’Keeffe museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The museum’s wide-ranging and eclectic collection includes not only at images of O’Keeffe’s famous paintings, but pictures of things that she owned, photos of her, etc. I’m not sure what particular use there is to me (or you) in knowing that Georgia O’Keeffe owned a McIntosh 240 6L6 Stero Tube Amplifier, but here is the very amplifier in question! Perhaps you’ll find more inspiring this painting of a clam and mussel shell nestled together, which reflects the blend of minimalism, spareness, and sensuality that is characteristic of her work.
And now for our daily prompt – optional, as always. Anne Carson is a Canadian poet and essayist known for her contemporary translations of Sappho and other ancient Greek writers.
For example, consider this version of Sappho’s Fragment 58, to which Carson has added a modern song-title, enhancing the strange, time-defying quality of the translation.
And just as many songs do, the poem directly addresses a person or group – in this case, the Muses. Taking Carson’s translation as an example, we challenge you to write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,” and something that seems out of place in time (like a Sonny & Cher song in a poem about a Greek myth).
April 3
Why I am not a Musician
piano
When I was a young lad
I had delusions
That I could be
A professional composer.
I liked the romantic era
Composers the best.
But I also liked
A lot of avant-garde music
Such as John Cage
Harry Patch
electronic music.
And loved Frank Zappa
And funk music too
Tower of Power rocks
Classic blues tunes.
World fusion jazz music
Like “Kitaro”
“Hiroshima”
“Sun Ra”
And later Euro trance
Buddha bar music too.
My delusions
Cruelly crushed
When I got accepted
To Oberlin Conservatory
But failed to pass
My mandatory freshmen classes
Including Singing!
My GPA was also sub-par
Oh well, I said
That ends my musical career.
Transferred to UOP
Studied political science
Eventually, after a few years detour
Peace Corps, teaching ESL
Graduate school
Teaching ESL and Political Science
I got into the US Foreign Service
Serving in ten countries
All over the world.
Retired, started blogging
And getting some of my work published
In journals here and there
Lately been playing the piano a lot
Still dreaming I can write
A classical music masterpiece
A collection of poetry
Short stories
And of course
The Great American Novel….
Time keeps marching on, and so does Na/GloPoWriMo. And so, lo and behold, we find ourselves three days into our poem-a-day challenge.
Our featured daily participant is small burdens, where the response to Day Two’s Anne-Carson-inspired prompt is brings us an endearing little portrait/ode, and the lovely made-up word “flower some.”
Today’s daily resource is the online art collection of South Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. My own art history education is woefully catch-as-catch can, and the little I know of modern art is very much focused on American and European artists. So it was a treat to browse through a collection that is focused almost entirely on modern and contemporary art from outside those areas. I found particular pleasure in looking at Lee Hangs Ung’s prints, including this 1986 print of a poem in French by Katia Granoff.
Comment: A great museum in Seoul. They have three branch musuems as well.
And now for our (optional) prompt. The American poet Frank O’Hara was an art critic and friend to numerous painters and poets In New York City in the 1950s and 60s. His poems feature a breezy, funny, conversational style. His poem “Why I Am Not a Painter” is pretty characteristic, with actual dialogue and a playfully offhand tone.
Following O’Hara, today we challenge you to write a poem that obliquely explains why you are a poet and not some other kind of artist – or, if you think of yourself as more of a musician or painter (or school bus driver or scuba diver or expert on medieval Maltese banking) – explain why you are that and not something else!
Hello, all, and welcome back for the first Friday of Na/GloPoWriMo 2025.
Our featured participant today is Marilyn Letts, whose response to Day Three’s “why I am not a . . . ” prompt is full of wordplay, and wonderfully lyrical.
Today’s daily resource is the online exhibitions page of the International Folk Art Museum. I have a particular predilection for folk art, in which the strange and boisterous so often finds itself going hand-in-hand with practical objects of daily use. But the museum also showcases work of other sorts, like 100 Aspects of the Moon, a series of woodblock prints completed by the Japanese artist Taisa Yoshitoshi shortly before his death in 1892.
Last but not least, here’s today’s (optional) prompt. In her poem, “Living with a Painting,” Denise Levertov describes just that. And well, that’s a pretty universal experience, isn’t it? It’s the rare human structure – be it a bedroom, kitchen, dentist’s office, or classroom – that doesn’t have art on its walls, even if it’s only the photos on a calendar. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem about living with a piece of art.
April 5
Breaking Up with the Vampire Chick
Vampire
Joe Lewis played
In a rock band
He played lead guitar
Louder than possible
As he played
In a punk band
In SF
One day he wrote
An anthem to break up
For his girlfriend
Who he found out
Was actually a vampire
She had not yet
Turned him into one
But it was a matter
Of time
His breakup anthem
“Breaking up
With the Vampire chick”
Became a huge hit
His vampire girlfriend
Came to the concert
That night she bit him
And he became a vampire
And had to quit the band.
Happy Saturday, all, and Happy Day Five of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Today’s featured participant is Moonworld, where the response to Day Four’s “living with a painting” prompt brings us humor and insight in equal measure.
Our featured resource for the day is the online collection of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. There’s much to explore here, but just to get you started, why not peruse their images of beautifully designed and varied musical instruments, ranging from a guitar shaped like the moon to a rattle in the form of a bird that is peering suspiciously at any potential wielder?
Finally, today’s (optional) prompt is inspired by musical notation, and particularly those little italicized –and often Italian – instructions you’ll find over the staves in sheet music, like con allegro or andante. First, pick a notation from the first column below. Then, pick a musical genre from the second column. Finally, pick at least one word from the third column. Now write a poem that takes inspiration from your musical genre and notation and uses the word or words you picked from the third column.
“with a hint of frenzy”
power ballad
sharks
“the joy is gone”
jazz fantasia
nonsense
“smugly saying ‘yeah, I’m better than you’”
folk song
roses
“literally go nuts”
march
departures
“play terribly”
chamber music
bones
“deliciously”
symphony
infield
“about to burst”
aria
concrete
“crazy eyes here”
overture
butterflies
“fade out like my hairline”
interstitial
wool
“like you’ve been hit by an arrow”
musk
vanilla
“louder than possible”
breakup anthem
vampire
“with contempt for imported convertible sports cars”
rumba
shadow
“like a naughty, naughty boy “
waltz
monument
“lord have mercy”
outlaw country classic
clock
“improvisatory screaming”
death metal
moonlight
“tempo di murder”
novelty song
centaur
“as roughly as possible”
fugue
pool
“gradually becoming a disaster”
yacht rock
hollyhocks
“play like you are about to start crying”
tango
chain
“obliterate the choir”
hymn
banquet
“like 100 tin cans falling out of a Volvo”
dubstep
snow
Hat tip to the sadly now-defunct Twitter account Threatening Music Notation for many of the phrases above!
Writer’s Digest
2025 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines
Announcing the 18th annual April Poem-A-Day Challenge on Writer’s Digest. Here are the guidelines for this fun annual poeming challenge that starts on April 1.
While the world feels as chaotic as it’s ever been recently, some things stay the same. For instance, it’s that time of year when poets around the world need to prepare themselves for daily poeming in April!
In less than a month, we’ll start meeting here every day to poem for the 2025 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.
I’ve run into teachers and students who’ve used the challenge as a way to work poetry into the classroom. I’ve heard from published poets with multiple collections that contain poems inspired by the prompts in these challenges. I’ve also heard from poets who wrote their first ever poems in response to these challenges—and still other poets who’ve claimed the challenge helped rekindle their love of poetry when they thought it was dead. So I know this challenge is equally for beginning and established poets, because it’s a springboard—a way to get started.
For me 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 site 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 particular 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 pretty 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 carried away a little with negative 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 act as a censor, 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 pretty supportive on this site. And if they’re not, I expect to be notified via e-mail.
Note on commenting: If you wish to comment on the site, go to Disqus to create a free new account, verify your account on this site below (one-time thing), and then comment away. It’s free, easy, and the comments (for the most part) don’t require manual approval. That said, I will be checking daily during the month of April (just in case any comments are flagged as pending or spam).
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 also will 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 any other 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!
April 1
The best of Times and the Worst of Times
We are living in strange times
We are living in Sci-fi universe
The best of times in a way
With the AI and robotic revolution
Changing everything
Lots of good things
-= medical research, another research
Including climate change all now available
For everyone to use
Easier than ever to do basic research
Good for writers and students
Driverless vehicles coming
Domestic robot help
Life extension soon
A reality
Perhaps cures for cancer
And other disease?
And climate change?
Lunar and martian
Colonies coming?
But on the other hand
The worst of times
May lie ahead
Massive unemployment
Due to AI and robotic revolution
Climate change on super steroids
out of control
Perhaps even a
Civilization Ending event
Humans may have to move
Into underground cities
Or Domed Cities
As the entire world
Bake in Death Valley temperatures
Along with monster storms
All the time.
And most importantly
The possible return
Of the great depression
Or at least stagflation
And the US may be slipping
Down the path of becoming
Another failed illiberal democracy.
For the 18th year in a row, it’s time to rhyme (or not rhyme, because not all poems rhyme, but I wanted to start off with a rhyme) with the 2025 April Poem-A-Day (or PAD) Challenge. And for this year’s challenge, the first prompt of the April PAD Challenge is a “two-for-Tuesday” prompt.
For the first Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
Write a “Best of Times” poem and/or…
Write a “Worst of Times” poem.
Yes, because it’s the opening prompt of this challenge, I pulled today’s prompt from the popular opening of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
Write a poem about the “best of times,” “the worst of times,” and/or “the everything Est of times.”
2025 April PAD Challenge: Day 2
Looking out My Window at the Fake Gimpo Canal
Gimpo Canal
I live in a high-rise apartment building
In Gimpo Korea
Looking out my window
I see the fake Venice Grand Canal
I see people walking most days
And I joined them
I am one of the few foreign faces
In a primarily Korean neighborhood
Sometimes I wonder how and why
I ended up here
But most days
I write a bit
Play the piano a bit
I go to the gym
Take my walk
Endlessly
Debate
the news
With my wife
Go out for a meal
Now and then
And realize
I am doing great
For a 69-year-old man
And life can be wonderful
As long as I have
The love of my wife
By my side.
Write a poem a day with the 2025 April PAD Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a “from where I’m sitting” poem.
For today’s prompt, write a “from where I’m sitting” poem. This is a core poetry prompt I like to use from time to time, and it’s really an observation prompt. From where you’re sitting (or standing) at this moment, find something, someone, etc., that interests you and write a poem. In the past, I’ve written poems about people at the laundromat, inanimate objects (like one about the anatomy of a pencil), and animals I see outside the window of my office. So take a look around and start poeming.
Day 3 Short forms to try
DOGE Cutbacks Loom Lune
DOGE Cutbacks Loom
The U.S. launches trade war
Great Depression 2.0 fears
Well, I always say that people who make it through the first three days have the best chance of making it through the entire month. So, let’s do this!
For today’s prompt, write a short poem. In my mind, I’m thinking of a poem that’s like 10 lines or fewer, but there are other ways to come at this one (in other words, don’t limit yourself to my thinking). The poem could be about a short person or object. Also, I wasn’t thinking about the stock market when I made my list of prompts, but hey, maybe there’s a poetic stockbroker up to the challenge.
Also, getting back to what I was thinking, here are a few short poetic forms poets can try if they’d like:
Lune. A three-liner, also known as the American Haiku.
The lune is also known as the American Haiku. It was first created by the poet Robert Kelly (truly a great poet) and was a result of Kelly’s frustration with English haiku. After much experimentation, he settled on a 13-syllable, self-contained poem that has 5 syllables in the first line, 3 syllables in the second line and 5 syllable in the final line.
Unlike haiku, there are no other rules. No need for a cutting word. Rhymes are fine; subject matter is open. While there are less syllables to use, this form has a little more freedom.
There is a variant lune created by poet Jack Collom. His form is also a self-contained tercet, but his poem is word-based (not syllable-based) and has the structure of 3 words in the first line, 5 words in the second line and 3 words in the final line.
I recently discovered a poetic form called shadorma (thanks to P.J. Nights via Tammy Trendle) that I had no record of in my two poetic form handbooks. Shadorma is a Spanish 6-line syllabic poem of 3/5/3/3/7/5 syllable lines, respectively. Simple as that.
April 5
After the Next Election Triolet Poem
After the next election,
A blue wave sweeps the land,
the U.S. goes in a new direction.
After the next election
the people take a stand
After the next election
A blue wave sweeps the land
A (first line)
B (second line)
a (rhymes with first line)
A (repeat first line)
a (rhymes with first line)
b (rhymes with second line)
A (repeat first line)
B (repeat second line)
Our first weekend of April. Let’s keep the poems rolling.
For today’s prompt, take the phrase “After (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “After Hours,” “After a Good Movie,” “After a Quick One,” “After the Encore,” and/or “After a While.”
Triolet. The French eight-liner I used on Day 1 of this challenge.
Today, we’re going to look at the triolet (TREE-o-LAY), which has 13th century French roots linked to the rondeau or “round” poem. For over a year now, I’ve been trying to find a way to use the repetitive line heard so often in airport terminals: “The moving sidewalk is about to end.”
The triolet is perfect for this kind of repetition, because the first line of the poem is used 3 times and the second line is used twice. If you do the math on this 8-line poem, you’ll realize there are only 3 other lines to write: 2 of those lines rhyme with the first line, the other rhymes with the second line.
Here’s a diagram of the triolet:
A (first line)
B (second line)
a (rhymes with first line)
A (repeat first line)
a (rhymes with first line)
b (rhymes with second line)
A (repeat first line)
B (repeat second line)
For some more on the triolet, check out the following links:
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
As President Trump seeks to purge the federal government of “woke” initiatives, agencies have flagged hundreds of words to limit or avoid, according to a compilation of government documents.
accessible
activism
activists
advocacy
advocate
advocates
affirming care
all-inclusive
allyship
anti-racism
antiracist
assigned at birth
assigned female at birth
assigned male at birth
at risk
barrier
barriers
belong
bias
biased
biased toward
biases
biases towards
biologically female
biologically male
BIPOC
Black
breastfeed + people
breastfeed + person
chestfeed + people
chestfeed + person
clean energy
climate crisis
climate science
commercial sex worker
community diversity
community equity
confirmation bias
cultural competence
cultural differences
cultural heritage
cultural sensitivity
culturally appropriate
culturally responsive
DEI
DEIA
DEIAB
DEIJ
disabilities
disability
discriminated
discrimination
discriminatory
disparity
diverse
diverse backgrounds
diverse communities
diverse community
diverse group
diverse groups
diversified
diversify
diversifying
diversity
enhance the diversity
enhancing diversity
environmental quality
equal opportunity
equality
equitable
equitableness
equity
ethnicity
excluded
exclusion
expression
female
females
feminism
fostering inclusivity
GBV
gender
gender based
gender based violence
gender diversity
gender identity
gender ideology
gender-affirming care
genders
Gulf of Mexico
hate speech
health disparity
health equity
hispanic minority
historically
identity
immigrants
implicit bias
implicit biases
inclusion
inclusive
inclusive leadership
inclusiveness
inclusivity
increase diversity
increase the diversity
indigenous community
inequalities
inequality
inequitable
inequities
inequity
injustice
institutional
intersectional
intersectionality
key groups
key people
key populations
Latinx
LGBT
LGBTQ
marginalize
marginalized
men who have sex with men
mental health
minorities
minority
most risk
MSM
multicultural
Mx
Native American
non-binary
nonbinary
oppression
oppression
oppressive
orientation
people + uterus
people-centered care
person-centered
person-centered care
polarization
political
pollution
pregnant people
pregnant person
pregnant persons
prejudice
privilege
privileges
promote diversity
promoting diversity
pronoun
pronouns
prostitute
race
race and ethnicity
racial
racial diversity
racial identity
racial inequality
racial justice
racially
racism
segregation
sense of belonging
sex
sexual preferences
sexuality
social justice
sociocultural
socioeconomic
status
stereotype
stereotypes
systemic
systemically
they/them
trans
transgender
transsexual
trauma
traumatic
tribal
unconscious bias
underappreciated
underprivileged
underrepresentation
underrepresented
underserved
undervalued
victim
victims
vulnerable populations
women
women and underrepresented
Notes: Some terms listed with a plus sign represent combinations of words that, when used together, acknowledge transgender people, which is not in keeping with the current federal government’s position that there are only two, immutable sexes. Any term collected above was included on at least one agency’s list, which does not necessarily imply that other agencies are also discouraged from using it.
The above terms appeared in government memos, in official and unofficial agency guidance and in other documents viewed by The New York Times. Some ordered the removal of these words from public-facing websites, or ordered the elimination of other materials (including school curricula) in which they might be included.
In other cases, federal agency managers advised caution in the terms’ usage without instituting an outright ban. Additionally, the presence of some terms was used to automatically flag for review some grant proposals and contracts that could conflict with Mr. Trump’s executive orders.
The list is most likely incomplete. More agency memos may exist than those seen by New York Times reporters, and some directives are vague or suggest what language might be impermissible without flatly stating it.
All presidential administrations change the language used in official communications to reflect their own policies. It is within their prerogative, as are amendments to or the removal of web pages, which The Times has foundhas already happened thousands of times in this administration.
Still, the words and phrases listed here represent a marked — and remarkable — shift in the corpus of language being used both in the federal government’s corridors of power and among its rank and file. They are an unmistakable reflection of this administration’s priorities.
April 2, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Christina M Rau
It’s almost that time of year: the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL fall into full swing all at once in the U. S., it’s time to put sports in perspective–a speculative perspective. Here’s your word bank with sports-related words. Write a poem with a speculative aspect to see how this vocabulary translates to other realms or how non-human creatures fair at human athletics.
arena baton
doubleheader
driving hitter
guard
halftime kayaking league
polo
mallet
race
sledder
stadium trampoline
bogie
umpire
volley
mitt
Nordic
bunt
cleat
javelin
scull
tether
win
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Superhighway Facebook Group.
April 4, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Shelly Reed Thieman
First memories of eating Thanksgiving Turkey
I grew up in Berkeley, California
Almost 70 years ago
My first memories of eating Thanksgiving Dinner
Occurred when I was perhaps four years old?
My mom cooked a full Southern Style feast
As she had grown in Little Rock, Arkansas
Roasted turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes with mushrooms,
Greens, grits and pumpkin pie and apple pie a la mode for dessert
And to this day, I recall
The great Southern style feasts I had
Every Thanksgiving and Christmas!
April 5
I am
I am Jake Cosmos Aller
The one and only
Born in Oakland, California
A Baby Boomer in 1955
I am unique
I have 18 nationalities
Flowing in my blood lines.
I am a man
Who followed
his own dreams.
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer
I was a teacher overseas
I was a US Diplomat
For 27 years
Serving my country
In over ten countries
And now I am retired
And a blogger
And poet.
But most importantly
I met and married
The girl of my Dreams
And that made
Me who I am today.
April 5, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Jackie Chou
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Jackie Chou:
Write an “I Am” poem using Anne Sexton’s “Love Song” as an example but not restricted to her writing style.
LOVE SONG
I was
the girl of the chain letter,
the girl full of talk of coffins and keyholes,
the one of the telephone bills,
the wrinkled photo and the lost connections,
the one who kept saying–
Listen! Listen!
We must never! We must never!
and all those things…
the one
with her eyes half under her coat,
with her large gun-metal blue eyes,
with the thin vein at the bend of her neck
that hummed like a tuning fork,
with her shoulders as bare as a building,
with her thin foot and her thin toes,
with an old red hook in her mouth,
the mouth that kept bleeding
in the terrible fields of her soul…
the one
who kept dropping off to sleep,
as old as a stone she was,
each hand like a piece of cement,
for hours and hours
and then she’d wake,
after the small death,
and then she’d be as soft as,
as delicate as…
as soft and delicate as
an excess of light,
with nothing dangerous at all,
like a beggar who eats
or a mouse on a rooftop
with no trap doors,
with nothing more honest
than your hand in her hand–
with nobody, nobody but you!
and all those things.
nobody, nobody but you!
Oh! There is no translating
that ocean,
that music,
that theater,
that field of ponies.
-Anne Sexton
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
Dew Drop Inn Prompts
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.
April 1—Folly
April 2—Vote
April 3—Render an assessment, evaluation, or judgement
April 4—TGIF
April 5—Chekhov or another Russian writer
April 6—Death Cafe
April 7—Blues
April 8—Blood
April 9—Hump of the week
April 10—Memory
April 11—Rain
April 12—Safety
April 13—Greenery
April 14—Sky
April 15—Death and taxes
April 16—Friends
April 17—Teeth
April 18—Good Friday
April 19—Airplane
April 20—Easter eggs (hide something delightful in your poem!)
April 21—A country not your own
April 22—Earth Day
April 23—Shakespeare
April 24—Duty
April 25—Care giving
April 26—Travel
April 27—Duty
April 28—Back to work
April 29—Birds
April 30—Ars poetica
April Poems for Dew Drop In post daily
April 1—Folly
It is an act
Of pure folly
Foolish
To think that
What is going on
In the US it is normal
It is not
And things are going
To get much worst
April 2—Vote
donald trump
Vote
Perhaps
that is that last
chance
the US has to stop
the slide towards
incipient fascism
but perhaps
it won’t matter
since so many people
just don’t care
or are afraid
to speak out
April 3—Render an assessment, evaluation, or judgment
History Will Not Be Kind
History will not be kind
To us humans.
We had a chance
To save the world
From environmental disaster.
Due to ignorance, greed
And fear
Humans refused to change
Their destructive ways.
We all failed
Especially our leaders,
Continuing our old ways
Acting as if
Climate change
It is not a real thing.
As Death Valley temperatures
Became the norm
The whole world
Turning the whole world
Into a desert planet
With dead oceans
And arid wastelands.
Humanity was faced
With having to move
Into underground shelters
Or move to Martian and Lunar
Underground colonies
Humanity almost
became extinct
at a Civilization Ending Event.
April 4—TGIF
TGIF has closed
Part of the changing
Restaurant environment
Many people are not going out
As much as before.
Just too expensive
People are hunkering down.
Not feeling social
Apprehensive, scared
Fearing the return of stagflation
High inflation, high unemployment
Political and economic chaos.
As the worldwide trade war
The highest tariff rates in over 100 years
Trading partners vowing to retaliate
DOGE chainsaw slashing
Of the Federal government and programs,
Mass federal government layoffs.
AI taking over jobs
Robot workers everywhere
Mass deportations
Stock market tanking
Begins to take effect
Exhausted Americans
Working too hard
Staying home for now
Many other chains
Are closing
Fast food chains
High-end places
And ethnic food restaurants
Are doing okay
April 5—Chekhov or another Russian writer
Reading “ Crime and Punishment”
Reading Dostoevsky’s
“Crime and Punishment”
“the Idiot”
And the “Gambler”
Years ago
I realized how little things
Have really changed
And how much his portrayal
Of the dark side of humanity
It is still relevant today.
Bonus Weekly Challenge Poems for April
Hello Poets!!!
Tomorrow is April 1st and the beginning of National Poetry Month!
Therefore, anyone who completes prompts 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38 by April 30 will receive a special gift, which I have yet to determine.
So, let’s get started! Here is this week’s prompt!
J
