April 2025 Poetry Madness Part One
April One to April Fifth
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trump clown in chief[/caption]
https://wp.me/p7NAzO-3r3
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.
Please check out these sites and follow me.
You can find my prior April Poems here:
April Poetry Madness 2024 April 26 to April 30, 2024 Poems
April Poetry Madness April 21 to APril 25 Poems
April 2024 Poetry Madness April 15 to 20 Poems
April Poetry Madness 2024 April 7 to April 14
April 1 to April 6 Poems 2024 Poetry Madness
PSH April 2023 Poems
April 20-30 2023 Poems Do Drop In
April 2023 Poetry Dew Drop In April 11-15
Writers Digest April 2023 Poems
April 2023 Dew Drop In Poems
April 30th, 2022 Poems
April 29th Poems
April 26th and April 27th, 2022 Poems
April 23rd, April 24th and April 25th, 2022 Poems
April 22, 2022 Poems
April 23rd, April 24th and April 25th, 2022 Poems
April 22, 2022 Poems
April 18 to April 20, 2022 Poems</a >
April 18 to April 20, 2022 Poems
April 16 and 17, 2022 Poems
Enjoy and stay safe, everyone
April 1 to April 5 poems
NaPoWriMo the theme this month is appreciating the Arts and Music!
On March 29, 2025
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.
On March 15, 2025
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.
On May 1, 2024
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 . . .
And in the meantime, happy writing!
April 1 – It Begins!</strongApril 21, 2022 Poems>
Prelude and Postludes and things in between
As an amateur piano player
Returning to playing the piano
At age 69
I am constantly learning new things
New techniques and new words
Fortuantely AI programs
Give plenty of examples
Including links
to YouTube performances
I know now what a prelude is
And a postlude
And many things in between
Like mordents, twirls, and turns.
And playing the piano daily
Helps keep the dreaded
Alzheimer’s at bay.
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.
Classical Musical Terms | A glossary of music terminologies you can learn at NaxosArt terms | MoMA
April 2
Frank Zappa Died Too Soon
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Frank Zappa[/caption]
Frank Zappa
One of my musical heroes
Died too soon
What would he have thought
Of Trump One and Two
Was he channeling the future
In his classic song
No one can deny
The trouble coming every day?
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
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piano[/caption]
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!
Day Four
My art collection
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My art[/caption]
Over the years
I collected some museum-quality
Art pieces from around the world
I liked my Vietnam
Ostrich shell paintings
I bought in Vietnam
In 1985
Appraised them years ago
It might have been worth something.
But last time I checked
It appears that the artist
Who died a long time ago
Is now forgotten in Vietnam.
And his artwork probably
Not worth that much.
But I still like looking at it
From time to time.
Some day I will have to downsize
My art collection
Probably donate most of it.
But, for now, I still like
Having my collection.
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
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Vampire[/caption]
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 balladsharks“the joy is gone”jazz fantasianonsense“smugly saying ‘yeah, I’m better than you’”folk songroses“literally go nuts”marchdepartures“play terribly”chamber musicbones“deliciously”symphonyinfield“about to burst”ariaconcrete“crazy eyes here”overturebutterflies“fade out like my hairline”interstitialwool“like you’ve been hit by an arrow”muskvanilla“louder than possible”breakup anthemvampire“with contempt for imported convertible sports cars”rumbashadow“like a naughty, naughty boy “waltzmonument“lord have mercy”outlaw country classicclock“improvisatory screaming”death metalmoonlight“tempo di murder”novelty songcentaur“as roughly as possible”fuguepool“gradually becoming a disaster”yacht rockhollyhocks“play like you are about to start crying”tangochain“obliterate the choir”hymnbanquet“like 100 tin cans falling out of a Volvo”dubstepsnow
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.
(Plotters vs. Panters in Poetry.)
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
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Gimpo Canal[/caption]
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.
Robert Lee Brewer
Published Apr 2, 2025 12:10 AM PDT
Wow! What a great way to start the month. I know it's been a little more challenging to find the prompts this year, because of our mess from changing web platforms, so I've created a 2025 April PAD Challenge prompts page that I'll update daily through the month here.
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.
Shadorma. A Spanish six-liner.
Triolet. The French eight-liner I used on Day 1 of this challenge.
Rispetto. An Italian eight-liner.
Tricubes. Three stanzas of three lines of three syllables
April 4
Trade War Starts Shadorma
Trade War Starts
Liberation day
Who knows why
Such a mess
World united No mas
Markets in free fall
Criteria
Shadorma. A Spanish six-liner.
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:
"Poetic Forms: The Triolet,"by Conrad Geller for Writing-World.com
"The Triolet Verse Form,"by Joan Zimmerman
Poetry Super Highway
April 1
Joe Lewis Federal Censor in Charge
Joe Lewis
Was appointed a secret government agent
Working with DOGE
To clean up the Federal government’s
Communication With the public and the media.
The list of forbidden words
Had leaked
And many government employees
Were simply not paying attention
Joe wrote an all government email
That unfortunately leaked
The email got to the point
Dear Federal Employee
It has come to our attention
That some of you are still
Using forbidden words
That are biased towards
Particular racial groups
Are divisive, DEI, woke
Pro-LGBTQ,
including
Discussions regarding gender issues
And discussions regarding
climate change policy
In your official
and unofficial communication
Given that we are going to be
Implementing a government-wide
RIF, you need to ensure
That all your communications
Including social media postings
Are in full compliance
With stated government directives
And assume everything
Is being monitored
To ensure said compliance
Just a reminder
You are also prohibited
From discussing your work
With people outside the government
Including friends, family members
The media, members of Congress
Without explicit authorization
Anyone using forbidden words
Or talking to people outside
The government
Or attending political rallies
Protesting government polices
Or refusing to inform
On such activities
By your colleages
Will be deemed to be disloyal
To the President’s agenda
And you will be subjected
to being added
To the RIF list
For insubordination.
And this may also affect
Eligibility for pension coverage
And even referral to the DOJ
for criminal prosecution
In cases of suspected leaking
Of sensitive information.
Including this email.
This is your final warning.
The current list is included
And will be updated weekly
Your are responsible
To ensure all communications
Including phone calls
Do not include any of these
Forbidden phrases.
April 1, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from D.L. Lang
This poetry writing prompt submitted by D.L. Lang:
Write a poem using as many words as possible from the list of federally banned words located at: https://dianeravitch.net/2025/03/08/trumps-list-of-banned-words-its-worse-than-you-thought/
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
Robot athletics
Humanoid robots
Continued to improve
And some sports teams
Allowed robot athletes
To compete
In most sports
But limited to ten percent
Of the team
Baseball lead the way
Many robot players
Became proficient
Often in double header
Baseball games
The NY Yankees
Became know
As the Robot Yankees
The public was initially dubious
But came around
The team owners saved
A fortune in salaries
This poetry writing prompt submitted by 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.
#napowrimo #poetry
April 3
April 3, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Mary Anne Abdo
Good sleaze Shadorma
Soi Cowboy
In Bangkok, Thailand
Example
Of good sleaze
Some do not see it in that way
but even here beauty
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
[caption id="attachment_4370" align="alignnone" width="198"]
donald trump[/caption]
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!
Have a wonderful week!
Prompt 34
The seasons of the year 2024
Winter started with Arctic blasts
Polar vortexes
Political turmoil everywhere
and fear of the future.
Spring came and went too soon
I remained in Korea until late Spring
Yellow dust in the air,
Spreading Political turmoil
Summertime in the US is hot, with the fear of wildfires
Went to the US DC, Oregon, California
Political earthquakes in the U.S. continued
Stayed many months dealing with renovations
In the autumn, I attended the 50th High School reunion
Grateful, I am still alive and kicking
Thinking about the future of the world,
Wondering what it will mean for me?
Use the following words in your poem
Winter Spring Summer Autumn
Poem should be inspired by the prompt/image in some way
A minimum of 12 lines, no maximum
There are no form requirements
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