Poetry Challenge #23

Where In The World?

An Acrostic Poem is one of the simplest forms of poetry and yet it’s sooo confusing to describe in words. It can also be one of the most fun to write (and thus it’s one of the first forms of poetry children learn). Every Acrostic Poems begins the same way: With a word or phrase. This word or phrase is usually the title, too. (For clarity sake, I will refer to it as “the title” from here on out.)

In short, the title is written in a column down the left side of the page. From there a word or phrase beginning with the letter—which defines or relates to the title—extends off the side of the letter left to right across the page.

Pick a name, any name—of a place in the world. Create an Acrostic Poem by writing that place name down the left side of a page. Then, use words that begin with each letter to describe that place…or, if you’ve never been there, describe what you imagine that place is like.

If you think that’s too easy, try creating an acrostic in which the last letter of each line spells out the name.

Or harder still, try creating an acrostic with the name in the center of the line.

Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Start writing!

Don’t think about it too much; just do it.

*Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 700 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!

Poetry Challenge #22

Surprise!

Look around you. What do you see that surprises you? The house plants that have added new leaves and height? Dust covering a surface you just cleaned? The red flash of a cardinal in the winter landscape? List as many things as you can and then rearrange them to make a poem. Think about the order and the sound of the words and what makes it the most surprising poem you can make.

Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Start writing!

Don’t think about it too much; just do it.

*Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 680 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!

Poetry Challenge #21

INSIDE OUT, UPSIDE DOWN & BACKWARDS!

Begin by taking a minute to read through the poems you’ve already written and select one you think is HORRIBLE! or one you are excited to revise.

First: Giving yourself a pat on the back for having written it!

Now: Mix it up. Pluck a line out of the middle and move it to the beginning; move the last line to the first; the first line to the end, etc. etc. And so forth . . .

Why? Sometimes a poem is like a duvet cover, you’ve got to turn it inside out to make it work!

Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Mix It Up, Baby!
Have FUN!

Poetry Challenge #20

Memorize a Poem Day!

Did you ever have to memorize a poem for school? Have you memorized a poem just for the fun of it?

Memorizing poems helps you feel the rhythm and rhyme (if there is one) and forces you to look at each word more closely. Plus, you can recite a poem to get through a tough time or to put yourself to sleep. Amazing the uses!

Today, instead of writing a new poem, read some favorites and pick a verse or two or the whole thing to memorize. Say it aloud! Say it in your head! Say it while walking or doing chores or waiting in line.

Some of my favorite poems—and ones that I know some or all of—include C.S. Lewis’s “The Walrus and the Carpenter”, lots of Robert Frost (“Fire and Ice”, “The Road Not Taken”, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”), Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot”, Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and many others. What are your favorite poems?