Day 1: National Poetry Month
3…2…1…Go! The first prompt from Na/GloPoWriMo is to write a tanka, a five-line poem with a 5 / 7 / 5 / 7 / 7 syllable-count. As they say, it’s like a haiku that decided to just keep going. Or didn’t know when to quit. If you enjoy this, grab a friend (or several) and try a 100-verse renku! That’s similar – and to oversimplify (as we so often do with traditional Japanese forms written in English) – a haiku followed by a couplet, then repeat the pattern. See also: Graceguts – Collaborations for various examples. Writing renku is how my collaborator (fellow mischief-maker and poetic partner-in-crime) Necia Campbell and I started our friendship. It’s also a great way to keep that poem-a-day going for months on end.
2026 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines – Writer’s Digest is also offering daily prompts throughout April. The first is to write a “seed poem.” This isn’t a form. It is meant to challenge you to think about the meaning of “seed.” Literal, figurative – other forms of the word, like “seedy” are fine.
My local chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas, Poets Northwest (so named because we’re in northwest Houston, not because we are ex-pats writing from the Pacific northwest!) also offers prompts for each day in April, thanks to Karen Mastracchio. Today’s prompt: Burning.
A number of my poet friends have combined the first two prompts into one. I wonder if I can write a poem that encompasses all three? Sure!
Apricots
Apricot sweetness —
Burst of angiosperm juice
covers sticky hands!
Seeds hide burning poison pills,
almond-flavored cyanide.
Other National Poetry Month Posts
- National Poetry Month, Texas Style!
- Apricots: a Tanka Encompassing Three Prompts
- Bee Sting: Day 2 of National Poetry Month
- Cacophony and CBD: Day 3 in Nonsense Verse and Found Poetry
- Technically, a Writer: Day 3 of National Poetry Month
- Dive: Day 4 of National Poetry Month
- Storm Front: Day 4 of National Poetry Month
- Energized: Day 5 of National Poetry Month
- Grump: Day 5 ½ of National Poetry Month
- Future Frittered Away: Day 6 of National Poetry Month
- Hell, Hell, Hell: Day 7 (More or Less) of National Poetry Month
- Insomnia: Day 8 of National Poetry Month
- Juxtaposition: Day 9 of National Poetry Month
- Knife Edge: Day 10 of National Poetry Month
- Lost a Day: Day 11 of National Poetry Month
- Many Definitions: Day 12 of National Poetry Month
- New Form – Quadrille Quaiku: Day 13 of National Poetry Month
- Ode to Imagination: Day 14 of National Poetry Month
- Pixellated People: Day 15 of National Poetry Month
Your Turn!
What do you think of the poem? I wrote it pretty quickly and I don’t expect it to win any prizes.
Do you like prompts or do they leave you cold? For me, “it depends.”
If you are participating in National Poetry Month, I invite you to leave a link or write your poem here in the comments. Keep a copy – I reserve the right to decline or delete comments.
When it comes to poetry, I generally welcome prompts – as long as I am free to ignore them. This year, I’m trying to combine the NaPoWriMo and Writer’s Digest prompts.
We are always free to ignore them.
Sometimes, I find them useful. Oddly, at other times, they leave me so “meh” I can’t think of anything to write. So it’s kind of a love-hate relationship. But as you point out, so long as you can remind yourself that you ARE free to ignore them, it’s all good.
What kinds of prompts work best for you?
Nice Tanka, Holly! What a great idea to do the A-Z and the NaPoWriMo simultaneously! Good luck with them both!!
Now, to answer your question – Prompts are fine with me…but it also depends on how I feel at the time of writing. I love single word prompts the best, I guess.
Ahh, it’s actually five challenges simultaneously, in combos of 3-5: The Stafford Challenge (write a poem a day for 365 days); National/Global Poetry Month; Blogging A to Z (with the theme of poetry); Writers Digest April 2026 PAD; and Poets Northwest (my local chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas – Karen Mastracchio’s prompts, which you may enjoy since they are single-word prompts!)
Thank you for visiting – and especially for commenting! Hope you’ll make it a regular “thing” and join me for tea and poetry!