Month: February 2020

Bippity-Boopity POEM!

Take out your wand! Your pixie dust! Magic beans! Spinning wheel! Dust off that big ole pumpkin! Hurrah! It’s National Tell a Fairy Tale Day! 

Do you remember the story of the Three Little Pigs? Goldilocks and the Three Bears? Hansel and Gretel? What’s your favorite story to tell?

Today, tell a fairy tale in the form of a poem with 7 syllables (or 7 words) on each line. Can you do it in 7 minutes? Can you tell a whole story in 7 lines?

Set your timer for 7 minutes

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

Start writing!

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1400 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 poem in the comments.

Tell Me How it Feels, How it Really Really Feels?

Poetry often deals with emotions: how we feel, what emotions an incident evokes, and too, how words—the placement of words, word choices/combinations—make us feel. But now, today, let’s go beyond those feeling and get really touchy feely.

Take out one of your already written poems. Don’t spend more than 30 seconds of your 7 minutes choosing—it’s not really about that poem, this challenge is about what feelings can do to/for that poem. When writing, we often focus on describing things through dialogue and action. We also often set the scene by describing what can be seen in a scene. However, we often overlook the physical, even though our tactile memories are strongest and reactions evoked shared. Try “chewing glass” for example.

Reread your poem, and ask yourself, “What does it feel like?” And by “feel” think literally: What does each image actually feel like? Is it rough? Squishy? Smooth? Glassy or sandy? Does it slosh?

Try changing/adding feeling words to that image to conjure those tactile feelings.

If your poem doesn’t seem to have a tactile feeling to it, can you add one? Even more, try adding a tactile feeling to every line.

Now reread your poem. How does it feel now?

Set your timer for 7 minutes

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

Start writing!

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1400 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 poem in the comments.

Happy Valen-Tendi!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Ever since St. Valentine defied Emperor Claudius II of Rome’s orders by secretly marrying couples, we’ve been celebrating Feb. 14th with hearts, flowers, romance and poetic gestures—including names plucked from a jar.

Let’s carry on the tradition with this week’s prompt. A Tendi is poem made up of four-lines where the first three lines rhyme and the fourth line is a refrain. If you have more than one stanza, the fourth line is repeated each time.

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, try to use a refrain that might be on a Valentine. Something like:
I love you very much.
My heart belongs to you.
You are so very sweet.
Or use a saying from a candy heart:

Can you write a Valentine Tendi with three stanzas? Then, if you dare, send it to your Valentine!

Set your timer for 7 minutes

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

Start writing!

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1300 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 poem in the comments.

Cloudy with a Chance of . . .

Hold onto your hat! Your umbrella! Your snazzy two-button blazer! and grab your microphone! It’s National Weatherperson Day!

“This annual holiday commemorates the birthday of John Jeffries who was born on this day, February 5th, in 1744. Dr. Jeffries, a scientist and a surgeon, is considered to be one of America’s first weather observers. He kept weather records from 1774 to 1816. Jeffries took his first balloon observation in 1784.”—National Day Calendar

In honor of National Weatherpersons’ Day, forecast the weather in poetry. Write your poem in a Weatherperson’s voice (or channel Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy). Make your forecast factual or fantastical—creator’s choice!

For inspiration—and a few laughs—view these Weatherperson Out-Takes!

Set your timer for 7 minutes
Don’t think about it too much; just do it!
Start writing!

Kelly Bennett and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge over 1300 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 poem in the comments.