Poetry Challenge #124

Alphabet Puzzles

Many forms of poetry are like puzzles—you try to fit the right words into a certain order or have the right number of beats/syllables on each line. Here are four poetry puzzles. Choose one to solve today and come back to this when you’re stuck for a topic some other day.

1. Can you use every letter of the alphabet in a poem? The letter can appear anywhere in the word and can be in any order.

2. For the next puzzle, you need to use a word starting with each letter of the alphabet in order. You can add other words between your words to help your poem make sense.

3. How about starting each line with a letter of the alphabet? How long a poem can you make that makes some sense?

4. Pick one letter. Can you write a poem using twenty words that begin with that letter?

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.