Marilyn Letts

NaPoWriMo prompt for today: “Marianne Moore was a well-known modernist poet, with a curious taste in hats. Though she wrote on many themes, I’ve always had some affection for her many poems about – or in the voice of – animals, such as “The Fish,” “Dock Rats,” “The Pangolin,” and “No Swan so Fine.” Today, try writing your own poem in the voice of an animal or plant, or a poem that describes a specific animal or plant with references to historical events or scientific facts

NaPoWriMo prompt for the day: “ In his poem, “Poet, No Thanks,” Jean D’Amérique repeats the phrase “I wasn’t a poet” multiple times, while describing other things that he instead claims to have been. In your poem for today, use a simple phrase repeatedly, and then make statements that invert or contradict that phrase.” This poem started out epic (the whole aquarium). The constraint of time reigned me in to only one salamander. One of the things I love about NaPoWriMo is the

Thanks to NaPoWriMo “ here’s today’s prompt — optional, as always. In her poem, “Front Yard Rhyme,” Cecily Parks evokes the sing-songy beats that accompany girls’ clapping games, and jump-rope and skipping rhymes. Today, we challenge you to write your own poem that emulates these songs – something to snap, clap, and jump around to. ” I could keep this up all day. Might expand this in the future, but for today, here’s what I’ve got. And if you want to see the other 100 specie

NaPoWriMo prompt: " This one takes its inspiration from Yentl van Stokkum’s poem, “It’s the Warmest Summer on Record Babe,” which blends casual, almost blasé phrasing with surreal events like getting advice from a bumblebee. In your poem today, try writing with a breezy, conversational tone, while including at least one thing that could only happen in a dream." Late to the poetry world today, but lots of fun fulfilling the prompt. Some conversations are like this, honest. Cu

Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “The Roman poet Catullus wrote a famous two-line poem: Odi et amo: quare id faciam fortasse requiris. Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior. Here’s an English translation. I hate and I love. Why do I do this, you ask? I don’t know, but I feel it happening and am tortured. I thought about this poem the other day when I read a social media post collecting sentences from Charles Darwin’s letters, including:

Day 4 Rocky Mountain Spring NaPoWriMo prompt: “In his poem, “ Spring Thunder ,” Mark van Doren brings us a short, haunting evocation of weather and the change in seasons. Today, we’d like to challenge you to craft your own short poem that involves a weather phenomenon and some aspect of the season. Try using rhyme and keeping your lines of roughly even length.” Pooh Bear wrote the perfect poem for the weather in my part of the world right now, but here’s my attempt. Ro

NaPoWriMo’s prompt: “Today, we challenge you to write a poem in which a profession or vocation is described differently than it typically is considered to be. Perhaps your poem will feature a very relaxed brain surgeon, or a farmer that hates vegetables. Or maybe you have a poetical alter-ego of your own, who flies a non-wan, treasure-hunting flag with pride.” The poem and prompt brought me to thinking what if…. Assigning Value Negotiations begin when the checkout cle

One of the things I love about participating in NaPoWriMo is waking up to some new inspiring art. The prompt: “Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem in which you recount a childhood memory. Try to incorporate a sense of how that experience indicated to you, even then, something about the person you’d grow up to be.” How have I never read Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold and Pittsylvania County by Ellen Bryant Voigt? Important Work It must have been a Sa

NaPoWriMo National (Global) Writing Month begins with a prompt to write a Tanka. Here are two Tankas expressing my joy on beginning this April 2026's challenge of writing a poem a day. (Of course I was too excited to write only one.) Tanka 1 Let me make myself clear, like jello shots, neon green, poetry downed. Loosen up those taut muscles, metaphors waiting to flex. Tanka 2 Penguins aren’t big on privacy; neighbour’s shoulders share survival heat. Antarctic treaty survives

April in Calgary may mean more snowfall before we see daffodils, but creativity will be springing! For the last couple years I have accepted the challenge of National (Global) Poetry Writing Month to write a poem each day. NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) is a website run by a generous poetry wizard named Maureen Thorson. Each day she provides a prompt and poets around the world attempt to write a poem in response. It's like a worldwide recess time where we all ru