National Poetry Month 2026 Project

It's that time of year. April begins tomorrow! I've spent the last few weeks thinking about my project for National Poetry Month. In 2025, as my NPM project overlapped with the 100 Day Project, I found myself feeling overwhelmed and pressed for time. Last year I took on the challenge of writing in a new form, an often new-to-me form, every day. This year, I'm going to give myself a bit of grace and open the door to playfulness. There is no theme this year, no specified form, no requirement other than to have fun. To that end, I give you this year's project.

Every poem I write this year will be generated in some playful manner. I'll use metaphor dice and haikubes, select paint chips, fill in a mad lib, use words cut from newspapers and magazines, try out an online poem generator, and give roll-a-poem a try.

I have no idea what the results will be, but my intention is to have fun, keep it light, and enjoy writing. I can't wait to share my poems with you.

If you want to check out my previous National Poetry Month projects, you can find them here.

That's it for now. I'll see you tomorrow for the launch of NPM 2026.

Poetry Sisters Unravel the Ovillejo

 Tanita set this month's challenge to write an ovillejo. Here's a bit of information about this form:

"…the “ovillejo,” an old Spanish verse form that means “tight little bundle.” “-ejo” is one of our blessed diminutives, and “ovillo” means “tangled ball of yarn.” The last line is a “redondilla,” a “little round” that collects all three of the short lines. The rhyme scheme is established, but the meter is at the poet’s discretion, although in Spanish the longer lines tend to be octosyllabic (8 syllables)."

Some sites suggest lines 1, 3, and 5 should ask a question and that lines 2, 4, and 6 answer them. Other sites suggest a pattern of a long line followed by a short line. The best description I found was at the site Astra Poetica.

I tried several of these variations, always beginning with the last line and working backwards. I'm not particularly happy with these and recognize that I need to play a bit more with them, but I do have two drafts to share. 

This first poem uses a favorite line from the poem I wrote last month. The second uses a portion of a Mary Oliver quotation.

A Whale Breaches

Far from the beaches

a whale breaches 

beauty in motion

and the ocean 

fond of sleeping late

forgets its weight

a cargo ship hauls its freight

crew on the bridge navigate by degrees

unseen by creatures beneath the seas

a whale breaches and the ocean forgets its weight

Ovillejo for a Poem

We write our truth and listen to the birds

poems are not words

they're lyrics for the choir

but fires

burn and crackle, too hot to hold 

for the cold

melts in flames of red, and blue, and gold

we speak the truth so every soul is heard

we light the dark so hidden selves are stirred—

poems are not words, but fires for the cold

Poems ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

You can read the poems my Poetry Sisters have written at the links below. 

• Tanita Davis
• Mary Lee Hahn
• Sara Lewis Holmes
• Laura Purdie Salas
• Liz Garton Scanlon

Would you like to try the next challenge? Next month, we're writing ekphrastic poems. You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on April 24th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems! 

I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Marcie Flinchum Atkins. Happy poetry Friday!