It's May 1st (or it will be when you read this), and I'll admit I'm a little bit sad that April is over. I thoroughly enjoyed my National Poetry Month project this year. I chose 10 different approaches to generating poetry prompts and repeated each one three times over the course of the month. I used a few commercial kits, including Paint Chip Poetry, Metaphor Dice, Haikubes, The Poetry Kit, and Magnetic Poetry Kit: Revolution Poet. I tried three online poetry generators, including Creative Communication's Poetry Machine, Poem Dice from Language is a Virus, and fouuund.it's Online Blackout Poem Generator. I also used a Roll-a-Poem form and a poetic take on MadLibs to serve as poem prompts.
We learned of war as if a fairy tale
with banners bright that promised peace at dawn
we stood in ranks, convinced we would prevail
then watched our shining certainty withdrawn
The order came, and all the guns stood ready
as bombs rained down to smite the roofs below
the ground shook hard, the air grew sharp and steady
and stinging smoke began its work of woe
What ruler speaks, then makes the children cower?
What glory hides inside a shattered door?
Grief fills the streets like poisoned water sour
and no one knows what any killing’s for
So war, once dressed in honor, drops its art
and leaves its oldest wound, the human heart
Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.
Metaphor Dice - April 14
Roll-a-Poem - April 13
You can find a list of all the poems I wrote last month at NPM 2026 - Playing With Poetry.
I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Rose Capelli at Imagine the Possibilities. Happy poetry Friday!
Your poems were all impressive! While I was writing 27 syllables, you were writing SONNETS for heavens' sake! (I tried for a sonnet today, but had to settle for a villanelle.)
ReplyDeleteTricia, you had me at “We learned of war as if a fairy tale.” And something about a swamp calls out for poetry, doesn’t it? Swamp Dirge: I love it – spooky, chilling!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous month of poetry writing! Your anti-war poem certainly resonates (the closing lines really hit home). Love the sensory details in the swamp poem and I like thinking of the heart as a glorified drum. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so impressed at the variety of prompts and forms you used. Brava! It's hard to pick a favorite among the three you shared, but "My Heart Is a Glorified Drum" resonated with me.
ReplyDeleteYou kept me engaged and expectant each day with your posts! What fun! Thank you for sharing all the various forms you used. I tried the black out generator after you posted those. I like the swamp dirge - probably because I can see the swamps around our woods - filling and drying with each spring day.
ReplyDeleteCarol - I wanted to let you know that my computer won't let me on your blog or website. It says it's blocked because of a virus threat. I'm so sorry, but no matter what I try I can't get in. Hope you find this message. (Sorry to use you as a go-between, Karen.)
DeleteTricia, your monumental NPM project was IMPRESSIVE. You produced so much beauty. It’s really stunning that you were doing this every, single day. You are a beacon of poetry!
ReplyDeleteI love this line: "We learned of war as if a fairy tale". You had a very busy month. Thirty poems is incredible.
ReplyDeleteTricia, I so loved your NPM project. I'm gleaning more from it weekly. Your poems are so good--the rhythm and rhyme. "Wounds of War" is my favorite today, but I'm sorry you had to write it.
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