As I strive to become a better listener and to connect more with my
sense of hearing, National Poetry Month 2026 finds me writing daily,
handwritten, index card poems inspired by sounds and listening.. I have begun a new
notebook to collect the sounds I notice throughout the month, and I will
reflect on them in short poems. My ears - and my heart - are open wide.
I invite you to join me in this project, on any of my projects from the past 16 years,
or on a project of your very own. To do so, simply write a
poem each day of April in any way you wish. Share or don't share, as
you wish. Your poems are your poems. Your projects are your projects.
And if you wish learn a bit more about writing poetry, I welcome you to
the short lessons in the tab above: COAXING POEMS VIDEOS - 2024.
National Poetry Month 2026 Poems
Here is poem 11 -
Students
- I live in a very old house (half of it is from 1810...the other half,
rolled down with oxen and logs in 1900, is probably about the same
age), and it has its creaks and groans here and there. We are updating
parts of our home, but there is a certain charm to the old bits. 'Truth
is we do have a creaky front door, and even when you oil it...the creak
returns. I like to think that the door has a voice. And when I open it
to grab a log or two for the fire, our kitties come running, thinking
they will get to go outside.
Today's
poem is about an old sound, a sound that the speaker used to hear, a
nostalgia for a sound. I am nostalgic for many sounds: the sounds of our
children playing with Legos or singing songs from Frozen or our
old dogs running to greet us or my dad's voice. If you are writing about
sounds, you may wish to consider a sound from your past, a sound you
can still hear in your mind and heart but no longer in your everyday
life.
This poem is in three parts: the old days, now, how the speaker feels about the change. That's a structure you can try too should you wish.
As I wrote this poem, I found myself thinking about two poems by poets I admire. One was "Animals" by Miller Williams and the other "door" by Valerie Worth, found in ALL THE SMALL POEMS AND FOURTEEN MORE.
When you read many poems, they come back to visit you when you write,
and you can't really know if one of them directly influences your poem
or not. Do remember though, every reading experience you have will
affect your writing. So read often, widely, and out loud sometimes, my
dears!
To
learn about many of the wonderful National Poetry Month projects
happening online this April, visit the generous Jama Rattigan at Jama's Alphabet Soup.
Creeeeeeeeeak!
xo,
a.
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