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
April 17 - a good meal
Here is poem 18 -
Students - Today's poem rhymes. I did not intend to write a rhyming poem. In fact, I have been focusing on not rhyming this month. At times, though, a rhyme just sneaks in a poem's side door, and this happened above. I was not thinking about rhyming, but rather about whether to choose the word sings (used already this month, in April 3rd's "spring peepers") or whistles (used in April 4th's "tea") or hums. I was thinking about how I like the word secretly, the idea that someone can give a gift without even knowing it.
This poem is about the sound of a person's voice, my second poem this month including the human voice (the first being yesterday's "a good meal".) You may remember a poem from this month that included an unseen person - "beep, beep, beep" from April 9.
Can you think of a phrase or sound that you like to hear from someone else? Maybe a nickname or a shared secret? This could be a possible door or window into your own poem or story.
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.
Hum on, my friends!
xo,
a.
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My brother is an inveterate soft whistler. I'm trying to learn to accept the gift, rather than be annoyed.
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