listen - day 16

   

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 1 - listening, listening

April 2 - clicking kitty

April 3 - spring morning 

April 4 - tea

April 5 - team

April 6 - from far away 

April 7 - on a day of April snows 

April 8 - breakfast

April 9 - beep beep beep 

April 10 - now

April 11 - but why?

April 12 - winter warmies

April 13 - better than a touch screen  

April 14 - swish of the brush 

April 15 - heartbeat 

Here is poem 16 - 

 

Students - Lately, a lot of people have been using the Merlin app, an app that will identify all of the birds singing or calling around you at any given time. As with so much technology, something about this seems magical, so much information instantly in our hands, at the quick press of a button. It's great in many ways. In other ways, I wonder if we lose something. Sometimes I am aok with not identifying something, not knowing, just lying back in the mystery. I know that mystery might not be enjoyable for everyone and that it's not even a mystery at all - just something I personally don't know - but all the same, I'm sometimes very good with not knowing something.

Today's poem is in three wee stanzas. The first simply makes an observation. The second offers a thought about the observation. The third offers an opposing thought about that same observation. I find it interesting to look at a poem after writing it, to name what happens in the different parts. Sometimes I plan it out ahead of time; usually it plans itself out, and I learn what happened after it's complete. As writers, we can read our and others' writing to see how it fits together, then we can consciously and subconsciously use what we learn in our new writing.

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. 

 

Can you hear a bird calling or singing right now? If you want to learn its name, see if you can figure it out or use a tool. If you don't want to know it's name, that's good too. 

 

xo,

a. 

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listen - day 11

   

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 1 - listening, listening

April 2 - clicking kitty

April 3 - spring morning 

April 4 - tea

April 5 - team

April 6 - from far away 

April 7 - on a day of April snows 

April 8 - breakfast

April 9 - beep beep beep 

April 10 - now

 

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.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Know that your comment will only appear after I approve it.

If you are under 13 years old, please only comment 

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listen - day 10

  

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 1 - listening, listening

April 2 - clicking kitty

April 3 - spring morning 

April 4 - tea

April 5 - team

April 6 - from far away 

April 7 - on a day of April snows 

April 8 - breakfast

April 9 - beep beep beep 

 

Here is poem 10 - 

 

 

Students - Today's poem is a list poem, and the idea for it came to me as I was working on my notebook list of daily sounds I hear. I noticed, "Gosh, many of the sounds I hear are some type of alert that is telling me to DO something NOW." List poems are not difficult to write. You simply think of several things that can go together and list them down the page. It often works well to end with a little twist, and this is why many folks might describe a particular list poem as "a list with a twist!"

 

My friend, highly respected educator Sheila commented on yesterday's post about many different types of listening, wondering what listening might mean to a deaf person. It seems right that I acknowledge now that this month's project partly grew from a conversation I had with a new friend who is blind, a conversation about her strong sense of sound. This got me thinking about how heavily (too heavily) I rely on sight in my writing and noticing of the world around me. I am grateful to expand my appreciation and use of my senses, and now I wish to expand it even more. 

 

Have you been paying attention to the sounds in your life? Please allow me to recommend taking a moment or two this weekend with no screens, no made-by-you-sounds...time to simply listen. As I do this now, I again here the magical and very cheery spring peepers!

 

Jone is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Jone Rush MacCulloch with so much goodness, including information about her forthcoming book...TILT. Each Poetry Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.  

 

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. 

 

xo,

a. 

 

ps - And yes...we still DO have a landline! :) 

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listen - day 3

 

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 1 - listening, listening

April 2 - clicking kitty

 

Here is poem 3: 

 

 

Students - Happy spring! This morning I woke up, sat in my red chair, and just listened. What I heard was...the spring peepers in our neighbors' pond! I noticed that they are peeping away long before (all night?) the robins and other members of the dawn chorus are singing the sun up. I am usually up quite early, so this poem is for an imagined sleeping-in day.

Are you wondering what to write about? Turn off any devices, turn on all ears, and try writing about what you hear right this minute. 

 

So much love to the warm and welcoming school community of Indian Trail Elementary School in Canal Winchester, Ohio. It was great fun to visit with all twelve first grade classes on Wednesday, and I extend special thank yous to the "Library Ladies" -  Janie Kantner and Valerie Yonnotti and to the PTO for sponsoring my visit.

 

Matt is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme celebrating a year of RAINBOWS. Each Poetry Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community. 

 

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. 

 

xo,

a. 

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Know that your comment will only appear after I approve it.

If you are under 13 years old, please only comment 

with a parent or as part of a group with your teacher.

My Annual NPM Eve Post

   Happy National Poetry Month Eve!

From The Poem Farm, 2017

Tomorrow April begins, and with it, many folks will take on a National Poetry Month Project. Each year, for the past fourteen of fifteen Aprils, along with many other writers, I have chosen to write and share a daily poem. I like to write these collections around themes, and during the weeks before April, I toss many ideas around inside of my head. Here is a list of my past projects:

2010 - Birth of The Poem Farm -  I wrote a poem each day for a month, beginning actually, on March 29, 2010. This blog just to be a one month project, just for me, to get me writing again as I awaited the publication of FOREST HAS A SONG.  At the end of April 2010, I was having too much fun to stop, decided to go for one whole year, publishing a poem at The Poem Farm each day.  And I stayed to post on Fridays.

2011 - Daily Poems Again - For each day of April 2011, I continued to write and share daily poems. However, I had no theme as the blog was just entering its second year.

2012 - A-Z Dictionary Hike - Here's where the themes began.  Each day of April 2012, I opened my children's dictionary to a different letter, starting with A, ending with Z.  Eyes closed, I pointed to a word and this word became the title of that day's poem.

2013 - Drawing into Poems - For each day of April 2013, I slowed myself down and looked closely at an object, drawing it with black pen into my notebook. On some days, I wrote poems from these drawings, but on many days, I simply allowed the looking-drawing practice to practice becoming a closer observer.

2014 - Thrift Store - For each day of April 2014, I wrote a poem from a photograph of an item I found in a thrift store.  These poems are no longer at The Poem Farm as they are trying to be a book.

2015 - Sing That Poem - For each day of April 2015, I wrote a poem to the meter of a well-known tune and challenged readers to match the poem to the tune by seeing if it was singable to the same meter. One of these singable poems ended up in my book WITH MY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT MAKING THINGS.

2016 - Wallow in Wonder - For my 2016 National Poetry Month project, I celebrated learning and writing from learning, writing poems from each daily Wonder at Wonderopolis.  I have not yet collected these posts into one post, but I may one day.

2017 - Writing the Rainbow - Each day of April 2017, I randomly selected a different Crayola crayon from a new box of 64.  Each day, I wrote a poem inspired by the color I chose.  These poems all ended up telling the story of a young city girl and the moments of her daily life and are no longer here at the blog.

2018 - 1 Subject *** 30 Ways - Each day of April 2018, I wrote daily poems focused on the constellation Orion.  Each poem played with a different poetic technique, and I used the lessons in my own book, POEMS ARE TEACHERS: HOW STUDYING POETRY STRENGTHENS WRITING IN ALL GENRES, to stretch my writing.  These poems are not currently online.

2019 - Tell a Poemstory - In April 2019, I shared a series of 30 free verse poems that told a story about a boy named John and a dog named Betsy and a lady named Betsy. I am so happy to report that these will soon be published in a picture book by Eerdmans.

2020 - Roll the Dice - For National Poetry Month 2020, I rolled three word dice daily (from inside my vintage camper Betsy) and wrote daily poems inspired by one, two, or three of the rolled words. You can watch the videos that went with these on my YouTube channel, Keeping a Notebook Videos #13 - #42.

2021 -  During April 2021, I was a a fourth grade teacher after 22 years away and did not share a public poetry project in this space but rather wrote with my own students.

2022 - Pick a Proverb - Throughout April 2022, I wrote a daily poem inspired by a popular saying such as "The grass is always greener on the other side" or "One person's trash is another person's treasure." These poems are out on submission in the hope that they will one day grow up into a book.

2023 - 24 Hours -  In 2023, I shared a daily poem about 1 hour in 1 day in the life of an old barn (my old barn) beginning with midnight and ending right before the following midnight. Because April has 30 days, I wrote and tucked 6 additional poems into the month.

2024 - One More or Less Line Crow - Two years ago, I studied crows and shared a new crow poem each day of April. The number of lines went from 1 to 15 and then back down to 1.

2025 - Hello My Name Is  - Last year, I wrote a poem each day in the voice of Little Red Riding Hood, imagining her life with her new dog (wolf), family, friends, and community. 

 

And this year I welcome you to LISTEN.

 

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. 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 past projects listed above, or on a project of your very own. To do so, simply write a poem each day of April in any way you wish. And give yourself grace. If you miss a day...or two...or three, don't worry. Just get back when you can. The poems will always be happy to see you.

 

Happy National Poetry Month, my dears! 

 

xo,

a. 

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Know that your comment will only appear after I approve it.

If you are under 13 years old, please only comment 

with a parent or as part of a group with your teacher.