April is National Poetry Writing Month, and many poets like to challenge themselves to write a poem a day. With that in mind, Wild Violet will be sharing poetry prompts each day: one geared towards adults and one for kids.
If you write a poem based on this prompt, feel free to share a link to your poem, or the poem itself, in the comments. Poems appearing in the comments are not considered published in Wild Violet, and you retain all rights to your work.
Persona Poem
For adults:
On this final day of National Poetry Month, let’s play pretend. Climb inside someone else’s skin and write a poem from their perspective. How would your subject speak and think? What would be important to them? How would they see the world? For examples, read “The Motorcyclists” by James Tate, “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, “Miranda’s Drowned Book” by Debora Greger and “Pig Song” by Margaret Atwood.
For children:
Have you ever pretended to be somebody else while playing? Whether a pirate or a princess, imagining that you’re another person can be lots of fun. Today, write a persona poem, which means a poem told by somebody other than you.
- Choose who will be the speaker of the poem. It could be a friend or relative, or a celebrity, or someone from a book or fairy tale. Or you could write from the perspective of an animal or an object.
- Think about what your speaker will say. You can write down some thoughts. What would your speaker sound like? What would be important to them? What would they want? What would scare them, or make them happy? How would they see others?
- Circle some of your favorite thoughts and phrases from your notes and turn them into a poem. If you want, you can name the speaker in the title so that it’s clear to the reader.
The Glitter Unicorn Tattoo Speaks
Don’t be jealous of my impossible beauty.
I know my hooves glint in a mesmerizing way
and that my horn is smooth and pointed to perfection.
You might wish you had my multicolored skin,
my jaunty step, my luscious mane.
But please, do not envy my fantastic look.
For fetching as I am, my beauty is only temporary.
About Alyce Wilson
