Happy National Poetry Month, everyone!
We’ve been working on the month-long #WaterPoemProject for ten days now, but if you’re looking for Poetry Month writing prompts, we’ve got you covered. Start with Day 1 and you’ll have poetry prompts from now through the end of April.
If you’re new to this project, please read the Introduction and FAQ. Or you can watch this video of me describing how to participate. It’s on the YouTube channel Authors Everywhere.
Sharing our writing prompt for Day 10 is children’s poet Buffy Silverman.
Buffy’s poetry prompt is: A Watery Home
Buffy Silverman
Write a mask poem about an animal and its watery home.
A mask poem is written from the viewpoint of the poem’s subject. Choose an animal (real or imagined) that lives in water as your subject.
You might write from the viewpoint of a tadpole that wriggles on the bottom of a pond, a crayfish that hides under rocks in a stream, or a dolphin that leaps in the ocean. Write a poem that tells about your home.
Answering these questions might help you begin: What sounds and sights surround you? How do you stay safe and find food? Why is your home the perfect place for you to live?
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Your task is to draft a poem in the voice of a water-dwelling animal before the end of the day tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1, 2020.
If you’re doing the #WaterPoemProject with a group, be sure to share or post your rough draft, read other people’s poems, and cheer for their efforts. Or leave your poem here, in the comments.
Buffy Silverman’s newest book On a Snow-Melting Day: Seeking Signs of Spring is published by Millbrook Press. Find out more about Buffy’s books at http://www.buffysilverman.
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#WaterPoemProject Series Posts:
Project Introduction
FAQ
Prompt 1: Irene Latham, The Language of Water
Prompt 2: Elizabeth Steinglass, What Would a Raindrop Say?
Prompt 3: Linda Mitchell, Found Haiku
Prompt 4: Shari Green, Fogbow Fibonacci
Prompt 5: Margaret Simon, The Taste of Water
Prompt 6: Heather Meloche, The Shape of a Wave
Prompt 7: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, A Water Memory
Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites
Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage
Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home
Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog
Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick
Prompt 13: Joy McCullough, What Are Water Bears?
Prompt 14: Linda Baie, Frozen Water Skinny
Prompt 15: Chris Baron, The Hidden World of Water
Prompt 16: Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Water Wordplay
Prompt 17: Susan Tan, The Sound of Water
Prompt 18: Mike Grosso, Waterplay!
Prompt 19: R. L. Toalson, Wishing Well
Prompt 20: Margarita Engle, Ode to the Shore
Prompt 21: Faye McCray, Poem in a Bubble
Prompt 22: Meg Eden, Surprising Connections
Please support the #WaterPoemProject authors by buying their books from your favorite independent bookstore.
You know me as a dancer,
a prancer upon water,
a river-top rider,
a stick-legged surfer
Forgotten by many who wander
the Hollows, yet searched
for by scaled ones who wish
to swallow me whole
I’m forever moving,
skating the surface
where winter ice melted
and spring waters turn free
I love the language and ancient-sounding tone of this!
I can visualize this poem — it reminds me of the streams by my parents’ mountain home.
I love these word choices: Prancer and stick-legged surfer.
The entrance into the poem with You know e as….is really smart. Sets a tone right away.
Excellent assignment, Buffy. It’s also a great exercise in voice.
I need to work on this for the correct meter, but wanted to post this draft.
I slip my shell
upon a stump
to get a bath of sun.
For healthy skin
and youthful glow,
there’s airy oxygen.
If you decide to come along,
just climb onto my back.
We’ll share this log
beside the bog
and have a wormy snack.
lol! I love it….spa day for a snail. I like airy oxygen for a youthful glow.
Ha! I’m picturing a turtle taking a little nude sunbath. Adorable, Margaret!
[…] written a poem for every prompt, but I figured I should at least write something for the prompt I offered. And there’s still time to respond to those I missed.My challenge was to write a mask poem […]
[…] A Water Memory Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy […]
[…] A Water Memory Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy […]
[…] A Water Memory Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy […]
[…] A Water Memory Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy […]
[…] A Water Memory Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy […]
[…] A Water Memory Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy […]
[…] A Water Memory Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy […]
[…] A Water Memory Prompt 8: Laura Shovan, Rainy Day Opposites Prompt 9: Kathryn Apel, Silly Solage Prompt 10: Buffy Silverman, A Watery Home Prompt 11: Kara Laughlin, Frozen Fog Prompt 12: Debbie Levy, Jump into a Limerick Prompt 13: Joy […]