It’s Day 21 of our #WaterPoemProject — 30 days of water-themed poetry prompts from your favorite children’s authors. Can you believe we’re heading into the last ten days of the project?

If you’re looking for National 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.

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.

QUICK ASIDE! Tomorrow, April 12, is the 4th anniversary of The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, my debut middle grade novel. Look for a special giveaway on Twitter and Instagram!

I’m excited to introduce you to wonderful poet and author today. Faye McCray and I, along with two other poets, co-host the Wilde Readings literary readings and open mic here in central Maryland. Faye is a mom of three boys, which inspired the writing prompt she’s sharing today.

Faye’s prompt is: A Poem in a Bubble

Faye McCray

One of my favorite things to do on a sunny day is blow bubbles. My littlest son, Gus, and I like to find the sunniest part of our yard and take turns blowing bubbles through our many, many slippery bubble wands. Sometimes we chase them. He likes to catch as many as he can by smacking them loudly between his palms. Other times, we watch them as they drift and sail on the wind, winding higher and higher until we can’t see them anymore.

Where do they go? I often wonder. Do they drift forever? Or do they pop scattering little micro-droplets of water onto the people and things below them, so teeny-tiny that you can’t even feel them?

Photo Credit: Faye McCray

In today’s free verse poem, let’s take a ride in a bubble. Let’s float into the air. We can start by examining our senses:

• What do you see way up high? Is it nighttime? Do you make it all the way to the stars?
• What do you feel? Is it wet? Are you sliding around inside your bubble, unable to sit?
• What do you hear? Is the inside of a bubble soundproof?
• What do you taste? Is it soapy?
• What do you smell? Do the clouds you sail through smell sweet?

For fun, draw a circle in your journal and write your poem inside your bubble. Don’t make it too long, your bubble might just pop and leave all the words spilling out.

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We’ve completed three weeks, Poets. How are you feeling? No matter if you’ve written a poem every day, or drafted only one or two new pieces, I’m proud of you. Your goal is to draft your Poem in a Bubble by the end of the day tomorrow, Sunday, April 12, 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.

Faye McCray is an author and essayist whose poetry and essays have been featured in the HuffPost, Little Patuxent Review, AARP Magazine, Madame Noire, Black Girl Nerds, and other popular publications. She is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Weemagine, a website devoted to celebrating and inspiring all children and the people who love them. Faye is also the author of White Belt, a collection of horror short stories; Boyfriend, a novel about a troubled college student struggling with love and fidelity; and I am Loved, a collection of positive affirmations for children.  By day, Faye is an attorney and married mother of three boys, and a Master’s in Writing candidate at Johns Hopkins University.

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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.