Day 28 ~ How to Write a Rainbow Poem for #NationalPoetryMonth for “30 poems in 30 days”

Day 28 ~ How to Write a Rainbow Poem for #NationalPoetryMonth for “30 poems in 30 days”

 
We’re almost done for 2026 ~ today and tomorrow, 
and then Thursday, April 30^th, is “Poem in Your Pocket Day.”

This is a rather easy one, but some very  lovely poems can be crafted just by starting each line with one of the colors of the rainbow. And you start with a metaphor by stating the color, and the second word should be “IS” as you can see in the example below. And that is followed by LIKE as in a simile. So, it ends up containing both  metaphors and similes. Seven lines long, one line for each color. No other requirements. No need to count syllables or words, and no need to rhyme. But then on the other hand, you may rhyme if you  wish.  Cheers!!

Start each line with a color of the rainbow: 
remember “ROY G. BIV” that you  probably learned as a kid:

Red is strong, like the safety of your arms
Orange is exciting, like the dawning of a new day
Yellow is soft, like a downy new chick
Green is for growth, like a plant bursting through the dirt
Blue is forever, like the ocean
Indigo is spiritual, like the conviction to do what is right
Violet is peaceful, like a newborn babe looking into your eyes
 

                        © 2020 Stephanie Abney

 

             OR . . . 

Your poem can be kind of a running list of things 

that make you think of rainbows, ending each line 

with “I think of rainbows,” like the other example 

below:

 I Think of Rainbows

 
When I think of new beginnings, I think of rainbows.
When I think of a summer storm while the sun still shines, I think of rainbows.
When I think of hope, I think of rainbows.
When I think of children laughing, I think of rainbows.
When I think of the beauty of nature, I think of rainbows.
When I think of family and friends, I think of rainbows.
When I think of God’s love, I think of rainbows.

 

© 2025 Stephanie Abney

 

 

 

That's a photo I took from my backyard of a double rainbow last year.

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!
Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

Day 27 ~ How to Write a “Nonet Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

Day 27 ~ How to Write a “Nonet Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

This is one of my all-time FAVORITE poetry forms: NONET POEM!! I generally use it every year because I think it is so much fun. I hope you will enjoy creating Nonet poems as well.

Basically, the “Nonet poem” is based on the number 9. The first time I used it for Poetry Month was 12 years ago, for the 2014 Poetry Challenge. The two poems that resulted remain my favorites, and I continue to use them as examples. So, if you’ve been around for a while, you have seen them before. Either way, get set for lots of FUN!!!!!

A Nonet Poem is based on NINE, in more ways than one ~ it has nine lines and the FIRST LINE has NINE syllables ~ but there are a few more details to know. Here is how you do this poem:

When I looked up the word “nonet” I discovered it stood for 9 musical performers or 9 instruments – and the poem’s pattern has exactly 9 lines – the first line has 9 syllables, and each line thereafter has one less syllable, ending with the last line only having ONE syllable. The number of words does not matter, ONLY the number of syllables, so it actually provides you with some flexibility. Intriguing, right?

Here is a “look” at this pattern:

* * * * * * * * * (9 syllables)
* * * * * * * * (8 syllables)
* * * * * * * (7 syllables)
* * * * * * (6 syllables)
* * * * * (5 syllables)
* * * * (4 syllables)
* * * (3 syllables)
* * (2 syllables)
* (1 syllable)

 

It can be about ANYTHING as long as the SYLLABLE COUNTS ARE ACCURATE, so PLEASE count them so you can do it correctly.

 

Let me give you a clue – I type the poem I am working on right onto the handy, dandy online syllable counter and just keep refreshing the “COUNT” button and it’s so much easier to keep track of where I am and adjust my words to fit that line’s syllable count.

Also – just type “one syllable words” OR “four syllable words” or whatever into the search engine on my computer and there are several options of word lists to help give you ideas if you are stuck trying to fill in a certain number.

 

Here’s the one I wrote last year. I’m not going to write a new one today. Sorry. But I can’t wait to see what y’all come up with.

 

I've lived a long time on this here world
I should have some things figured out
I'm trying to get things done
Yet, the day seems over
Before I begin
I'll start again
Tomorrow
Then I
Sleep!

           © 2025 Stephanie Abney

 

And here are the first two I ever wrote for this poetry form, and they remain my favorites:

 

Made chocolate chip cookies tonight
One taste before I go to bed
One bite follows another
I forgot what I said
I’m ready to stop
Well, maybe not
Just one more
Then to . . .
Bed!!

          © 2014 Stephanie Abney

 

“Grandma, may we have a sleepover?”
My precious grandkids ask again.
“We promise to obey you.”
They give a hopeful look.
“We won’t talk in bed.”
That’s what they said.
“We love you.”
I said,
“Yes!”

           © 2014 Stephanie Abney

 

 

("Tomorrow" Photo by 0xk on Unsplash)

 ("Cookies" Photo  by James Trenda on Unsplash)

OKAY, your turn – GO!!

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!

*** Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

Day 26 – How to Create “Book Spine Poetry” for #NationalPoetryMonth and 30 poems in 30 days

Day 26 – How to Create “Book Spine Poetry” for #NationalPoetryMonth and 30 poems in 30 days

Good times! Book Spine Poetry is a fun and intriguing way to “create” or, actually, “find” a poem by arranging and rearranging a stack of books horizontally that show the title on the book spine into something clever that might be a “poem.” Just like creating any poetry, you get to decide if it will be happy or sad, serious or funny, or whatever.

Simply start perusing the titles on your bookshelves, pull out some that have possibilities, and start stacking them up to see what you might discover. Here’s a very quick and rather silly one I pulled together out of some kids’ books:

 

“One Windy Day”                       
“Samantha Learns a Lesson”
“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”
“Nine True Dolphin Stories”
“All about . . . Dinosaurs”

 

If you need more inspiration, here is a link (these examples are more than ten years old, but they still will give you an idea of what we are doing if you still have questions) from the “School Library Journal” where you can browse through several years of photos of book spine poetry for some inspiration if you need ideas:

http://100scopenotes.com/2014/04/01/2014-book-spine-poem-gallery/ “Spine Book Gallery”

If you take photos of your “Book Spine Poems” (and I think you should), try to line up the titles when you stack them up – we are only interested in the titles for this poetry form. Feel free to post a photo of your “found” poetry creation(s) and post it in our FB group, and elsewhere on social media ~ be sure to link back to this blog post on how to do it so others can join in. So fun!!!

Over the years, I have come up with several “Book Spine” Poems. How many can you put together? My book spine poetry is not particularly profound; well, maybe one or two give “food for thought,” but it’s rather fun putting them together.

Write up the poem by writing a title per line (TITLES ONLY) in the same order that you stacked them up. Take a photo and post both the written version and the photo version. Cheers!!

So, whatcha’ got?

Ok, in no particular order, here are some of mine:

Grandfather Remembers
Confessions of an Unbalanced Woman
Coming Clean
Just the Way I Am

 

The Go-Getter
Landlord
Never Can Say Good-bye
Behind the Scenes

Giant Steps

A Man, A Can, A Plan

Feeding a Giant

Big in Japan

Raw Power

  

I Dare You
The Double Cross
Counting the Cost
Don’t
 

 

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them, and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!

*** Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

 

Day 25 ~ How to Write a “Preposition Poem” for #NationalPoetryDay for 30 poems in 30 days

Day 25 ~ How to Write a “Preposition Poem” for #NationalPoetryDay for 30 poems in 30 days

When I taught 4^th grade, I used to offer a king-size candy bar of their choice to students who could memorize 90 prepositions and recite them in front of the class. Sorry, no candy bars for you, unless you buy one for yourself. I love propositions. And there are MORE than 90 of them. They show relationships between different parts of a sentence, such as where, when, or how something happens. They bring clarity, and I love clarity!! They generally are found in the middle of a sentence, but for today’s poem, we will use them to start each line.

There is no need to count words or syllables; just begin each line with a preposition. No need to rhyme, either, unless you choose to.

Here is an example, lame, but an example nonetheless, and below it is a list of 70 basic prepositions to get you started:

Daydreamer

Considering my natural curiosity,
Regarding everything, I often climbed a tree,
Beside my childhood home,
Next to the garage, where
From our rooftop, I could see,
Beyond the neighborhood,
Over the horizon,
To Universal Studios,
Next to the Hollywood Freeway,
Near enough for us to walk to it,
From our foothills home,
Excluding the need to pay for parking.

Told you it was lame, and I took a few liberties, especially with the last line LOL, but you get the idea. Cheers!!

Whatcha’ got? (I tried to put the list in columns, but Blogger was having none of that). ..

·        aboard

·        about

·        above

·        across

·        after

·        against

·        along

·        amid

·        among

·        anti

·        around

·        as

·        at

·        before

·        behind

·        below

·        beneath

·        beside

·        besides

·        between

·        beyond

·        but

·        by

·        concerning

·        considering

·        despite

·        down

·        during

·        except

·        excepting

·        excluding

·        following

·        for

·        from

·        in

·        inside

·        into

·        like

·        minus

·        near

·        of

·        off

·        on

·        onto

·        opposite

·        outside

·        over

·        past

·        per

·        plus

·        regarding

·        round

·        save

·        since

·        than

·        through

·        to

·        toward

·        towards

·        under

·        underneath

·        unlike

·        until

·        up

·        upon

·        versus

·        via

·        with

·        within

·        without

(Image by Fabian from Pixabay)

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work and the creative work of others.