Day 1 ~ How to Write a “Lantern Poem” for “30 Poems in 30 Days" #NationalPoetryMonth

Yay! It’s “National Poetry Month” and it’s time for my annual POETRY CHALLENGE of writing “30 poems in 30 days.” It’s April 1st and this is NO April Fool's Joke - this is a CHALLENGE to write 30 Poems (of all kinds) in 30 Days!! Who is with me?

Welcome back to those who have participated in the past and a big welcome to any newbies. PLEASE stick around as we plan to have lots of fun this month!! #NationalPoetryMonth

This is the fifth year that I have run this challenge on my blog. I am of the opinion that ANYONE can write poetry. Even if you don’t feel like you have the knack for creating flowing free verse, anyone can follow the simple instructions that I will share each day and you will be amazed at the poetry you come up with. There are SO MANY KINDS OF POETRY – far more than 30 poetry forms. If you are new – welcome. If you have done the challenge in years past you may notice I will repeat certain poetry forms from year to year as they are fun ones, or they are favorites, etc. I will also try to include a few new ones each year.

Just a few things before we begin here in 2017 ~ Please join in as OFTEN as you can but if you miss a day, hey, you miss a day. No reason to give up. Life is BUSY!! We all can relate!

Some people like to share their poem of the day in the comments to this blog. Wonderful ~ we all enjoy reading them. Others may post their poem on their FB page or on their own blog – I do have one request – IF you put your poems on your own blog – please do NOT copy and paste my instructions from here onto your own blog. I have invested a lot of time and research over the years to create these posts. What you can do is to link to that day’s blog here at “Stephanie Says So” and tell your readers that they can come here and get directions to write their own poems. Thanks.

Also – all poems shared here, either by me or by those who post in the comments are automatically copyrighted by the writer. They are not to be used without permission of the writer – except as an example to someone you may be writing with or teaching, but always give attribution to the author, please.

I’ll be posting a different poetry form each day in the month of April and I’d love to have you join me. I also have a poetry challenge group on Facebook if that interests you, “A Month of Poetry – 30 Poems in 30 Days” ~ just ask to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/178557275869627/?ref=bookmarks

Like I said, even if you think you can’t write poetry, I’d love to prove to you that you can!!! So many poems have actual patterns or forms to follow; some are almost "fill in the blank." 

So, LET’S GET STARTED!!

Today’s poetry form is a “Lantern Poem,” a simple little a five line poem in the shape of a Japanese lantern. Please note that each line is specific in what the word(s) should be describing and then also note the number of syllables per line. These poems do not have titles – the first line is basically the title.

The Pattern is:

Line 1: noun (one syllable)

Line 2: describe the noun (two syllables)

Line 3: describe the noun (three syllables

Line 4: describe the noun (four syllables)

Line 5: synonym for noun in line one (one syllable)

So here are a few examples to get you started:

Trust

Faithful

Always there

Can depend on

You

© 2014 Stephanie Abney

        House
       Mansion
    Dwelling place
       Habitation
         Home

                  © 2011 Mary Walling (deceased)

Rest

Slumber

Forty Winks

Restorative

Sleep

© Stephanie Abney 2016

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 for 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 you 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.