Day 5 2024 ~ How to write a “Personification Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

OK, yesterday, Day 4, y’all created some pretty wonderful “Repetition Poems.” Who would have thought? Some were funny, others profound, all amazing. 

So, today we are going to write a “Personification” poem. This poetry form gives human qualities to non-human things. And that can mean animals or plants as well. It gives life to the Velveteen Rabbit. Weather is another interesting topic for this style of poem. It makes things in nature come alive. 

This poem can be free verse or rhyme, any length or number of lines. You can include all kinds of human emotions, actions, feelings, etc.

 There are no other guidelines.

Here is an example from Emily Dickinson:

        “Because I could not stop for Death –
        He kindly stopped for me –
        The Carriage held but just Ourselves – 
        And Immortality.”

Another example can be found in

        The Fog by Carl Sandburg

The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

 

Personification is common in children’s nursery rhymes. (Cows jumping over moons and dishes running, etc.)

 

Here’s my example for this one:

The television and the lamp gossip about me.

        “Look, she did it again!! She rewound that recorded show the last 15 minutes so she can watch the ending,” said the T.V.

        “Oh, you mean the same ending she has rewound 4 times tonight but falls asleep just before she can catch it?” asked the lamp.

        “Yep, that’s the one,” the T.V. said.

Then they roar in laughter, waking me up to do it all over again.

        “Silly woman. Why doesn’t she just go to bed?”

 

                                                          © 2024 by Stephanie Abney 

 

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Sounds pretty simple. Whatcha’ got?

 

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*** 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.