Day 12 2025 ~ Let’s write a “Free Verse Poem” in honor of D.E.A.R. Day for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

Today is National D.E.A.R. Day ~ Drop Everything And Read!!!! It’s in remembrance of children’s author Beverly Clearly, as today is her birthday (she passed away in 2021 at 104). It is suggested that you read anything you wish today, but read something!! And I’m here to add, why not make today’s poem about books, reading, their meaning in your life, etc. And while you’re at it, why not carve out at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading?

Anyway, I digress. So I figured that today we could just abandon all the rules (as some of you out there prefer to do anyway) and write a free verse poem about books, reading, or even Easter OR whatever you choose. I just want to point out that "free verse" is NOT the same as "blank verse."

Blank verse IS unrhymed, but surprisingly, it DOES have rules - rules that pertain to things like “iambic pentameter” with unstressed/stressed syllable patterns or “trochee” with stressed/unstressed or even more craziness, how about dactyl blank verse with stressed/unstressed/unstressed syllable patterns? There is also “anapest blank verse” – yeah, we’ll just stop there. So, we are not writing blank verse today ~ just free verse. And if nothing strikes your fancy, just use a favorite poetry form of your choice.

FREE VERSE is basically random, without any fixed metrical patterns of any kind and while there is no need to rhyme, it’s totally fine if you wish to use rhyme, but there is no need to count syllables or to worry about much of anything – just let it come. But free verse is actually tricky to make it feel cohesive, but once you get it just how you want it – you will be most happy with it. Free verse poems can be long, short, or anything in between, as long as they seem to have a good flow, then you are good to go.

Renowned poet Robert Frost was not a fan of free verse; he preferred traditional rhyme and meter in poetry. His famous dismissal of free verse was, “I’d just as soon play tennis with the net down.”

How about you? Want to give it a try? Or maybe you’ve written in free verse already. Feel free to share whatever free verse poetry you wish. Writing poetry each day is one of the aims of this “30 poems in 30 days” challenge, but it’s also about the love of poetry. So, share something new or something already written, up to you. I found one I wrote 10 years ago that I had forgotten about. In rereading it, I felt rather pleased with it, so that is what you get from me today – as I’ll be spending time with family AND reading for D.E.A.R. Day!! Cheers!!

 

 

(photo I took in Prescott, AZ)

World Changers

You can change the world.
The power is in you.
You can brighten someone’s day
With how you smile at them
And what you have to say.

You can change the world.

You need not write a song or paint a masterpiece.
Just acknowledge the person you’re with.
Give them your time and attention,
Whether young or old, rich or poor.

You can change the world.
Give someone some slack,
Share a kind word of encouragement
Get to know someone
Witness their life so they don’t go unnoticed.

You can change the world.
Do these things, and you may be pleased
At the joy that comes from being kind,
From being present with just one person
Or even with yourself.

You can change the world.

Be kind, give another person value
By giving them your time and attention,
Especially if that someone is very young
Or very old.

 

And if you look around
At the end of the day,
Don’t be surprised if
The person whose world you change
. . . is you.

                             © 2015 Stephanie Abney

 

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.