Everyday Poetry

Day 6: " take inspiration from Yentl van Stokkum’s poem, “ It’s the Warmest Summer on Record Babe ,” which blends casual, almost blasé phrasing with surreal events like getting advice from a bumblebee. In your poem today, try writing with a breezy, conversational tone, while including at least one thing that could only happen in a dream." I've chosen to write about a dream I had a few weeks ago.  It didn't happen exactly like this,  but that is what poetic licence is all about.   Epiphany   You know, last night was one one those nights You don't expect.  You go to bed as usual,  All the ritual stuff of brushing your teeth For the regulation two minutes, the last minute wee, The diary pause to capture important moments from the day, The reading of the latest novel to ease your brain into sleep,  The last, last minute wee.   So far, so usual. But sometime between midnight and the inevitable 3am wake up, I had an epiphany.   ...

Day 5: " write a poem in which you talk about hating something – particularly something utterly innocuous. Be over the top! Be a bit silly and overdramatic." Quite a challenge for me, as I feel hate is too strong an emotion,  and one I really don't identify with.  But as we're encouraged to be overdramatic I've exaggerated one of the things that wind me up. Climbing Everest I love you,  I really do. But hate the everest of paper Piled on, beside, around your chair, An untidy, unstable heap About to collapse to the floor At the slightest touch.  I seethe inside each time it catches my eye, Determined not to be the one to put it right, Silently holding it against you as it grows day by day. Oblivious, you s it instead on the settee, And start another pile. © Copyright 2026. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved

Day 4: " In his poem, “ Spring Thunder ,” Mark van Doren brings us a short, haunting evocation of weather and the change in seasons. Today, we’d like to challenge you to craft your own short poem that involves a weather phenomenon and some aspect of the season. Try using rhyme and keeping your lines of roughly even length." Since we put the clocks forward for British Summer Time I really feel a lifting of my spirits, matched by a different quality of light and the mating activity of birds.  This little poem isn't about a weather phenomenon as such, but simply reflects the change of light and activity as the clocks go forward.  It's a bit simplistic - definitely in need of a later edit!  Spring Time You can’t help but notice The change in the light,  Mornings cling to darkness But we've pushed back night. Since clocks advanced We enjoy the dawn chorus Light is enhanced, Air seems more porous. The garden comes alive Busy birds nest and sing, The whole world revives ...

Day 3: " In his poem, “ Treasure Hunt ,” Prabodh Parikh brings us a refreshingly different view of what being a poet is like – that is, if you grew up on the cultural notion of poets being wan and ethereal, or ill and doomed. Parikh’s boisterous pirate of a poet might be an “unreliable” character, but seems like he’d be the life of any party, and quite satisfied with his existence.  Today, we challenge you to write a poem in which a profession or vocation is described differently than it typically is considered to be. Perhaps your poem will feature a very relaxed brain surgeon, or a farmer that hates vegetables. Or maybe you have a poetical alter-ego of your own, who flies a non-wan, treasure-hunting flag with pride." I rather like writing poems about what is like to write poetry, and relish the challenge of an extended metaphor (or two!) so the choice was quite straightforward today.   The Gardener She gardens quietly, Choosing her blooms with care, Discarding those late...

Day 2: " In her poem, “ Pittsylvania County ,” Ellen Bryant Voigt recounts watching her father and brother play catch with sensory detail and a strangely foreboding sense of inevitability. The speaker watches the scene filled with a pervading sense that she wants something more or different from life than what the moment seems to presage.  Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem in which you recount a childhood memory. Try to incorporate a sense of how that experience indicated to you, even then, something about the person you’d grow up to be." I'm drawn to write about my children rather than myself.  It was so clear from a very early age they would grow up to be very different from each other.   Chalk and Cheese As a baby she'd want company, To be beside, to be talked to, to be held. As she grew her circle grew with her, The daughters of her mother's  friends, Schoolfriends, neighbours, Those she charmed on bus rides. Later there were the front...

Day 1: " The   tanka   is an ancient Japanese poetic form. In contemporary English versions, it often takes the shape of a five-line poem with a 5 / 7 / 5 / 7 / 7 syllable-count – kind of like a haiku that decided to keep going.  Some recent examples include L. Lamar Wilson’s “ Aubade Tanka ,” Tarik Dobbs’s “ Commuter Tanka ,” and Antoinette Brim-Bell’s “ Insomniac Tankas .”  Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own tanka – or multi-tanka poem. Theme and tone are up to you, but try to maintain the five-line stanza and syllable count." I do like a challenge with structure, and the tanka is a relatively new form for me. But what to write it about? True to my usual style, this is about the pleasure found in the everyday, and the differences between my husband and me.  Morning Rituals After the coffee Enjoyed tucked cosy in bed We decant downstairs; You solve your logic puzzle While I catch the day in words. © Copyright 2026. Chris Auger. All Rights Reser...