2026 NaPM 27 April

[RiverNotch]

Write a poem for National Poetry Month based on the topic described....rather, write a poem set in, pertaining to, or inspired by the given region, whether its entirety or just some part of it, as this year's prompts are going to be unified by the theme "Around the World" like last year's prompts were unified by the theme "Esoterica". Each poem should appear as a separate reply to this thread. There are three levels of participation:

Bronze. Participated at least once.

Silver. Participated every day.

Gold. Participated every day, with all entries either being the same form (e.g., every one a sonnet) or being distinct forms (e.g., no two haiku).


Today's region is Macaronesia, or the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries, and Cabo Verde.

[dukealien]

Blessed


Western isles, Hesperides, where Sun takes his
rest of nights with souls of the blest a good way
south of storied Avalon.  Still a vital
way-station now that

men can rise on wings without dying but must
stop, refuel, and plan their next leg of travel.
Sailors, airmen running on fumes remain still
blest to have reached them.

[RiverNotch]

Navigators


The Mansa's ambition to find what long ago
Plato envisioned, what Erikson later found,
and what even later Columbus would despoil,

led him to gather Mali's nascent wealth
and purchase a fleet of ships, recruiting men
from all around the coast to be their crew.

At first, the winds blew straightly and steadily west
but soon each day the sun climbed up the sky
lower and lower, Polaris drew nearer and nearer,

until they feared that they were trapped in a gyre
soon to restore them far too early home.
They were about to try and change their tack

when from the prow of their foremost a shout
rang even to the aftmost of the file:
"Land ho!" The sailors, at their captains' nod,

scrambled to skirt around the sight and find
safe harbor for their barks, only they spied
along a line of sand between the sea

and endless laurel forests familiar signs:
either from native stone or wood carved out
stood haloed crosses. To these Blessed Isles
they had been bested by some Irish jack.

[rayheinrich]

< Corvo is the smallest island in the Azores >

Its population is just a few hundred.

An aerial photograph:

The Caldera rim forms an oval.
Some sections are less distinct
because of the thin clouds.
(The caldera is called the Caldeirão.)

Stone walls divide much of the open ground.
Pasture areas extend up the slopes.
Vegetation is mostly short grass with scattered shrubs.
The terrain rises steeply toward the rim.

Two lakes are visible inside the caldera
The upper one is irregular,
the lower one rounder and darker.

There are many dots near the lower lake.
(Corvo has lots of cows.)

In another photograph a woman is walking upslope
with a metal milk bucket.

Kestrels and Cory’s shearwaters are the common birds here.
(Many other species pass through during migrations.)

Vila do Corvo is the only village on the island.
It curves around the banks of the harbor.
Its houses are set close together along narrow lanes.
They all have red roofs.

Corvo is beautiful.

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