2026 NaPM 20 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 Melanesia.

[dukealien]

Build Time


Coral Sea, so central to naval warfare
in the last mid-century, now a million
azure square-kilometer ocean park and
home to a lot of

coral.  Makes you think about things, though, don’t it,
knowing all those polyps have built their castles
in just eight millennia– span of human
civilization?

[RiverNotch]

Blackbird


Taken from neighboring isles by tricks or threats,
these bodies that labor inland dream to be
floating cruciform on a placid sea,

the only milk-white froth their fingers know
the salty foam, the sun against their face
no more than an old acquaintance, and a gentle
current steadily drifting them back home.