Hi! Today is Great National Poetry Reading Day! (I know, I didn’t know it was a thing either!) it’s a day to celebrate spring and renewal and the earth. Many people particularly celebrate Mary Oliver today, so please find one of her poems below. Enjoy and happy reading AND writing!

Same Day. Quick one… but think about it. William Shakespeare was born and died on the same day. April 23. Start and finish… same space. So here’s today’s prompt: Write about something that starts and ends at the same time. A love that begins already breaking. A moment you knew wouldn’t last. A hello that carried a goodbye inside it. Don’t overthink it. Just write what shows up.

🖋️ PROMPT OF THE DAY Somewhere in your life… there was a moment where everything shifted. Maybe it was something someone said. Maybe it was something you realized. Maybe it was something you lost. Write a poem about the line that changed everything. It can be spoken… unspoken… or something you wish had been said. Keep it real. That’s all that matters.

“Where Our Voices Begin — Open Mic Challenge” Post this: April is National Poetry Month… and we’re not holding back. Welcome to “Where Our Voices Begin” — a live, breathing thread of truth, pain, growth, and everything in between. 🖤 The Challenge: Write a poem that begins with this line: “This is where my voice stopped shaking…” From there… go wherever it takes you. No rules. No perfection. Just honesty.

For this special haiku jam shared across 3 poetry communities, each space has been given its own theme. Here in The Art of Poetry, your theme is Echoes The things that linger. Memory. Love. Loss. Hope. The voice that stays with us long after the moment is gone. Write a haiku inspired by Echoes and post it in the comments. Haiku format: 5 syllables 7 syllables 5 syllables Three lines. A lasting impact. Let’s see what still echoes in the hearts of poets today.