Poetry prompts for spring and summer.
Poets have a long tradition of honoring the seasons by writing poetry that celebrates spring and summer for bringing renewal to the land and warmth to our lives.
Rebirth is a common theme in poetry, so the spring season, with its fresh skies and new shoots, is a rejuvenating source of inspiration.
Summer is packed with sights, smells, and sounds: splashing water and fresh lemonade; barbecues and bike rides on the beach.
All of these things, and many more, find their way into poetry that pays tribute to the seasons that we enjoy during the warmer half of the year: spring and summer.
Poetry Prompts for Spring
Below, you’ll find three lists of words. Choose one of the lists and write a poem using all the words from the list. You can also mix and match words from different lists or try writing a poem using all the words from all the lists.
Some of the words in the list relate to spring but some do not, and you’ll have to find a way to make the poem (and the words in it) about spring.
| Flower Buds | Blue-Gray Skies | Mud and Muck |
| sprig shoot fresh plant garden |
showers dew rise blue clouds |
clean squeak shovel puddle dirt |
Poetry Prompts for Summer
Below, you will find five lists of words. Each list pertains to one of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Choose one word from each list and write a poem that includes all five words. If you want to write a poem that appeals entirely to one sense, simply choose the list that corresponds (for example, the smell list) and use all the words on that list for your poem. To really challenge yourself, try writing a single poem using all the words from all the lists. That ought to really tickle the senses!
| Sight | Sound | Smell | Taste | Touch |
| Beach ball
Surfer Tourist Swimsuits Sunglasses Ice cream Boardwalk Jellyfish Lifeguard Fireflies |
Splashing
Waves crashing Seagulls Lawn mowers Fans (A/C) Children playing Ice cream truck Bees or crickets |
Barbecue
Chlorine Sunblock Coconut Watermelon Wildflowers Freshly cut grass Wildfires Summer rain |
Ice cream
Shaved ice Popsicles Iced tea Lemonade Cotton candy Popcorn Salt water taffy Sea (salt) water |
(Gritty) sand
Feet in water Flip-flops Hot concrete Warm breeze Freshly watered (or cut) grass Sun on your face Wet swimsuit against skin |
Did any of these prompts inspire you to write a poem? How often do you use poetry prompts to inspire your writing? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment, and keep writing (and reading) poetry!
Hi Melissa, Great idea.
See: hanging basket
Hear: children playing
Smell: ripe peaches
Taste: sea water
Touch: freshly watered grass
Thanks, Cath! These are great additions 🙂
see: clear blue skies
hear: ice cream vans
smell: wild flowers
taste: strawberries and cream
touch: water fights ! water baloons in the face !
these are some of my childhood memories of the summer holidays growing up in the UK.
These are great, Laura. I’m adding some to the post now.
this is a poem working off the ‘hear’ prompt words/I’m working at a library terminal under time constraints/I, as usual, beg your indulgence –
yesterday was thunder, rain, heaving masses of
dark clouds
but today the sun dispels all doubts
it rose early
drying the grass by noon
lawn mowers sound
from overlooking subdivisions
music is blaring from convertibles
as folks lounge on the lawn,
the beach
eating, drinking, waiting
for a series of outdoor concerts
advertised for today
(including one Local Legend – the
Prodigal Sun comes home!)
the fans are all here
braving the heat
and the tedium of waiting
seagull calls implore for food
the sound of children playing
splashing in the water
some gather about
the ice cream truck
walk away dripping
others prance in the grass
unaware of the menace of
buzzing bees
hidden deep in flowers
one boy steps down decisively
instinct of self-preservation
sharp pain
the boy hops up squeals
protests to all who will listen
the pain
there’s nothing else but
the pain
why won’t someone do something?
the adults laugh
perhaps remembering
one of the band members of the
opening act
is tuning his guitar
and
looks out upon the sea
of people
spots the tragedy unfolding
smiles leans into the mike
says,
“Boy, it’s a hot one, eh?
Just setting up here, folks.
Be ready in a minute.
I thank you for your patience.
We love you.
We love all of you.
Get ready to rock…
but just hold on a sec
okay?”
(Greg Cameron, Poem, Sept. 2010, Surrey, B.C., Canada)
Great job, Greg. Your poem definitely feels like summer.
I reckon I’ve completely missed the boat on this, but it was such a lovely prompt, I couldn’t resist. Here it is then, and I’m terribly sorry if I’ve bothered you in some internet slumber and dragged you unwillingly over here.
Spring, blue-gray skies.
The harbour is cold,
This morning.
Colder than it should be,
You reckon, for a proper spring.
Foul scents rise from the
Market stands,
Wafting in the air above
Dead fish whose
Eyes are brown and glazed and
Hard to look at for long,
You find.
Horses trot by,
Pulling rich folk in shiny
White carriages
And you find yourself wondering
How many rinses it’s had,
And how much they
(the rich folk, with their
Bright silks and warm furs)
Pay, to keep it like that.
You walk on, telling
Yourself that it’s
Best to keep moving,
Keep the blood pumping
Through your veins and
Not to think too hard,
On things like that.
The sky is gray,
This morning,
And you wish for
Bright silks and warm furs
And a dead fish, too,
If only you had a fire to cook it over.
Mostly, you wish for
Blue skies, and for spring
To come properly
At last.
I don’t mind at all, Kenna. Thanks so much for sharing the lovely poem you wrote.
Writing creative stories & poems.
First book published
That’s great!