Y’all. How is it my SIXTH year in a row offering 30 poetry prompts for NaPoWriMo? 🤷♀️ For many reasons, the 2026 prompts were almost the Prompts That Never Happened, but that’s a story for another day. (We have so much to catch up on, and that will happen soon.)
In the meantime, as per tradition, let’s start with links to past editions, in case you’re an over-achiever and need 180 prompts to get you through the month:
- 30 Poetry Prompts for NaPoWriMo 2021
- 30 Poetry Prompts for NaPoWriMo 2022
- 30 Poetry Prompts for NaPoWriMo 2023
- 30 Poetry Prompts for NaPoWriMo 2024
- 30 Poetry Prompts for NaPoWriMo 2025
As you write to the poetry prompts for NaPoWriMo 2026 (or any of the writing prompts published here), please be mindful of these important rules:
- Follow these prompts *wherever* they take you. Don’t get hung up on the details.
- Never, never, never, never, never, never copy the sample poems. They’re for inspiration only! If you keep close to the style, borrow a line or use OPP (other people’s poetry) in any other way in your drafts, you must credit the original and the poet.
POETRY PROMPTS for NaPoWriMo 2026 (or any writing challenge)
1. Things That Don’t Suck
The first prompt for 2026 honors Andrea Gibson and their wife Megan Falley. As so many of you know, Andrea died from ovarian cancer in July. Allegedly died, as Meg says, as a way to explain the signs and communications she’s experiencing (intensely and powerfully) since Andrea’s (alleged) death. Parts of their story are told so beautifully in the Things That Don’t Suck Substack and the Come See Me in the Good Light documentary, and I hope you’ll check them out.
I have so much to say about how much they’re pouring into all of us (and I will do that in a future post), but for now, let’s get 2026 NaPoWriMo started with love and attention. Today’s prompt, very simply, is to write a poem about things that don’t suck. If possible, let it soften you. At least a little bit.
(PICTURED ABOVE: Andrea and I both have a connection to eastern, coastal Maine, and while I was visiting in December, this arts center in Eastport was showing Come See Me in the Good Light.)
2. Oh, Captain, my Captain
Whether it’s Captain Von Trapp (as with Violeta Garcia-Mendoza’s “Fantasy with Christopher Plummer’s Captain Von Trapp“) or Daryl Dixon from Walking Dead (as with yours truly), our character crushes are begging for your attention. Write a sexy poem where you say yes to the fantasy. Have fun with it, but take it seriously enough to come undone like the speaker in Violeta’s poem.
3. To-may-to / To-mah-to 🤷♀️
Is it disassociating? daydreaming? teleporting? Doesn’t matter. It’s all fodder. Write a poem where your body is in one place and your mind is in another. / Recommended reading: “During Sex I Do the Math” by Morgan Matchuny.
4. Magical thinking
For today’s prompt, it will help to do a bit of preparation. Don’t worry: It won’t take long! First, make a list of things that are “no-no’s”. (These can be deadly sins, faux pas, bad habits, indulgences, mischief, etc.) Next, name something that’s upsetting you about your life or the world. Now, write a poem that claims your strange deeds are to blame for what’s happened and see how it changes your speaker. (Thank you to Jill Crammond, whose piece “It’s Your Own Fault” inspired this prompt!)
5. I’ll take words that start with X for $1000, Alex
One of the new poetry resources I am getting ready for you in 2026 is a list of abecedarian examples, and you can be sure “Afterlife Abecedarian” by Barbara Ungar is going to be on that list. Notice how many of the starting words in Barbara’s poem speak to its afterlife theme: begged, dead, ghost, hologram, manifestation, please and spacetime, for example. And notice how many of her lines go all the way in on their starting letter: “Please come. In a painting. I promise…” and “woman waiting out on the widow’s walk.” Now it’s your turn. Write an abecedarian on a difficult subject.
6. You can’t go home again
As a kid, I spent time every summer at a place called Knowlton’s Campground. Located on the coast near the easternmost part of Maine (and the U.S.), it was wild and stunning. We dug clams and “shopped” fresh fish out of the neighbor’s boat. My sister and I had the freedom to explore entire peninsulas and islands accessible only at low tide. Non-stop, kid nirvana. The land where the campground was located is now a nature preserve, and we visited this winter. Can confirm: It’s still wild and stunning (as you can see from the photos above). For today’s prompt, write a poem about a place from your childhood that doesn’t exist anymore. / Recommended reading: “My Kink Is Distance” by Amorak Huey and “when the world did not feel like a crushing weight” by Jill Kitchen.
7. “hunched at the cutting board”
Write a poem that shows how the activities that take place in a single room (like the kitchen) can shape and define a relationship. / Recommended reading: “Embrace” by Maggie Dietz.
8. Breaking news: Poets love the moon
Is it just me or has the moon been in the news more than it used to be… and isn’t it lovely! You can write about the moon any way you want and as often as you want, but for today’s prompt, write a poem inspired by a specific news story/headline about the moon.
9. There are worse things than a room full of bubbles
Things I didn’t know about ’til I was an adult: mangoes, tornadoes, dishwashers. That last one bit me in the ass when I put regular dish soap in the detergent dispenser of my very first apartment in Albany. (Yes, it filled the whole kitchen with bubbles.) Have you also had to learn some things about the world in real time? What things were “missing” from your upbringing? Write a poem about what has been strange to you to discover and how it feels to be confronted by that “not knowing.” / Recommended reading: “The World of Underpants” by Diane Seuss.
10. Believe in yourself (you got this!)
Write a list poem about what you believe, don’t believe or want to believe. / Recommended reading: “I’m Not A Religious Person, But” by D. Dina Friedman and “Miracle Fish” by Ada Limon (and also this collection of list poem examples).
11. Repetition heals all wounds
Sarah Freligh’s microfiction “Sea Watchers” describes a couple who return to the sea every year after a devastating loss. Read Sarah’s piece, then write a poem about a ritual, real or imagined, that’s repeated as a way to cope with grief. Bonus points if the ritual or its repetition is the opposite of relief. In the spirit of this prompt’s microfiction origins, keep your poem around 100 words.
12. Let’s be “suckers for easy happiness“
Write an ode to something seemingly simple or ordinary like a color, flavor or scent. Bonus points if you start with a confession (as Traci Brimhall does in “Yellow Ode“) and/or make it so long it makes you itchy. As in: go on 2-3 times longer than makes you comfortable. / Additional reading: My list of examples of odes and praise poems.
13. Mind your beeswax
This summer, I visited a beekeeper in my hometown in Northern Maine and was mesmerized by the care and expertise of the beekeeper. It can be hard to write a fresh poem about popular subjects (bees, the moon, etc.), but we’re not going to let that stop us. To avoid cliched bee poems, however, we’re going hyper-local and super-specific. Research local bees (apples, fish, butterflies, etc. would also work) and their local habitats, including what’s helping or hurting them in your neck of the woods. Now, write a poem about bees that emphasizes local lore/facts instead of relying on general knowledge. / Recommended reading: “The Last Himalayan Beekeeper” by Samyak Shertok.
14. You have to leave the house sometime
Yes, I know. Ewwww. But I promise you don’t have to talk to anyone. Deal? Good. Let’s go outside and write a poem with detailed observations about what we find. Zoom in, in, in. Get all up in the business of natural or man-made items you see, as Carolyn Oliver does in this series of “Field Notes.” Notice how Carolyn keeps our interest not only with specificity but also with varied syntax including fragments, wild verbs (“The earth divulges rabbits”) and the rare surrender to the commentary (“This is not meant to be a lesson on belief.”).
15. “the greedy charm of sun”
Mary E. Croy’s “evaporation” starts, “If I were Mars, I would be nostalgic / for…” Write a poem where you assume a new identity and tell us what makes you nostalgic. After you choose your persona but before you write, it may help to brainstorm: Reminisce about things you once enjoyed.
16. The sum is greater than its parts
Pull up “Half Day” by Mike Carlson, study its structure, and let it inspire a new draft of your own. Here’s how I might approach it… Start with an opening statement about receiving news, list three physical details about what’s around you after you know, and name two things you “had wanted to do.” (It’s important to be specific about the type of news — e.g. a pregnancy test — but not the results, i.e. positive/negative. Instead of giving it away/revealing it in that opening line, let the tone of the remaining details fill it in.)
17. Wishful thinking
Write a poem that fantasizes about the untimely demise of someone who’s harmed you. (Yes, of course it can include He Who Comes to Mind for So Many of Us 👀) / Recommended reading: “I Want to Write About My Ex” by Claire Jean Kim.
18. Turns out, there is such a thing as a stupid question.
Brainstorm a short list of dumb or irritating questions, and let one of them really get under your skin. Write a poem that opens with a stupid question then promptly disregards it… or seems to. / Recommended reading: “Are All Your Poems About Your Kids?” by Emily Mohn Slate.
19. I never met a roadside attraction I didn’t like
Statues. Sculptures. World’s Biggest, Only Anything. Wooden cut-outs you can press your face into for a photo. For today’s poem, write about encountering a strange or interesting roadside attraction. This website has a bunch if you’re stuck!
(PICTURED ABOVE: the L.L. Bean boot mobile, Steve Heller’s Spaceships and Robots, and Nerida the Mermaid in Eastport, Maine.)
20. First thought, best thought
Time to download your inner dialogue! Choose a pivotal part of the day, a routine/habit or some other ordinary ritual, and write a poem that captures your wandering thoughts during that window of time. / Recommended reading: “I begin the day thinking” by Taylor Byas.
21. Write what you know
Let’s take this tired bit of writing advice literally. Write a poem that starts with 3-5 matter-of-fact things you know then follow one or more items ’til you find its emotional depth. For inspiration, check out “What I Know to Be True” by Kelly Grace Thomas.
22. Letter writing campaign
Write a poem comprised of a series of extremely short letters (or stanzas that use direct address as anaphora). / Recommended reading: “Someone Is Calmly Smoking” by Kate Northrop, plus these letter poem examples published here at Good Universe.
23. All of humanity at your fingertips
No biggie. We’re just drafting poems, like Leah Umansky, that “reflect humanity back unto itself.” Easy peasy, right? For today’s prompt, write a poem that uses three objects or people as its title then proceeds to riff on those things as it reflects on what the heck we’re doing here anyway. It may help to make your items strange and otherwise unconnected, and there’s always an option to be silly instead of serious. Whichever you choose, I’m guessing this one will surprise you. For inspiration, read Leah’s “Ars Poetica with a Bird, a Pay Phone and Spock.”
24. Fill ‘er up!
Oh, how I love this sonnet by Allie Hoback: “Sonnet Full of Endings.” As you can see in these lines — “The radiator gurgles out its heat. Romeo / drinks the poison and Juliet, well, you know…” — Hoback has created a sonnet-sized list of endings. Here’s the prompt: Pick a topic, and write a sonnet FULL of examples. (Don’t fret about rhyme or meter in the form. Just aim for 14 lines.)
25. “bored with the ocean”
Bored with the ocean? I definitely don’t understand. But I do LOVE the line, which is from “I’M GOING BACK TO MINNESOTA WHERE SADNESS MAKES SENSE” by Danez Smith. For today’s prompt, take a cue from Danez’s candor, and write a poem where you’re bored by something that excites other people.
26. Loneliness and other impossible situations
Write a poem about a problem we consider impossible, even though we could solve it if we tried. / Recommended reading: “A Human Is the Creature That Invents” by Jane Zwart
27. It’s not what it looks like
Rachel Beachy has written a poem that seems to be ‘about’ electricity but tells the reader up front: “This Is Not About Electricity.” It’s no accident that the poem’s stunningly gorgeous TRUTH catches us by surprise. The move Rachel makes from the title into the first lines of the poem makes us immediately skeptical of the poem’s speaker. And right up ’til the end, we think the poem has lied to us. Isn’t that delightful? Let’s try it! Write a poem “after Rachel Beachy” that declares in its title that its subject is NOT what it seems to be. As you write, decide whether or not you want the title to be trustworthy!
28. Technical difficulties
Write a poem where a tech snafu exposes a personal vulnerability. Today’s prompt gets its inspiration from Kelly Russell Agodon’s “Trying to Sext My Partner, Who Replies “I Can’t Get My Camera to Work.” The poem, about technical difficulties while sexting in mid life, opens with “long moments where nothing happens” and ends with the speaker asking, “Do you still find me desirable?” The speaker’s fears surface when there’s no reply.
29. Seeds
In “What We Planted,” Chelsea B. DesAutels writes, “I keep longing // for a life I’d imagined I’d have but don’t / ask me what, exactly, it was.” The speaker in this poem names specific actions she’d hoped would bring about a certain life. For today, let’s read Chelsea’s poem and write about choices we’ve made in order to manifest a specific outcome. As you write, let the poem decide if those efforts are successful or unsuccessful.
(PICTURED ABOVE: Left – Flowers from my husband; Middle – the Phoenicia Diner, the setting for the fictional Pip’s Bar & Grille from Severance, a show where the characters make drastic choices looking for the kind of life they want to live; and Right – A winter solstice ritual based on 12 wishes.)
30. “my heart catches on its fences”
In “Boundaries,” Donna Vorreyer writes, “I dwell forever in the country of mothers,” a country where small creatures come and go through real and imagined boundaries, including distance. I’m not sure all poems about fences can be tender (as Donna’s is), but let’s give it a go. It’ll be so delightful to end the month where we started: softening. Write a poem with a fence in it and try to make it say something that feels true in your heart.
Critical reminder –> When you harvest material from exercises inspired by OPP (other people’s poems), it’s essential for you to credit your model (i.e. make a note at the top of your poem, like after AUTHOR’s “POEM”) or remove the other poet’s scaffolding entirely and keep only the material you crafted. Make it your own. Every time.
Be sure to let me know if you use any of these poetry prompts. Looking for more? You can find past poetry prompts here. You may also like to check out my collections of resources for writing inspiration — like odes/praise poems, prose poems, list poems, apocalypse poems, wild/innovative forms and more — for additional inspiration.
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