The Cruelest Month: Poems about April

As we ready to move into the month of May, let us take a moment to reflect back on a strange, tumultuous, and anxious April.

Prompt:

Time yourself as you write in some way (with a timer, the length of a song, or the length of a page). Write for roughly 10 minutes in response to the following prompt. Try to write for the whole time, without stopping, in sentences, with no line breaks. Work to get all of your thoughts on the page, without worrying about what you are writing, or how. It is encouraged to follow wherever your mind leads.

Think back to the very beginning of the month. Where were you? What were you doing? What has changed between now and then? Try to be as specific and particular as possible.

Read the following poems:

• Kim Addonizio, “Onset”
• Langston Hughes, “April Rain Song”
• Laura Kasishcke, “Hospital parking lot, April”
• Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Spring”
• Alicia Ostriker, “April”

Questions to consider, in writing on your own, or in discussion with others:

• In each poem, how is April (or the onset of spring, in Addonizio’s “Onset”) described? How do you think the speaker in each poem feels about the season?
• What things are associated with April in the poem? Are there images you find significant, interesting, or strange?
• What senses are included in these poems? What sights? Smells? Sounds? Movements?

Assignment:

Write a poem that focuses on one change you experienced this past month. Include images connected to the season that draw on multiple senses. What questions do you have at the end of this month? Fears? Resolutions? What do you hope for? What gives your courage?