Learning Prompt

Morning Poems (Grades 9-12)

Experimenting with the tradition of Aubades.

Originally Published: May 01, 2022

Today we’ll experiment with the tradition of Aubades, or poems that take place at daybreak. The first Aubades were written in medieval France. An Aubade can sometimes be an opportunity for a poet to meditate on a circumstance as a new day arrives. First, write a list of as many sunrises as you can remember. Where were you? What did it look like? How did you feel? Then, write an ordered list of your typical morning routine. Next, write a list of three epiphanies you’ve had. 

Now, read Breaking [News] by Noor Hindi, a Palestinian American poet and reporter. This poem begins with the common morning routine of reading a newspaper. What slowly dawns on the poet as she reads, and reflects on her own process of reporting?

Now, read Hannah Srajer’s The Lamppost Glows Orange in the Daytime. Why does the poet see things around her turning to rust? Why might morning be the hardest time of day for those who are grieving a loved one?

Now, read Kelan Nee’s Sparks in the Sun. What does sunlight reveal to the poet that he may or may not want to notice? What “moving pieces” of the poet’s life might this poem try to make sense of?


Now, using your lists, write an Aubade, or a poem about what the rising sun helps you see.