Spring Poetry Prompts to Inspire You During National Poetry Month

Warm temperatures, green leaves, and open flowers: telltale signs spring has officially arrived. This transitional season provides endless inspiration for poets, drawing from themes of hope, growth, and renewal. As you celebrate National Poetry Month this April, it’s time to let your creativity bloom with these spring poetry prompts.

Prompts for Hope

In an oppressive world, feeling hopeful can often seem out of reach—but hope allows one to find the strength to persevere through challenges and develop more positive perspectives. Since spring, with its beautiful scenes of warmth and life, symbolizes this powerful emotion, reference these prompts to remind you that hope is worth holding onto.

• Write a poem about your relationship to hope.
• Explore something you hope will happen this year, on a personal or societal level (or the intersection of both). 
• Take inspiration from nature. Research and write about natural elements prevalent throughout spring that symbolize hope.
• Use green as a central element in a poem, since the color represents hope and evokes images of spring.
• Write a repetition poem with “Hope is—” at the beginning of each sentence. 

Prompts for Growth

From learning lessons to letting go, mental, emotional, and spiritual growth are central parts of life. Spring serves as a stark reminder of this truth. As you enjoy the vivid sights of this season, you’ll notice growth is everywhere—on the ground, in the trees. Throughout spring, grow in your writing craft with these prompts. 

• Take a stroll through your garden, yard, or local nature trail. What new growth do you observe? Note the leaves, sprouts, and blooms, for example. Record what emotions you feel as you spend time in nature. Then, write a poem about it!

• Reflect on the past year since last spring. In what ways have you grown? How do you want to grow this season?

• Write a poem exploring your healing journey, focusing on the frustrating side of growth. How do you struggle to grow and move forward from trauma?

• Be creative with structure by writing an acrostic “GROW” poem. 

• Try writing an ode to spring growth. Take your creativity a step further by channeling your artistic side—format your poem in the shape of a sprout, for example.

Prompts for Renewal

Once icy winter thaws and sunny spring blooms, the theme of renewal likely comes to mind. As you write poetry this spring, let these renewal prompts spark your creativity. 

• Spring offers a time for new beginnings. Write a duality poem exploring both the excitement and fear associated with renewal. 
• Free write about a new beginning you want to see happen in your life. Don’t take time to think—just let the words flow. Then, creatively communicate these ideas in a poem. 
• On the other hand, reflect on a beginning you wish would have happened but didn’t, which set you on a different path of renewal.
• Consider how a rainy spring day allows plant life to sprout, serving as the perfect nature metaphor for a renewal poem.
• How has your perspective on renewal changed over time? Allow yourself to consider different experiences or periods of your life. 

Whether you reference spring literally or simply pull inspiration from its themes, we hope these prompts motivate you to write throughout the season.