Seasonal Poetry Prompts for Spring and Summer
Poets often hail the seasons by writing odes to them, and spring and summer are no exceptions.
Rebirth is a common theme in poetry, so the spring season, with its fresh skies and new shoots, is a great inspiration for composition.
Summer is packed with sights, smells, and sounds: splashing water and fresh lemonade; hot dogs from the fair and bike rides on the beach.
All of these things find their way into poetry.
Poetry Prompts for Spring
As always, these poetry prompts are simple and straightforward. Choose one of the three lists and write a poem using every word in that list. Or, to really challenge yourself, try using all the words from all the lists in your poem. You can even mix and match the words on these lists however you want.
| Flower Buds | Blue-Gray Skies | Mud and Muck |
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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. You can mix up the words to write a free-verse poem or choose one word from each list to kick-start each verse in a five-verse poem. 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. Or, 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 ballParade
Surfer Tourist Swimsuits Sunglasses (shades) Buckets & Spades Dripping Ice cream Boardwalk Horseshoe crabs Jelly fish Lifeguard boats Beach bags Lightning bugs (fireflies), June bugs Hanging basket Clear blue skies Cotton white clouds |
SplashingOutdoor concerts (or beach concerts)
Waves crashing Thunder (don’t forget about those summer storms!) Music blaring from convertibles Seagull calls Lawn mowers Fans (A/C) Children playing Ice cream truck/van Buzzing bees, bumble bees buzzing, honey bees |
BarbecueChlorine (swimming pool)
Suntan lotion (or sunblock) Coconut Ripe peaches Wildflowers Freshly cut grass (wet summers like this one), parched grass (dry summers) Fresh summer rain |
Ice creamFresh summer fruits: watermelon, plums, grapes
Flavored shaved ice, popsicles Iced tea and lemonade Cotton candy, popcorn Fish & Chips Salt water taffy Vine-ripe tomatoes Sea (salt) water Strawberries and cream Blackberry pie |
(Gritty) sandWater
(Feet in) flip-flops Burn-your-feet-hot concrete/pavement Warm/hot breezes Freshly watered (or cut) grass Water balloons in the face (via water balloon fights!) Sun on your face |
Share Your Poetry Prompts (or Your Poems)
If you write a poem using these prompts, feel free to post it in the comments. Or, post it on your blog and then come back here and drop a link.
Keep writing (and reading) poetry!
If you have any poetry prompts or writing exercises to share, feel free to post them in the comments or send them in as a guest post. And if you have any prompts to add to these lists, share them and I’ll add them in a future update.
Melissa Donovan is a website designer and copywriter. She writes fiction and poetry and is the founder and editor of Writing Forward, a blog packed with creative writing tips and ideas.
Fish & Chips
Popcorn
Gritty Sand
Buckets & Spades
Dripping Icecream
Awesome, I’m going to add these to the lists!
boardwalk
fudge
salt water taffy
horseshoe crabs
jelly fish
seagull calls
lifequard boats
beach tags
concerts on the beach
Thanks so much Shawna. I’m adding these!
I’ve followed Writing Forward for quite a while and always look forward to seeing a new post on your site. Thank you for all of your great tips and resources!
See – lightning bugs (fireflies), June bugs
Hear – lawn mower, fans
Smell – fresh-cut grass (wet summers like this one), parched grass (dry summers)
Taste – vine-ripe tomatoes
Touch – burn-your-feet-hot concrete/pavement, warm/hot breezes
These are great Ramey! Thanks, I’m adding them to the post.
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 them to the post now
smell:fresh summer rain
hear: bumble bee’s buzzing
taste: blackberry pie
touch: sun on your face
see: cotton white clouds
These are excellent Pamela. I love how these lists are growing
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. I keep the comments open so that people can continue using these prompts and participating in the conversations. There are no expiration dates here! Thanks so much for sharing the lovely poem you wrote
Thanks for sharing your carnival and for including Writing Forward in it