NaPoWriMo 2017 - Prompt #13 - Inspired by Nature

Akaka Falls State Park in Hawaii.
Our parks have a long, complicated
history between humans and nature.

A common source of inspiration for poetry is the natural world.  Poets have often been inspired by landscapes, the flora and fauna, and how these change with the seasons and over time.  There is a long history of poetry and poetic forms dedicated to nature.  Often, the poet uses some aspect of the natural world as a metaphor to illustrate or support some other idea or conflict.  Nature poetry can express the relationship with humankind in a variety of ways; pleasure over agricultural cultivation, guilt over mining, fear over storms and earthquakes, and more.

Prompt #13:  Write a poem inspired by nature.  You can use memory of a place you have been, or a photo of a place you would like to visit, to inspire you.  Find unique ways into the scene or the natural experience using all of your senses, what you see, hear, feel, smell, and even taste.  Consider the relationship between humanity and nature that you encounter in the scene.  Craft your poem using as many concrete images as you can.

For something more specific, consider how your natural scene changes or will change with time and the seasons, and include those changes in the poem. 

Today I might focus on the science end of sci-fi by using the universe as my natural scene.  But if that fails, as always there is a fantasy or horror element in there somewhere to explore :)

Did you use this or one of our other prompts?  You can post your poem in our comments, if you like.

Happy Writing!

Prompts crafted by:
J.A. Grier, Senior Scientist and Education Specialist, Planetary Science Institute
Amy Grier, Managing Editor, Solstice Literary Magazine
Image Credits: My pic of Akaka Falls.