2020 April PAD Challenge: Day 30

We’ve made it through from the beginning of the month to the end (and some have been here an extra 10 days on top of that). And for that, I am thankful. Here’s to another day, another month, and another year of poeming together!

For today’s prompt, write a praise poem. Praise your health or the taste of chocolate cake. Pen an ode to normalcy (whatever that is) or expound on the wonders of your favorite pen (for me, it’s either the Pilot G-2 or Pilot Precise V5). Have a favorite song? A favorite saying? Today is a perfect day to sing its praises.

Remember: These prompts are just springboards; you have the freedom to jump in any direction you want. In other words, it’s more important to write a new poem than to stick to the prompt.

Here’s my attempt at a Praise Poem:

“Covet”

In the end, we have to celebrate ourselves,
because there are no guarantees in this life
that others will. We hope they will, but still,
we have to believe it. We have to feel it

deep down in ourselves, those electrons
swirling without ever touching, our DNA
reaching into the past and yearning for
a future. We have to feel it deep down

that we are special, that there’s a reason
even if it’s just that one moment in winter
alone in a park beneath a full moon
looking over the city and feeling fully alive.

Robert Lee BrewerAuthor

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of Solving the World's Problems, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.