It's the start of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere, and the first few flurries of snow are floating through the air. Snowflakes are a great reminder to pay attention to the small details in the world around you. Today, you can use snowflakes to inspire your poetry!
To start writing about snowflakes, you need to observe them in the wild. If you live in a cold enough area, go outside with some dark paper or dark gloves and a magnifying glass and see what shapes you can find!
If you don't have any snow around you, take a look at the intricate photographs by William J. Bentley, the first to capture snowflakes on a microscopic level. You can look through the unique geometric shapes he discovered by browsing through the Bentley Archive at the New York Heritage Digital Collections.
Once you have some snowflakes for inspiration, take one of the designs you especially liked and trace that shape out on a piece of paper. This will be the frame for your concrete poem.
Write a poem that follows the shape of the snowflake you chose. You can write about snow and winter, or choose a different topic entirely. Whatever topic you choose, it will be as unique as the snowflake it's shaped like!
You can display your snowflake poems by taping them to windows, hanging them from a wreath, or scattering them on your teatime table as festive winter decorations!
Be sure to share your snowflake poems with us here, and happy writing!