2026 NaPM 10 April

[RiverNotch]

Write a poem for National Poetry Month based on the topic described....rather, write a poem set in, pertaining to, or inspired by the given region, whether its entirety or just some part of it, as this year's prompts are going to be unified by the theme "Around the World" like last year's prompts were unified by the theme "Esoterica". Each poem should appear as a separate reply to this thread. There are three levels of participation:

Bronze. Participated at least once.

Silver. Participated every day.

Gold. Participated every day, with all entries either being the same form (e.g., every one a sonnet) or being distinct forms (e.g., no two haiku).


Today's region is Western Europe.

[dukealien]

Look Inside


Some proclaim the elegance of their culture
based on ancient pyramids or pagodas
or a Road, a Way handed down but I say
see a Cathedral

to observe eternity raised in fitted
stone and glass all brilliantly worked and colored
by men over centuries, generations
faithfully striving.

Trust and Law - like Chivalry, never perfect -
raised the West to power and majesty.  But
to appreciate the West’s inner beauty,
see a Cathedral.

[Mark A Becker]

A Family Rises from the Ashes of Western Europe

In 1943 my mom worked at Stalag III D in Berlin Germany
censoring the mail of American prisoners.

In 1944 my dad, who was born in Vienna, Austria,
arrived in Metz France with the US Army 87th Infantry.

He would pass within 35 miles of where his younger brother, Fridolin,
a private in the German army, was killed.

As his unit moved through Belgium, he would come within 60 miles
of where my mom’s husband, a German Lieutenant, was killed

on Oct 3rd, 1944, the day before my oldest brother was born.
My mom and dad would eventually meet in Berlin

where they would be married as the war was ending. Since my dad
was an American who still maintained Austrian citizenship

he was able to retrieve my brother from the mountains in Austria,
where he had been hidden from the war with his grandmother.

The new family would make it back to America, settle in the DC area,
and proceed to have 7 more children. It wasn’t until I was a teenager

that I found out that my mom had been previously married,
or my dad ever had a brother who was also killed. They rarely spoke

of the war, yet I was eventually able to uncover scant details.

[busker]

A Family Rises from the Ashes of Western Europe

In 1943 my mom worked at Stalag III D in Berlin Germany
censoring the mail of American prisoners.

In 1944 my dad, who was born in Vienna, Austria,
arrived in Metz France with the US Army 87th Infantry.

He would pass within 35 miles of where his younger brother, Fridolin,
a private in the German army, was killed.

As his unit moved through Belgium, he would come within 60 miles
of where my mom’s husband, a German Lieutenant, was killed

on Oct 3rd, 1944, the day before my oldest brother was born.
My mom and dad would eventually meet in Berlin

where they would be married as the war was ending. Since my dad
was an American who still maintained Austrian citizenship

he was able to retrieve my brother from the mountains in Austria,
where he had been hidden from the war with his grandmother.

The new family would make it back to America, settle in the DC area,
and proceed to have 7 more children.  It wasn’t until I was a teenager

that I found out that my mom had been previously married,
or my dad ever had a brother who was also killed. They rarely spoke

of the war, yet I was eventually able to uncover scant details.

This has the content to be a great poem. Maybe after the Canadian national poetry month, when you can work on it...

[RiverNotch]

The Birth of Capitalism


A giant from the northern coasts of France
struck with a club the giant sat on the shining
cliffs of Dover, stomped on his slumped-over back,

and shouted "Now I'm lord of all this land!"
Wiping away the brains about the knot
of wood he used for a weapon, he drew a knife

and started to skin and butcher the corpse beneath him,
passing the ribs for braising and loins for frying
to his hungriest of peers---to himself leaving,

beside the nutritious offal, the foremost right
to settle any disputes that should arise
between his peers and the corpse's former dependents

kept somewhat free as labor-selling tenants.
Thus started a vicious cycle: with all this work
vended for mere subsistence and laws too rigid

to license overt exploitation, the emphasis shifted
to making the land more productive, to feeding the city
where workshops and factories sprang, to birthing a world
where markets could supplant both laws and lords.

[Mark A Becker]

This has the content to be a great poem. Maybe after the Canadian national poetry month, when you can work on it...

Thanks busker-
This loose narrative list 'poem' contains several potential poems, and I'm already developing ideas for those.