Happy World Poetry Day! In honor of this international day to celebrate the art of poetry, we are holding a poetry contest. Using one of the three poem formats described below, write a poem about food and farming and send it to us by this Saturday, March 26th. The winning poet will have their work posted on our blog in addition to receiving a complementary Real Time Farms t-shirt. Just email your submissions to meg@realtimefarms.com before the deadline to be considered for the contest.

Don’t delay! Take a brief moment out of your day to sit back, relax and get your creative juices flowing.

1. Quatrain
Four-line poetry that is often formed by two rhyming couplets. A common and easy way to write a quatrain poem is to use this pattern: aabb (where the first line rhymes with the second and the third line rhymes with the fourth–see below). Additional quatrain patterns include: abab, abba, and abcb.

My Example:
Vegetables planted all in a row.
People lined up because they want to know,
how is it grown? and, how was it raised?
This movement is more than a passing craze.

2. Haiku
A popular one that you might remember from elementary school. Three-line poem with a total of 17 syllables–first line 5 syllables, second line 7 syllables, third line 5 syllables.

My Example:
Small seeds sprouting up
Reaching toward the bright sun rays
Growing tall and strong

3. Alliteration
Poems with phrases or sentences with adjacent or closely connected words that repeat the same letter or sounds at the beginning.

My Example:
Cool cucumbers hiding in the shade,
of great green leaves.
Lovely ladies out in the fields,
wiping water droplets from their brows.
Relentless sun shining down,
heating the soil and sand beneath their feet.

Want to know more about poetry? Need additional examples for inspiration? Visit
www.poetryfoundation.org and check out their poetry tool (search for poems by glossary term to see examples of haiku and alliteration, among other poem formats).