The Toy Press, a delightful Children’s Poetry Magazine, release a weekly word prompt for Poets on their Socials every Monday morning. This week, the word was: horse. After a few minutes of brainstorming, my mind drifted towards the strange prehistoric Chalk Horses that were carved into the hillsides of the English Countryside. I imagined one of these horses coming to life, and taking a child on a magical moonlit ride. It was great fun trying to write to a galloping rhythm and also to try and create the atmosphere of a dark October night. I will leave it to you to decide whether or not it was all just a dream…
If you’re a teacher, educator or a poet, here are a few activity ideas for you:
- Write a poem about a horse using a galloping rhythm;
- Write an atmospheric poem about a crisp October night; thinking about the sights, sounds and smells you might experience;
- Write a poem about a magical midnight journey; have fun and let your imagination fly!
The sun slipped away past the cottages
The chimneys were billowing smoke
The air was as crisp as a biscuit
The sky like a black, velvet cloak.
The stars were a sprinkle of glitter
The October moon bright and round
The forest lay distant in darkness
The owls made their faint hooting sound,
I lay looking out of my window
On my bed, neath the attic's sloped eaves
When whoosh, went a star shooting eastward,
And swish, went the wind through the leaves.
Then down from the hillside came galloping
A chalky white horse on the run,
I jumped on its back and went riding
To chase down the first rays of sun.
Its hooves scattered moonbeams like diamonds
Its mane was a flickering flame
We rode 'til the shadows went racing
And the light of the breaking dawn came.
