A Poet’s Self-Portrait

warrior markings
perspective is everything
mastectomy scars

NaPoWriMo Early Prompt Maybe one of the most common subjects in art is a portrait – a painting of one, singular person. Portrait poems are also very common. To get a sense of the breadth of style and form that these poems can take, take a look at Anni Liu’s prose poem, “Portrait Of,” John Yau’s, “Portrait,” and Karl Kirchwey’s “The Red Portrait.” Now try penning a portrait poem of your own. It can be a self-portrait, a portrait of someone well known to you, or even a poem inspired by an actual painted portrait. (If you’re looking for one to inspire you, why not check out the online collection of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery?)

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Hello and Welcome! I hope you enjoyed my Haiku as a self-portrait. Tomorrow is the first day of National Poetry Month. I’m looking forward to the journey the art of words will take all of us. Happy Reading, Sharing, and Writing, fellow artists. Let’s do this.