When you think of poetry, you might imagine a poet in an ivory tower scrawling haiku on parchment with a quill. Or perhaps you imagine them standing on the edge of a cliff, staring up at the sky and writing epic verse about how the stars speak to them. But in actuality, poetry is all around us. Poetry can be found everywhere—in nature and human emotion, in science and technology. In this post I'll explore 7 prompts based on the universe that can help get your creative juices flowing for writing your next poem!
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Space
Space is the void between celestial bodies. It's a vacuum, empty and big. It's dark, cold and lonely in space -- but it can also be beautiful if you look closely enough at the stars twinkling above your head.
Space has been around since before time began, but humans have only recently begun exploring it in any significant way; we still don't know everything there is to know about this vast expanse of nothingness!
The Beginning of Time
The universe is a big place. Think about it: everything you know, everything you've seen and experienced in your life--it all started with one big bang. The universe began as an infinitesimal speck of energy that grew into galaxies upon galaxies of stars, planets and other celestial bodies. In fact, there are more than 100 billion galaxies that we know of so far!
The beginning of time can be hard to imagine because we have no way of knowing what happened before the big bang occurred. But scientists believe that our own galaxy (and possibly even our solar system) formed from gas clouds as they condensed together under gravity's pull over billions and billions of years ago.
Loneliness
Loneliness is a universal feeling. It's something that can strike at any time, for any reason and it doesn't discriminate. Loneliness can be good or bad--but it's not the same as being alone or lonely.
Loneliness is a feeling of isolation, where you feel like no one else understands you or cares about what you're going through: "My loneliness is so vast, so immense / It makes me want to scream out loud." --Lorde
Being alone means having no one around; being lonely means feeling isolated even in crowds: "I'm trying hard not to feel lonely / But sometimes it gets too much." --Duffy
The Moon
The moon is a natural satellite, the only celestial body on which humans have walked and the only celestial body that has its own day. It also has two hemispheres: the near side and far side. Write a poem about uniqueness, or special qualities in your favourite person/hobby/object etc.
Extra Terrestrials
Aliens
Spacecrafts
Planets, stars and galaxies
Write a poem about the day humans contact E.Ts.
Stars
Stars are the most widely known objects in the universe. They're celestial bodies that produce their own light and heat, and most stars are larger than our Sun. Some of them are smaller than our Sun, too! Stars come in different colors and sizes; some are red giants or white dwarfs (which means they're dying), while others burn blue-white like our sun does now.
Most stars have been around longer than Earth has existed -- some for billions of years! But even though they've been around so long, they won't last forever: eventually all their fuel will run out and they'll either become black holes or supernovas (which means they'll explode).
Galaxies and Constellations.
If you're interested in astronomy, write a poem about the constellations and galaxies that are visible from your location. The milky way is a great starting point for inspiration. You can also find inspiration from other stars and planets like Sirius or Mars.
Orion is a good example of how ancient civilizations used the stars as guides for navigation, so it would be interesting to write about that time period too!
Conclusion
I hope this list has inspired you to write a poem about the universe! I know it can be intimidating, but it's worth the effort. The more we learn about space, the more amazing it becomes. And who knows? Maybe one day your poem will help someone else understand their place in the universe too.
