Poetry Assignment: Write a Poem about a Gathering

The weekly poetry assignment has been on hiatus for a few weeks, mainly because of all the work I was putting into NaNoWriMo in November and all of the holiday preparations in December. I wanted to rectify the situation though with a holiday poetry assignment. I understand, of course, that the holidays can mean different things to different people. There are Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Boxing Day, Solstice and even New Years. The general understanding, no matter what a group’s beliefs are, is that this is a time for friends and family to come together and renew their bonds.

In that spirit, this assignment is about gathering together. We gather in many ways and in many places — from homes to churches to restaurants and bars. Gatherings can be renewing and enriching or caustic and damaging. When they gather together, you can often see people at their best or at their worst.

Your poem should focus on a gathering. It can be related to the holidays or it can go off in any other direction. The important thing is that people gather together, for whatever reason.

For Further Reading

Some poetry sites you may not have seen:

Poetry Foundation: They publish Poetry Magazine, and have an extensive poetry site.
Bukowski.net: A web site devoted to poet Charles Bukowski.
Oldpoetry.com: Publishes and has discussions about the poetry and essays of classic poets.
Funny Poems: Poems that will make you laugh, or at least try to.
The Writer’s Almanac: A daily almanac with poetry and calendar information for poets and writers. Run by Garrison Keillor.
Poetry Magic: Poetry theory and craft.