How is the 30/30 challenge going for you? I am a little behind but think I may be able to finish the thirty poems for April. Remember there’s just a few more days left, so keep on writing!

For the first prompt, choose one of the images or let the entire illustration inspire you to write a poem or story.

An additional prompt is to write how and what you would choose to communicate to your loved ones if you could after your passing. Variation: how would you choose to communicate to an enemy.

On a similar topic, what would your chatbot tell people. What “hallucinations” would you imagine it to have?

Now let’s move from the dead to born-again pelicans.

The next prompt is to write a poem or story about this medieval understanding of the pelican, connecting it to other religious symbolism or mythologies, perhaps a persona poem from either the parent or the chick.

The next prompt is based on actual pelicans and their desire to fit the world in their beaks. Explore that hunger in a poem or story.

Write about one of these photos. What are the thoughts of the giraffe? Confusion? Amusement?

What did the pelican in the backseat of the police cruiser do? Was he innocent? Did the cops plant a half-eaten fish near his nest? Write about the trial. Will he be acquitted? Who is his lawyer, Perrican Mason?

Write an ekphrastic poem or story about the monster pictured here, or check out the Wikipedia entry for more about the movie Monster from the Ocean Floor if you wish to know more (photo is from a previous exhibit of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA).

Bonus prompt: You probably have heard of the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Mothman or other cryptid. Write about one of them (again you can check out the Wikipedia entry on “List of cryptids” for more information), or create your own in a poem or story.

Good luck! Have fun!