A Bouquet of Words in Celebration of Poetry + Poets
April 2025
Now on display in the lobby area of the Center for Performing Arts.
Can you match the poet “pollinator” with their poem?! Check the answer key below.
Twelve poets. Twelve poems. A dozen examples of the dazzling possibility of words.
Every poem in this Bouquet of Words was written
by an American poet. Do recognize any of them?
Match the butterfly-poet with their flower-poem. Answer key below!
This activity was created by Rachel Gabriel of Your Word Tutor in celebration of National Poetry Month, observed each April.
All copyrights are held by the poets themselves. The reproduction of these poets’ words is intended to serve an educational purpose, and is offered in the spirit of literary citizenship.
In support of any writer’s work, purchase one of their books from a reputable bookseller! The last Saturday of April is Independent Bookstore Day. Your event passport awaits on the Rain Tax website.
Explore More
Poetry Foundation
Bookstore Day Passport
Rain Taxi
Answer Key for “A Bouquet of Words”
“Anthem” by Anthony Hecht (1923-2004)
“Eagle Poem” by Joy Harjo (b. 1951)
“Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952)
“Hope is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
“How to Triumph Like a Girl” by Ada Limón (b. 1976)
“I Go Among Trees” by Wendell Berry (b. 1934)
“Intimate Detail” by Heid E. Erdrich (b. 1963)
“I, Too” by Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
“Tattoo” by Ted Kooser (b. 1939)
“The Bean Eaters” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)
“Torso of Air” by Ocean Vuong (b. 1988)
“Ways of Talking” by Ha Jin (b. 1956)
"When I began to listen to poetry, it’s when I began to listen to the stones, and I began to listen to what the clouds had to say, and I began to listen to others. And I think, most importantly for all of us, then you begin to learn to listen to the soul, the soul of yourself in here, which is also the soul of everyone else."
— Joy Harjo quoted on Read Poetry