KENNING LIST
Kennings are two words stuck together. They are compound nouns and originated in Norse Mythology with examples like “Sky-Candle” for the Sun and “Whale-Road” for the Sea.
Kenning means “Knowing”. Sometimes a bit of guesswork is required to work out what they mean. This makes them feel like riddles! They are also a great way to invent your own metaphors.
In this example of a Kenning List poem, each line of two words gives a clue to what the poem is about.
Whatever you are up to this month, there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s HALLOWEEN on 31st October. Make your poems SWEET or SCARY!
Send your poetic inspirations to Linda Davidson:
Date prompts include:
Picture Prompt:
Artwork: MR CHIRRUP THE CRICKET AND HIS CHOIR by Cindy Wider
Granny yelled crossly, “what’s all that commotion? I can hardly think.
Come inside at once, sit down and have a drink!
But first of all, go and wash your hands
Who knows what germs you’ve picked up playing in the woodlands!
So, what have you got to say for yourself my little rascal Dan?
I saw you pull your sister’s hair before she ran and ran and ran!
And you my little doll face throwing sticks is just not on,
You could have taken his eye out and we’d have Pirate John!
For the sake of world peace and anything else that matters,
You must learn to get on together or you will find your world in tatters!
Now have a cup of granny’s tea and a pumpkin scone,
You will find that after sharing a cuppa all your problems are gone!
International Day of Peace was 21st September 2026
Image from Pexels
Shake off the shackles of rhyme and pen your next poem with a pattern of ANAPHORA, where a word or expression is repeated at the beginning of each line, or the beginning of each verse.
There were flocks of hungry Pellies
breaking into deli’s.
They filled up their beaks
with enough food for weeks
and returned when they’d emptied their bellies.
image from Pixabay
“I see that your eyes are so blue,”
said Jenny to charming young Hugh.
She blew him a kiss
of ultimate bliss
and fainted head first in the stew.
Image from Pexels
There once was an eater of custard,
who one day became quite flustered.
He cleaned off his plate,
but realised too late –
he’d mistakenly eaten some mustard.
Image from Pixabay
There once was a girl named Ludmilla
who lived on a hill in Manila.
She got rid of her cat,
which was scared by a rat,
and bought herself a gorilla.
There was a young man from Cuba
who tried to play the tuba.
He puckered his lips,
pushed hard with his hips,
and blew himself to Bermuda.
There was a young poet called Lear,
whose rhymes were a treat to the ear.
After eating some turmeric
he composed a limerick
and fell asleep for a year.
Image from Pixabay
There once was a chicken called ‘Polly’,
whose name sounded happy and jolly,
‘til one morning at two,
she crowed, “cock-a-doo,”
now our chook is a rooster called Wally.
Image from Pixabay
An impressive, aggressive iguana
while eating his breakfast banana
slipped on the skin
went into a spin
and ended up flying to Ghana
Image from Pixabay
