Coloradans come together to share their lyrical musings for National Poetry Month 2026 on KUNC

This National Poetry Month at KUNC, the third time’s the charm!

2026 is the third year we’ve called for listener-submitted poems, and the turnout was stronger than ever! More than 50 people sent in their writing to share on air and online. Thank you all! It’s an honor to read, listen to and broadcast your art, Northern Colorado.

This year, we asked listeners to send in their lune and monostich poems. Here’s a quick refresher:

• A syllable lune consists of 13 syllables - five syllables in the first line, three in the second line and five in the final line. 
• A word lune has three words in the first line, five words in the second and three in the final line. 
• A monostich is a single-line stanza, usually telling a short story or sharing a witticism. 

Here’s a selection of lune poems you sent us.

By Lindsey Surdell of Denver:

Denver welcomes all 

fertile soil for transplants 

Xanadu flashback

By Kate Bell of Eagle:

Bluebirds arrive today                                               

flashes of light across sagebrush 

devouring iridescent insects

By George Grossman of Fort Collins (read by KUNC’s Stephanie Daniel):

Yellow aspen leaves

Dancing on the breeze like wings

Stretching out to fly

By Ann Suda of Fort Collins (read by KUNC’s Leigh Paterson): 

preschoolers teach us

emotional explorers skipping learning loving

joyful music makers

By Henry Himmerick of Niwot:

In the morning fog

hangs silence,

torn by a songbird.

We also got several monostichs from listeners.

By Rachel Glowacki of Eagle:

I spy, with my little Aspen eye, pink cotton candy floating in the sky.

By Rajan Bhava of Fort Collins:

I break spears of clear ice. Need blue skies. Weak hands plead her eyes.

By Terry Pettit of Fort Collins:

Near the bridge over the Cache La Poudre, the earth unbuttons its blouse: a shimmering stream of blue columbine with fireweed in the eddy

By Virginia Schultz of Golden Hill:

Wind tussled, petals, leaves appear green, frilled. Spring spurs itself awake.

By Hal Sponheim of Loveland:

Silhouettes of lodge poles emerge in the pre-dawn light, foreboding, ghostly spires. 

The call we put out this year was for lune and monostich poems, but we always get some submissions that deviate from the requested forms (as you’ll see in the full collection below).

Instructions notwithstanding, a message from Gail Lile of Boulder County caught our attention. She wanted to share a poem written by her late son, 29-year-old Lucas Lile.

Gail told KUNC she lost Lucas suddenly eight years ago. When cleaning out his old belongings, she found several poems of his that she later compiled into a book.

“I knew he wrote poetry, but I didn't realize some of them were as heartfelt as they were, and to say the least, it took my breath away,” she said.

Here’s a print excerpt of Lucas Lile’s poem, “The Beggar,” and the full poem read by Gail Lile.

…But there will be one person who won't turn away. 

She'll sit down beside him, and then she will say, 

“You are battered and broken, spat on and teased, 

and you still smile as though you are pleased.” 

He'll open his eyes and he'll give her a grin 

he’ll reply, “Because I smile beneath my own skin. 

See, no matter the torture that one may go through, 

just think of your feelings and what's important to you….

Thanks again to everyone who contributed and spread the word, and THANK YOU for being a part of our community.

You can read all the poems that we received below. You can also still read and listen to the 2024 and 2025 editions of this project.

Happy National Poetry Month!