Emotion poems

Start out National Poetry month with a choice between two templates to pull out some colorful emotional language. This can be a useful exercise for prose writers too :-)

[Emotion]
If [emotion] were a color,
It would be [color].
As [color] as a _____.
If [emotion] were a taste,
It would taste like _____.
If [emotion] were a feeling,
It would feel like _____.
If [emotion] were a smell,
It would smell like _____.
If [emotion] were a sound,
It would sound like _____.

[Emotion] is [color] like a {object].
It looks like ...
It sounds like ...
It smells like ...
It feels like ...
It tastes like ...

The second template came from Poetry Ideas. The example given there expands beyond the template which is an encouragement to play around and use it as inspiration.

EXAMPLE:

If anger was a color
It would be bright red
As fiery hot as a volcano.
If anger was a taste
It would be just like red peppers.
If anger was a feeling
It would be as turbulent as pot of boiling water on high flame.
If anger was a smell
It would be awful as a landfill on a summer's day.
If anger was a sound
It would be loud as a parent when you come home late for dinner.

EXAMPLE (by Andrew Wesner):

Anger is red like fire
It pops and crackles in your head
It smells like smoke that you could choke on
It feels like you hair's on fire
It's going to explode!