The genius of Leonardo da Vinci is most famously known through his masterpieces of art and sculpture. Also remarkable are the achievements he made in mathematics, engineering, anatomy, geology, physics, music, military technology, and aeronautics (among others). He was without peer during his lifetime, and still visionary for the distant future.
Leonardo jotted down his radical ideas in thousands of notebook pages, also known as codices. He produced one codex inspired by his direct observation on flying birds, from 1505-1506. The Codex on the Flight of Birds embodies the most advanced and natural state of Da Vinci’s studies on flight.
He was fascinated by the possibility of human mechanical flight and produced more than 35,000 words and 500 sketches regarding the nature of air, bird flight, and flying machines. In this codex, his observations and early concepts would lead to the first successful airplane at the start of the twentieth century.
Leonardo’s Great Kite is one of his famous creations. Despite the lack of complete drawings of his flying machines, his notes described in great detail the dimensions, materials list, shape, and how it would work. His notebook was devoted to the construction and use of the machine. The Great Kite would be crafted of canvas wings, pulleys, and an indispensable tail to control the machine. He calculated the wing span measured around 30 arm’s lengths (52-ish feet).
If you’re looking for a bite-sized project, you can build your very own Great Kite articulated model, inspired by his magnificent notebooks.
Try It: Great Kite Poetry
Imagine you traveled back in time and became Leonardo Da Vinci’s closest friend in 1505. He invites you over to see his flying machine, The Great Kite. He asks your opinion on the potential of human flight and what improvements he should consider to make it a possibility. Write a poem of your interaction with your genius bff.
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Featured Poem
From a recent poetry prompt, we are delighted to highlight a poem Rick shared with us:
Prayer
The world is immense
and like a word that is still growing in the silence.
– Rainer Maria Rilke
In the East, behind the mountains,
a tongue of light is moving
like a word in the silent morning.
We watch the prairie flowers take form
in the empty sound,
the colors of intention,
among the bent and swaying grasses.
In brightening wind, the kestrel circles,
we know this to be
what binds the earth and sky.
A fox on a sketch of road barks.
The hawk declares itself.
On a bicycle, a man passes us singing.
Who speaks for all in this motley choir—
Where is the high and guiding drumfire?
From within their ravaged beauty, the cities
seek a prayer for the clusters of silent sorrow.
In the face of a gray frieze, a kestrel flees its nest.
The carillons ring.
A frail cry rises
over the cultured trees and mountain peaks,
curves against the shirt of space,
the waveform of voices
under voices, the audacious and the lost,
the litany and the listening.
—by Rick Maxson
Photo by 1911 Jourdan. Creative Commons via Flickr.
Browse more writing prompts
Browse poetry teaching resources
How to Write a Poem uses images like the buzz, the switch, the wave—from the Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry”—to guide writers into new ways of writing poems. Excellent teaching tool. Anthology and prompts included.
“How to Write a Poem is a classroom must-have.”
—Callie Feyen, English Teacher, Maryland
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- Animate: Lions & Lambs Poetry Prompt - March 12, 2018
- Poetry Prompt: Behind the Velvet Rope - February 26, 2018
Donna Falcone says
Beautiful, Rick.
Rick Maxson says
Thank you, Donna.
And thank you Heather for featuring my poem.
Rick Maxson says
Here is one I revised for the occasion:
Myth of Wings
It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.
― Leonardo da Vinci
It is not enough to merely leave the ground.
You know this—what you imagine is not real.
A dark fish leaps. Armor softens
into flight—yet, the sea still pools in a raven’s wing.
The bent world turns impossibly.
Even angels are drawn to its cage,
but sleights of mind, failed in the light of day.
In only dreams are we meant to fly.
Listen: in the frail air
above the earth, where all cries are whispers,
the falcon, feathered hyphen, rises,
vanishes in the illusion of morning blue.
Ask yourself, what is this, if neither wing nor eye?
Donna Falcone says
Rick, your mind produces some of the most wonderful images.
I really like your poem, and this line especially –
but sleights of mind, failed in the light of day.
In only dreams are we meant to fly.
So much to love here.
Rick amxson says
Thank you, Donna.
Heather Eure says
Simply wonderful, Rick. And gosh, my revisions are usually taking out most of the “that’s.” I’ve really got to step up my game. 🙂
Katie says
Mr. Maxson,
Your poetry is powerfully profound.
My favorite lines from “Prayer” are:
“Who speaks for all in this motley choir –
where is the high and guiding drumfire?”
&
“. . .the audacious and the lost,
the litany and the listening.”
In Awe,
Katie
Rick Maxson says
Thank you, Katie.
Katie says
Heather,
Thank you for posting this – the links are definitely click-worthy!
What a fascinating person and stupendous mind!!!
Gratefully,
Katie
Heather Eure says
Glad you enjoyed it, Katie.
I try to be interesting. … Oh, wait… You meant Leonardo.
Quite right. 😉
Rick Maxson says
Heather, the entire lead-in to this week’s prompt was inspirational and informative. I especially loved your inclusion of the Codex.
Megan Willome says
Heather, your links intrigued me.
Airplane
we board the flying machine, the birds
behind us back home the codex
won’t fit in our four
sanctioned suitcases sketches behind us
we make mechanical wings
power our own ornithopter
Katie says
Haven’t been able to get this prompt out of my mind. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that we visited Kitty Hawk, NC in early August and saw the Wright Brother’s Memorial. Inspiring place.
The acrostic form seems to be my default form:
Genius
Reaching
Ever
Always
Trying
Knowledge
Intelligence
Training
Endeavor
(feedback appreciated)
Katie says
More Kitty Hawk/Wright Bros. inspired poems – this time cinquians and haiku:
Wilbur
Wright and Orville
Ohio flying bro’s
Flew their Flyer for twelve seconds
Hurrah
*****
Orville
and Wilbur Wright
endeavored toward flight
flying their plane right into our
hist’ry
Katie says
& here’s the haiku:
Ohio brothers
Misters W. and O. Wright
went from bikes to flight
Katie says
Hi all,
Would appreciate comments on the above cinquains and haiku.
I’m trying to learn and improve.
Gratefully,
Katie