Freedom.

Digress.

Kindred

Omission.

Eden.

Write a poem about a history–familial, personal, ideological, national, global, etc.

Alternate writing with your non-dominant and dominant hand.

Write an ode to a daily task, like in Ross Gay’s “ode to buttoning and unbuttoning my shirt”.

Listen to a song in a language you don’t understand, write a poem based on what the song communicates to you in that moment.

Go to a museum, gallery, or even a picture frame, and write an ekphrastic poem.

Under the covers: get under a blanket and write with a flashlight.

Write without any pronouns.

Write a poem that is apologizing to someone, or forgiving them.

Example poem: Dilruba Ahmed, Phase One

Write a poem right to left, or up to down.

Brew a scene: Write while you wait for your drink to brew or steep.

Remember a dream.

Make yourself your favorite meal or comfort food, and write an ode to it in sonnet form (14 lines)

Sharing Poem: share a meal with a friend. Take turns writing down lines of a poem throughout the meal. Go slow!

Use a word from a text message you sent in the last week in a poem.

Bottle a feeling. (what does it taste like? What color is it? Is the liquid dense? What does the bottle look like?)

Write a poem while looking at a tree, don't look down

Example; Ross Gay, To the Fig Tree on 9th and Christian

If you speak another language, write a poem with as many words in another language as possible. If not, write a poem switching between your conversational and “writerly” tone and/or vernacular.

Look out of your window– write a haiku about each sight or scene you see. 

Dance your heart out to one song. Then, write!

Write a poem about your morning routine or your commute, focusing specifically on your five senses– what did you smell, touch, taste, hear, and see?

Go on a walk, write what you find.

IUse a random word generator (like this one) to generate 5 different words. Use all of them in a poem.

Draw a shape, write a poem along the lines of that shape

Example: Layli Long Soldier, Obligations 2

Play your top song of 2025 and write for the entire duration of the song.

Pick the last line of someone else’s poem and use it as the first line of a new poem. Make sure to credit that poet!