Exercises
You can write a poem any way you want, but here are some exercises if you need help getting started.
Contrast Method
—Write the same poem two ways: a rhymed version and an unrhymed version.
—Both poems should be the same length and have the same main idea.
Love Poem Ideas
—Compare someone you love to something beautiful, unexpected, or just cool. For example: “She walks in beauty like the night.” (Lord Byron.)
—Compare YOUR OWN love for that person to something beautiful, unexpected, or just cool. For example: “My love is like a red, red rose.” (It’s not a cliche— that’s the original Robert Burns.)
—List each part of your beloved and say how you admire it. This could be physical (hair, mouth, arms) or it could be about their qualities (kindness, humor, good with animals). The technical name for this is a “blazon,” which does usually refer to physical qualities.
—If you could give your beloved anything physical, what would it be?
—What surprised you about being in love?
—What surprised you about heartbreak?
—Who in literature would understand your situation? Can you write a poem to them?
Very Short Poem!
Write a poem of three words: “You were beloved.” OR “Damn enchanted nightingale!”
Write a poem of six words: "Light me up? I’m already burning.” OR “Just a girl who swallows honey.”
Write a poem of nine words: “Darling I shake in the brutal sunlight. Come home.”
Cheese Method
--Choose three concrete nouns (that can be perceived by the 5 senses) and two verbs other than “to be.” I used to ask my students to use the word “cheese,” hence the name “cheese method.”
--Get a piece of paper and a pen and force yourself to free write (free associate) for at least three full minutes, using each word twice. DO NOT pause, stop, or think. It’s ok to repeat yourself.
--Type up your free-write into a massive block of text.
--Go through and inset line breaks.
--Read it aloud and edit any part where you stumble reading.
—Edit out any “extra” part you feel isn’t necessary.
--You’re done!
Memory Method
--Choose a memory that is distinct and important to you.
--Chose two sensory aspects of that memory and describe each
in specific detail
without mentioning yourself
in present tense.
For example, instead of “My grandmother lit a cigarette. She loved to smoke” you would write, “Joy lights a Silk Cut and watches the ash crumble into the coral ashtray. She delights in the drag.”
--Do not worry if this feels like prose/fiction!
--Now describe how the memory makes you feel in terms of bodily sensations. For example, instead of “I feel sadness” you would write “Something in my chest crumples.”
--You now have three chunks: two sensory descriptions and one description of how you feel. Slice each part into two or three pieces and put the pieces together randomly.
--Line breaks!
--Read aloud and edit any part where you stumble reading.
--Finished!
Choose a form, any form!
Check out the Forms page and choose one to experiment with. Don’t worry about getting it perfect! Just mess around.