If you’re still having trouble getting started with a poem, then this is the chapter for you. I’ve written ten “poemstarts” that you can add to however you wish. It’s a way to get your creative juices flowing. I supply the first two or three lines, and you get to continue the poem using your own ideas. If you want to make the poems rhyme, that’s just fine, and if you don’t, then that’s just fine, too. Also, if you want to change or eliminate any of the words, then do it. It’s okay with me. Here they are:
- 1. Eleven yellow elephants
Were sitting on the floor.
They………………… - 2. I went to the market on Monday
To purchase a couple of things.
I…………………………… - 3. I’m walking through a meadow
On a sunny, sunny day.
The…………………… - 4. I have a friend who has a mouse
That lives with him inside his house.
The mouse’s name is…………….
It……………………………….. - 5. I am the captain of a ship
That sails upon the sea.
There is…………………. - 6. A Blobboloon is chasing me.
It’s hot upon my trail.
That Blobboloon…………… - 7. My favorite camel is missing.
I can’t think of where it could be.
I wonder………………………. - 8. If I could have a dinosaur,
Which I do not have yet,
I’d……………………… - 9. I have a special storage box
In which I keep my monkey’s socks,
My weasel’s watch, my………….. - 10. I saw a bird this morning
That had a purple head.
It………………………..
I like these poemstarts so much that I may try to write my own poems using all or at least some of them. I hope that you like them, too, and that you grab a pen or pencil and a piece of paper and start finishing these poemstarts now.
I also hope that this book has given you an idea of why I’ve taken such pleasure in writing poetry for more than forty years and why I find the creative process so challenging, exhilarating, and satisfying. I’d be delighted if you could feel the same way.
Here’s a simple exercise that you can use to warm up: Pick an ordinary object, take a good look at it, think about it, and then write down as many things as you can about it. For example, here are ten things that I can say about the pencil on my desk.
- 1. It’s yellow.
- 2. It’s made of wood.
- 3. It has a point at one end.
- 4. It has a rubber eraser at the other end.
- 5. It can make marks on paper.
- 6. It’s hard.
- 7. It doesn’t bend.
- 8. If I tried to bend it, it would break.
- 9. It has printing on it.
- 10. It’s not alive.
You can probably think of more things to say about it.
Now take something a bit more difficult, a living creature, maybe the bird outside your window, and write down as many things as you can about that. You could mention its size, its shape, the color of its feathers, the color of its eyes, the shape and color of its beak, the color and length of its legs, the length of its neck, the number of toes it has, the size and shape of its wings, the length of its tail feathers, and so on.
Then, if you want, take all that information, and see if you can weave some or all of it into a poem. If you don’t want to write a poem about that bird, try the same exercise with something else.
Another thing you can do is ask yourself about the differences and similarities between two very different items, in this case, the bird and the pencil. Maybe they’re both yellow. Maybe the pencil reminds you of the bird’s legs, or maybe the pencil’s point resembles the bird’s beak. The whole idea is to get you thinking creatively.
