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50 Poetry Prompts

Hello Kitty Alarm Clock

50 Fun Poetry Prompts
  1. write like you are a character in a reality show
  2. write from the POV of your pet; or what if your pet was a person
  3. write an ode to somebody: your favorite teacher, a parent, partner, sibling, coworker, aunt or uncle, cousin, etc.
  4. write about an event you missed and what you imagine it was like
  5. rewrite a college essay as a poem - either as you were then, or as you are now
  6. write about the best date you never had
  7. what a parallel universe might be like
  8. what you will do if you are a ghost
  9. write a horror or scary poem
  10. write about a dream you had
  11. write any poem without using "I", "we" or "the"
  12. what you like or hate about your neighborhood
  13. the best or worst meal you ever had, or recently
  14. write about a boss or job you had - good, bad, etc.
  15. the worst or best employee you ever had
  16. how a previous job impacted your life
  17. a great or terrible concert experience
  18. write about a physical or mental health issue you have (claustrophobia)
  19. the favorite thing in your kitchen; your bedroom; your house
  20. something you wish had happened in childhood but did not
  21. feelings about a political or social justice issue
  22. write about an event or vacation in reverse 
  23. focus on one emotion, one sensation - taste, sight, etc.
  24. write about something that scared you; was it truly scary or safe / mundane / benign?
  25. a time when you changed your perspective or mind
  26. take the perspective of somebody very different than you; e.g., royalty, movie star, fisherman
  27. try a specific poetry format / style like postcard, haibun, sestina
  28. react or get inspired by a painting or piece of art
  29. find a quote and center the poem on it - epigraph
  30. write about a crime or criminal
  31. a nature poem - tree, body of water, park, weather, moon/sun, planets
  32. a poem about a creature - mammal, bug, ocean creature, etc.
  33. an imaginary family reunion
  34. a time you were sick / ill / in the hospital
  35. theme of giving birth, breastfeeding, motherhood / fatherhood
  36. imagine being abducted by aliens
  37. write about something you collect - figurines, dolls, plants, dishes, etc.
  38. a poem about visiting an antique store or thrift store, or an object there
  39. pull interesting words/phrases from a meeting/podcast/etc. and use in a poem
  40. find inspiration from a favorite book
  41. find inspiration from a personal tragedy or something moving in the news
  42. write about a favorite or reliable piece of clothing
  43. write about a trip to your favorite place - like the pool, beach, zoo, etc.
  44. imagine what it's like to be in prison
  45. pick a number and write a poem with that many lines, or use the number as a theme
  46. pick a favorite word and use each letter as the start of each line
  47. randomly pick words from a magazine and use them in a poem
  48. do stream of consciousness about what is weighing on your mind
  49. imagine what it would be like to try something new
  50. write instructions to put together an imaginary machine

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