1. Write about an object that has a lot of nostalgic value for you. As a bonus challenge, try to write about this object without directly stating what it is in your poem.
2. Write a poem about your hometown: how you feel about it, the connection you have to it, how it has shaped you (for better or worse).
3. Collect scraps of “junk writing”—spam mail, credit card bills, newspaper clippings, billboard text, etc. Stitch those texts together into a poem.
4. Write a poem about a piece of clothing that reflects something important or essential about who you are as a person.
5. Find something dark and hidden inside your brain, your body, your heart. Shine a light on it. What do you see?
6. Think of a memory where the details aren’t clear. Fill in the details in a poem.
7. It’s spring! Write about coming out of a long hibernation—either literal or metaphorical.
8. Flash of lightning. Crack of the baseball bat. Stoplight turns green. Write about a time when a seemingly mundane event created a stroke of inspiration.
9. You look into the lens of something—a camera, a telescope, a pair of binoculars, etc.—and something strange peers back at you. What do you see?
10. Write about an event that you might interpret as a sign from a higher power. This higher power could be a god, aliens, the universe, etc.
11. Write a poem in which two people begin as lovers and end as enemies. OR the other way around.
12. Write a poem about what keeps you warm. Perhaps it’s a hot cup of tea, the glow of a happy memory, or the light at the end of the tunnel.
13. Write a poem that involves diametrically opposing views about something simple. For example, two people might bicker over the proper way to brew coffee, or whether a hotdog is a sandwich.
14. What do you see in the mirror? Write a “self-portrait” poem.
15. Spend some time listening to other people talk. It can be in a public space, a voice on the radio or TV, or outside listening to your neighbors. (Just don’t get caught!) Use a line from someone else’s conversation as the starting place for a poem.
16. Write about two opposing yet co-existing realities.
17. Write about an important realization you had, at a time when you felt particularly alone.
18. What’s something you’ve seen hundreds, even thousands of times, but has never lost its beauty? Write an ode to this thing’s beauty.
19. “Apophenia” is the human tendency to see patterns in random information. Write a poem about patterns that seem to be connected, even if they’re completely random.
20. Write a poem in the form of a letter, addressed to a specific person.
21. Write a poem from the perspective of a detective. They’re not solving crime, necessarily—you might write about a detective for lost things, for past emotions, for new opportunities, etc.
22. Explain something to a younger version of yourself. How to survive heartbreak, solve differential equations, drive, avoid bad people, etc.
23. Write about a mundane task that (secretly) doubles as a magical ritual.
24. Smells are one of the most powerful triggers for memory. They also make for impactful imagery. Write a poem that begins with a smell. Let the smell waft into memory, then write from there.
25. Write a poem that uses all of these words: chartreuse, guide, safe, sweat, wall, presentation, manor, perfume.
26. Close your eyes, flip through a poetry book, and put your finger on a page. Whatever word you’re pointing at, use it as a title for your poem, and write from there.
27. Write a poem about family traditions: keeping them, breaking them, or anything else you can do with them.
28. Write a poem that begins at the end of something, then moves backwards.
29. Write a poem inspired a certain genre of music. Try to write in the style of that genre—for example, pop is rhythmic, rock alternates in staccatos and riffs, etc. (You might be interested in Jazz Poetry for inspiration. Learn about it here.)
30. “If _______ didn’t exist for a day.” Fill in the blank, and write about the results of something not existing – but only for 24 hours.

Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore