Author: Sahed

101. Wheels spin, racing against the wind. Against the tide. Against the crack of the whip, against time.  

102. Use all of the following words in a poem: spades, dripping, waves, crashing, platter, shaved, mobs. 

103. Write a poem about something (not a person) that makes you angry.  

104. Write a poem using the following image: a red stapler. 

105. You’re driving through town with your windows down, and you pass that inter-section where you can smell all the fast food restaurants. 

106. Use all of the following words in a poem: clean, squeak, scoop, gone, morsels, pound. 

107. Write a poem about technology.  

108. Write a poem using the following image: a highway packed with cars during commute hour. 

109. It’s Halloween and you’re bobbing for apples. You stick your face in the cool water, chomp around searching for purchase, and feel the apples bumping against your face and floating away from you. Then you get a ripe little apple lodged firmly between your teeth. 

110. Use all of the following words in a poem: telling, rinse, foul, junction, harbor, possessive, horse. 

111. Write a poem about being a writer. 

112. Write a poem using the following image: the vast emptiness and beauty of space. 

113. It’s so hot, you can see the heat dancing against the asphalt. So hot, you rub an ice cube against your neck. So hot… 

114. Use all of the following words in a poem: lemonade, cotton, fish, taffy, ripe, saltwater, blackberry. 

115. Write a poem about a junkyard, an antique store, or a pawn shop. 

116. Write a poem using the following image: the back room of a butcher shop. 

117. After a light but satisfying meal, you order dessert. It’s rich, sweet, and freshly baked. You bite into it and your taste buds explode with delight. 

118. Use all of the following words in a poem: womb, harvest, wishes, food, spinning, hands, leaves, lie. 

119. Write a poem about the house in which you live. 

120. Write a poem using the following image: an office worker sitting in a cubicle. 

121. Write a poem about something ugly—war, fear, hate, or cruelty—but try to find the beauty (silver lining) in it or something good that comes out of it. 

122. Use all of the following words in a poem: thunder, blaring, seagulls, fans, children, wrap, span.  

123. Write a poem about a restaurant. 

124. Write a poem using the following image: a window on the forty-second floor of a high-rise building. 

125. Silvery flakes drifted downward, glittering in the bright light of the harvest moon. The blackbird soared.  

126. Use all of the following words in a poem: brother, car, flying, animals, rolling, concrete, ice, red.  

127. Write a poem about the library or a bookstore. 

128. Write a poem using the following image: a grave surrounded by mourners. 

129. A twinkling eye can mean many things. Write a poem about a twinkle in some- one’s eye. 

130. Use all of the following words in a poem: snap, spoon, grass, needles, carts, roll, squeeze, crimson. 

131. Write a poem about hobos. 

132. Write a poem using the following image: bats hanging upside-down in a cave. 

133. Two players, two sides, two strategies. They rise with weapons held high— words or swords, law or rebellion. Write a poem about opposition or competition.  

134. Use all of the following words in a poem: toes, pale, veins, floor, spiderwebs, dive. 

135. Write a poem about an abandoned ghost town. 

136. Write a poem using the following image: a prison cell with writing all over the walls. 

137. Write a poem about something beautiful—love, birth, a glorious sunset—but find the dark side of it.  

138. Use all of the following words in a poem: sisters, duty, floating, give, green, face, found. 

139. Write a poem about the sun or the moon. 

140. Write a poem using the following image: a courtroom after a trial. 

141. A face mapped with wrinkles and years…Bent hands that worked for decades… Write a poem about old age. 

142. Use all of the following words in a poem: shift, dynamite, screen, flag, pipes, boots, grime, flailing, spray, grind.  

143. Write a poem about gypsies. 

144. Write a poem using the following image: a shark nearing a school of fish. 

145. Beneath the frost a little green shoot pushes itself up from the soil, through the icy crust, and into the damp, chilly air. 

146. Use all of the following words in a poem: whine, crow, gap, black, danger, divide, pithy. 

147. Write a poem about hunting.  

148. Write a poem using the following image: a mad scientist’s laboratory. 

149. Write a poem to someone who makes you uncomfortable.  

150. Use all of the following words in a poem: ink, hair, banjo, roller, tea, parade. 

151. Write a poem about the last day of school. 

152. Write a poem using the following image: a penny on the floor of a subway station. 

153. Fresh skin, smooth head, and a tiny wailing mouth. Write a poem about a baby. 

154. Use all of the following words in a poem: curl, motor, spice, retch, racket, lavender, crumble. 

155. Write a poem about fashion. 

156. Write a poem using the following image: a vase filled with dying flowers. 

157. In the clock shop, the walls are covered with timepieces. Pieces of time. Chimes on the hour. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. 

158. Use all of the following words in a poem: fade, slumber, belly, step, magnificent, snip. 

159. Write a poem about a place you want to go someday. 

160. Write a poem using the following image: blood on the dance floor.   

161. The glass house cracks. 

162. Use all of the following words in a poem: whistle, low, biting, smooth, stroll, scrape, blast. 

163. Write a poem about the ocean, a lake, or a river. 

164. Write a poem using the following image: a howl at high noon. 

165. They march with their heads high, weapons at the ready, approaching the front line. Write a poem about soldiers. 

166. Use all of the following words in a poem: underdog, lambast, prayer, blue, cringe, fall, tense.  

167. Write a poem about your favorite sport or athletic activity. 

168. Write a poem using the following image: a commuter on the subway wearing headphones and tinkering with a smartphone. 

169. Just one kiss is all it takes, and you’re barreling like a roller coaster car on the loose. Write a poem about new love. 

170. Use all of the following words in a poem: tinker, brass, maple, brush, stomp, fast. 

171. Write a poem about vampires, werewolves, or zombies. 

172. Write a poem using the following image: a cat sitting on a windowsill looking outside. 

173. It smells of disinfectant and medication. Quiet footsteps bustle down corridors and into rooms filled with sorrow and hope. Write a poem set in a hospital.  

174. Use all of the following words in a poem: claw, wool, lift, silver, buried, coax, fixed, moving.  

175. Write a poem about being chased or hunted. 

176. Write a poem using the following image: an old person sitting in meditation. 

177. There’s a quiet cracking sound, and then an apple falls, twirling to the ground below and bruising itself against the hard earth. 

178. Use all of the following words in a poem: dust, gnaw, light, copper, tubes, silent, saw, crash, drip. 

179. Write a poem about looking for something or someone. 

180. Write a poem using the following image: a group of kids eating together at a table in a cafeteria. 

181. Sand. For miles and miles, nothing but sand and dry, scorching heat. Parched throat, sweaty, sunburned brow. Oasis. Mirage. 

182. Use all of the following words in a poem: shuffle, back, starts, flat, tug, gone.  

183. Write a poem about hope or honor.  

184. Write a poem using the following image: someone sleeping in a car. 

185. The campfire burns, and marshmallows melt, seeping liquid sugar into the hot flames. The stick is charred, and we smack our lips in the dark.  

186. Use all of the following words in a poem: stamp, bail, treat, keel, gray, joint.  

187. Write a poem about a photograph. 

188. Write a poem using the following image: adults dressed in costumes. 

189. The stars wrap themselves around Earth in a celestial embrace. 

190. Use all of the following words in a poem: net, brisk, mammoth, oily, pierce, wobbly, young.  

191. Write a poem about innocence and corruption. 

192. Write a poem using the following image: someone opening a letter near the mailbox. 

193. Write a poem to someone who always offends you or makes you angry.  

194. Use all of the following words in a poem: drive, clock, sparkle, yellow, palm, dress. 

195. Write a poem about corporations.  

196. Write a poem using the following image: a lone red balloon floating up into the sky. 

197. A politician on the dais, a preacher in the pulpit, and seekers in the stands. 

198. Use all of the following words in a poem: bridge, watch, lower, square, faded, bound, shoe, crooked.  

199. Write a poem about moving on.  

200. Write a poem using the following image: the aftermath of a bar fight. 

201. The wind roars and trees pound against the house. In the backyard, a shade umbrella is swept up, swirling into the storm.  

202. Use all of the following words in a poem: river, chime, toll, drift, coil, back lash.  

203. Write a poem about the house in which you grew up. 

204. Write a poem using the following image: a frog sitting on a lily pad. 

205. Sticky-faced kids and long lines for broken down rides. 

206. Use all of the following words in a poem: yeah, chip, down, neck, order, room. 

207. Write a poem about two people who haven’t seen each other in a long time. 

208. Write a poem using the following image: a dancer stretching in a dance studio against a backdrop of hardwood floors and a wall of mirrors. 

209. A cobwebbed cabin tucked so far into the trees, they’re growing though the floors.  

210. Use all of the following words in a poem: lake, tick, charge, composed, moss, believe.  

211. Write a poem about a sunset or a sunrise. 

212. Write a poem using the following image: a child sitting alone on a bench in a schoolyard.  

213. Write a poem about civil service 

214. Use all of the following words in a poem: slide, aged, bank, jam, lead, permit, stink. 

215. Write a poem about a pen, a computer, or a piece of paper. 

216. Write a poem using the following image: a large family eating together at a harvest dining table. 

217. The dew is fresh and the world is hushed in the breaking light of dawn. Hurried footsteps scamper across the stones in the garden. 

218. Use all of the following words in a poem: left, match, pile, row, sign, survey, charge, dear.

219. Write a poem about your favorite meal. What does it look like? How does it smell? Describe the texture and the taste. 

220. Write a poem using the following image: a floor covered with torn wrapping paper and discarded ribbons and bows. 

221. Pedestrians collide, and a letter falls from a pocket. It tumbles onto the side- walk, kicked along by passersby.  

222. Use all of the following words in a poem: cap, court, back, cobble, sniff, nick, shebang.  

223. Write a poem about secrets.  

224. Write a poem using the following image: a couple dressed in formal attire sitting on a bench at a bus stop. 

225. A tiny scar, a large scar, a break in the bone, and blood. Stitches and pitches and cries and yawns. A tiny pill and the pain is gone. 

226. Use all of the following words in a poem: bit, draw, flex, perilous, bubble, corner, rancid, pound, high, open.  

227. Write a poem about your body. 

228. Write a poem using the following image: a punk rocker covered in tattoos and piercings with a purple mohawk.  

229. The snow is freshly fallen and still falling, piling up—mounds of cold powder. 

230. Use all of the following words in a poem: card, cheating, breathless, fit, pull, sacred, sink, off.  

231. Write a poem about trying something new.  

232. Write a poem using the following image: a package sitting on a front porch.  

233. The sky is laden with dark clouds and the land is buried under a blanket of pale, gray snow. The ground, the streams, and the lakes are frozen and the whole world is eerily quiet and still.  

234. Use all of the following words in a poem: mean, rumors, maximum, new, battles, chance, downwind, murmur, skin. 

235. Write a poem about a hero.  

236. Write a poem using the following image: a child looking up into the sky.  

237. The car careens across the meridian, screeches past oncoming traffic, and plummets through the rail on the other side of the highway. 

238. Use all of the following words in a poem: nail, bump, flicker, turn, yawn.  

239. Write a poem contrasting two opposites (such as fire and ice). 

240. Write a poem using the following image: an overgrown front lawn. 

241. The heart races. Skin is hot to the touch. Breath comes fast, and beads of sweat dot the forehead. Inhale, exhale. Dizzy.  

242. Use all of the following words in a poem: crisis, carry, matter, old, easy, boulder, sound. 

243. Write a poem about monsters.  

244. Write a poem using the following image: a pair of glasses with a large spiderweb crack covering one lens. 

245. Sticky floors, loud music, and the clink of bottles and glasses. Cigarette smoke hovers overhead, swirling beneath the florescent lights. Write a poem set in a bar. 

246. Use all of the following words in a poem: space, press, tie, round, case, blow, stones.  

247. Write a poem about saying good-bye to someone who is dying. 

248. Write a poem using the following image: a bird’s nest full of eggs.  

249. The stage is set, the cameras are rolling, and nerves are high. Clustered back- stage, they warble and stretch beneath the white-hot lights. 

250. Use all of the following words in a poem: crush, note, pier, salt, seal, card- board, link, stand.  

251. Write a poem about cheating or lying.  

252. Write a poem using the following image: a single blade of grass. 

253. Dishes are piled high in the sink, dirty pots and pans are sitting on the stove- top, and broken glass is scattered across the floor. 

254. Use all of the following words in a poem: simulation, button, reach, plug, mark, menace.  

255. Write a poem about a bicycle. 

256. Write a poem using the following image: a person dining alone in a restaurant. 

257. A bell rings, and bodies flock toward the chimes, congregating like birds that descend when old people fling breadcrumbs across the park grass. 

258. Use all of the following words in a poem: automatic, leaky, scratch, slip, minutes, bug, door, coming, hands. 

259. Write a poem about a circus or zoo. 

260. Write a poem using the following image: the locker room after a team has lost (or won) an important athletic game or before a team is about to play an important game. 

261. Quaint storefronts line the boulevard, but one by one the shops are closing, making way for bigger, cheaper stores.  

262. Use all of the following words in a poem: orange, crank, courier, beneath, shouting, breeze, world, make.  

263. Write a poem about hiding from something or someone. 

264. Write a poem using the following image: a book, a pair of glasses, and an empty teacup sitting on a table.  

265. A fox slips through the trees, darting around boulders, dodging the hunter’s sight. 

266. Use all of the following words in a poem: slam, film, tasty, point, hint, stir, doorway, deadline.  

267. Write a poem about poverty.  

268. Write a poem using the following image: a rocket soaring through space.  

269. Deer bound across the field, breaking delicate blades of grass with hard hooves, pausing to dine on soft flowers. 

270. Use all of the following words in a poem: consider, magic, dare, flame, one, cards, elastic.  

271. Write a poem about the first day of a new job. 

272. Write a poem using the following image: a scruffy kid and a scruffier dog walking through city streets. 

273. They beat and holler, tap and howl. Fire in the middle—a circle of drums. 

274. Use all of the following words in a poem: coincidence, bus, deal, absurd, letter, fortune, clip, distant, bat.  

275. Write a poem about your dream house. 

276. Write a poem using the following image: five teenagers sitting in detention.  

277. A lizard scuttles over a hot rock, tongue lashing at dried-out beetles.  

278. Use all of the following words in a poem: scarce, pilgrimage, tongues, luck, tire, test, alive. 

279. Write a poem about the government.  

280. Write a poem using the following image: a robot assembling products on a factory line. 

281. The halls are filled with notes and chords, the vibrations dancing softly across doors, walls, and hearts. 

282. Use all of the following words in a poem: weakness, station, momentum, speak, last, restless, place, choose.  

283. Write a poem about one of the four elements: earth, air, fire, or water. 

284. Write a poem using the following image: someone sitting on the floor, alone, with a bottle of whisky.  

285. A bell rings and children stream out of the schoolhouse, youthful energy unleashed like a thousand bolts of lightning. 

286. Use all of the following words in a poem: hang, calling, broken, pine, patriotic, downhill, took. 

287. Write a poem about a criminal.  

288. Write a poem using the following image: the view outside a submarine port- hole.  

289. Hips coil, shoulders shimmy. Tap your toes, and move across the floor. 

290. Use all of the following words in a poem: trust, dead, pretty, buy, hurray, try, wrong, sleeve, done.  

291. Write a poem about working hard.  

292. Write a poem using the following image: a driver on the highway flipping off another driver.  

293. The old crow swoops into the road—pay dirt! It’s a trampled snake. Round up to dine on the wire. 

294. Use all of the following words in a poem: late, wise, vice, fill, nowhere, time.  

295. Write a poem about language.  

296. Write a poem using the following image: a picture of Earth taken from space.  

297. They move like swans across the hardwood floor, spinning and leaping and toe-rising. 

298. Use all of the following words in a poem: long, waste, handle, asleep, back, wide, decline. 

299. Write a poem about something or someone that excites you. 

300. Write a poem using the following image: a canvas, a palette, and a handful of paintbrushes.