Category: Poetry Writing Prompts

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. 

301. A wall of water, tall as any skyscraper, surfs across the surface of the sea, ready to rain down and wash away every inch of beach. 

302. Use all of the following words in a poem: barrel, bode, wear, drink, stalk, cross, sting, reared.  

303. Write a poem about someone or something that makes you laugh. 

304. Write a poem using the following image: a blue-green lagoon on a tropical is- land.  

305. They roll from town to town, hopped up on beer, lugging amplifiers, drums, and big dreams.  

306. Use all of the following words in a poem: stay, factory, breaker, whistle, rich, demand, hurry.  

307. Write a poem about growing up.  

308. Write a poem using the following image: a bird (or other animal) in a cage. 

309. Molten rock and burning earth bubble from the peak then explode, dazzling the sky; the lava rolls down the mountainside and swallows all life in its fiery path. 

310. Use all of the following words in a poem: miles, pride, supply, insurgent, silver, downhill. 

311. Write a poem about puberty.  

312. Write a poem using the following image: travelers waiting for a delayed flight at the airport. 

313. The wind curls into a neat funnel, skipping through the city streets, catching cars and lampposts, ripping them up, and spitting them out in the distant countryside. 

314. Use all of the following words in a poem: polish, billow, far, divergent, vote, silence, tiger, Zen, rhyme, pitcher, missed, pale, shine.  

315. Write a poem about walking around barefoot.  

316. Write a poem using the following image: a band playing on stage in front of a disinterested audience.  

317. One toe in the water, one toe in the sand. Standing on the precipice. 

318. Use all of the following words in a poem: crow, read, leader, mythology, beginning, rent, means.  

319. Write a poem about a company of dancers. 

320. Write a poem using the following image: a child giving another child a piggy- back ride. 

321. Dirt under fingernails. Chipped teeth. Rough hands. Bent back. It’s a life. It’s a living. 

322. Use all of the following words in a poem: country, fit, wind, congratulate, approval, itemize, cents, trailer.  

323. Write a poem about birds.  

324. Write a poem using the following image: a camp for prisoners of war. 

325. They huddle around the grave, tossing in flowers, dirt, and memories. 

326. Use all of the following words in a poem: sale, fight, hero, fallen, skinned, congress, occupation, top. 

327. Write a poem about desire and longing.  

328. Write a poem using the following image: a mother or father in the hospital holding a newborn baby.  

329. She waves her wand and the music rises and falls—deep lulls and glorious crescendos, trills from the wind section and a deep hum from the brass. 

330. Use all of the following words in a poem: hemisphere, sharp, address, hill, crush, renegades, blank, glitter, brace, flex, shrug, crocodile.  

331. Write a poem about a marine animal.  

332. Write a poem using the following image: a raccoon rifling through a garbage can.  

333. Deep inside a dark, cold cave, water trickles down a rock wall, carving a wet trail on the hard slate. 

334. Use all of the following words in a poem: earthquake, tournament, pop, lamb, awake, stay, voice, keep.  

335. Write a poem about lust, greed, revenge, laziness, gluttony, jealousy, or pride.  

336. Write a poem using the following image: a stack of blank journals and note- books.  

337. Snap crackle cool slide. Dip trip big-bass jive.  

338. Use all of the following words in a poem: sense, acumen, airplane, pearls, collapse, show, cry.  

339. Write a poem about an empty house. Is it new? Old? Is someone moving in or out? 

340. Write a poem using the following image: a politician giving a speech to a crowd at a county fair. 

341. Vultures descend on a carcass that is rotting on the side of the road. 

342. Use all of the following words in a poem: race, confession, fool, move, screw, hungry, incinerate.  

343. Write a poem about the many ways love can be expressed. 

344. Write a poem using the following image: a dog barking at a passerby through a chain link fence. 

345. The trail is covered with footprints—human and animal. The large cat crouch- es atop rocks watching the hikers below. 

346. Use all of the following words in a poem: hours, enemy, grunt, choice, good- bye, hint, always, tide, news, lion, sentimental, number.  

347. Write a poem about nudity. 

348. Write a poem using the following image: a big bowl of fresh, homegrown summer fruit.  

349. She walks down the street wearing nothing but a full sized flag wrapped around her body. Lady liberty is on the loose. 

350. Use all of the following words in a poem: wolf, honorable, hurricane, mad, sing, thought, waking, blinded, rapid, choice.  

351. Write a poem about spending time alone.  

352. Write a poem using the following image: an empty, unmade bed. 

353. Headphones, backpack, smooth moves. Dancing on the street corner. Dancing at the bus stop. Rocking out on the subway. 

354. Use all of the following words in a poem: broom, sight, ladder, quiet, century, turned, honey, wasted, pathetic.  

355. Write a poem about what it means to be part of a team.  

356. Write a poem using the following image: a group of rambunctious kids sitting at the back of the bus. 

357. They gather around a steel barrel that is half-filled with coal and douse it with kerosene, and as the flames rise, they drop books in, one by one. 

358. Use all of the following words in a poem: bedroom, vested, structure, every- thing, head, strong, ugly, shame, raw, true.  

359. Write a poem about a predatory animal.  

360. Write a poem using the following image: a big, shiny red fire engine. 

361. A photograph falls from a hand, sailing to the floor, landing face down. 

362. Use all of the following words in a poem: servant, hide, knees, alive, sworn, shook, wasted, deal, capital.  

363. Write a poem about an animal you admire—not a particular animal, such as your pet, but a type of animal, such as a penguin or a giraffe. 

364. Write a poem using the following image: a unit of soldiers riding in a helicopter. 

365. Power: electric, personal, international, and up for grabs.  

366. Use all of the following words in a poem: road, gentry, combat, listen, plead, hold, about, ring, heartless, relax, defense. 

367. Write a poem about dancing.  

368. Write a poem using the following image: a spread of fresh, homegrown fall vegetables just harvested from the garden.  

369. Workers swarm into the office. A hundred years ago, they would have worn coveralls, kerchiefs, and stood over a conveyer belt. Today, they wear business casual, drink lattes, and bend over computer keyboards.  

370. Use all of the following words in a poem: collar, rationalize, fury, victims, haul, super, achiever, ignore.  

371. Write a poem about the cycle of life from birth to death.  

372. Write a poem using the following image: a telescope aimed at the night sky. 

373. The water is so clear, you can see the bottom. Ten feet below, layers of brightly colored pebbles: blue, green, and amber.  

374. Use all of the following words in a poem: junk, population, bigger, hollow, democratic, screamed, straight, waiting.  

375. Write a poem about a clown. 

376. Write a poem using the following image: people dancing around a bonfire on the beach.  

377. The cocoon wobbles, then a tiny tear stretches into a long gap, and out steps a butterfly. 

378. Use all of the following words in a poem: turn, work, rapture, not, people, shoes, slump, jam, skinny. 

379. Write a poem about a car salesperson.  

380. Write a poem using the following image: a fish with its nose against the glass of a small fishbowl. 

381. Stand still at the edge of the dock and look out at the gray waves—how they rise and fall. The water, it speaks to you. 

382. Use all of the following words in a poem: jelly, pepper, cream, morning, never, reason.  

383. Write a poem about a movie theater. 

384. Write a poem using the following image: a house with a picket fence and a tire swing hanging from a tree in the front yard. 

385. That summer, everybody was listening to that song. It was playing everywhere.  

386. Use all of the following words in a poem: cause, tower, dusk, precipice, breathing, travels, rock slide.  

387. Write a poem about animals in the wild whose habitats are being destroyed or endangered by humans.  

388. Write a poem using the following image: a soup kitchen on the night of a major holiday.  

389. The years keep turning over, and we just keep spinning around and around.  

390. Use all of the following words in a poem: primitive, burning, miracle, back- ward, hypnotize, rules, promises, desecrate. 

391. Write a poem about a dark, scary place. 

392. Write a poem using the following image: a book with a worn cover and dog- eared pages. 

393. Have you ever walked through a garden at night? What about a forest?  

394. Use all of the following words in a poem: educated, churning, blackbirds, trickle, real, coals, sorry.  

395. Write a poem about loneliness. 

396. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an island of garbage floating in the middle of the ocean. Write a poem about it.  

397. Every tooth, every discarded shoe, every grass-stained elbow tells a story. 

398. Use all of the following words in a poem: behind, waiting, snakes, engaged, overflow, nation, set. 

399. Write a poem about a long journey.  

400. Write a poem using the following image: someone standing in a doorway, soaking wet, with rain pouring in the background.