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.