Coming up with ideas for writing your own poems can be very difficult at times. There are, however, activities that can be done to come up with ideas. Here are some suggestions. Remember not to force yourself to come up with inspiration; sometimes it just comes by itself. Remember that when it does, write it down so you don't forget it!

During a poetry project that was done in language arts, our teachers tried to inspire us to get ideas for several poems. We felt several objects with our eyes closed, and then wrote down words that described what we had felt, and any memories it brought up. Another time the class went outside and we looked around at nature. This helped spark some ideas for some poems. One of my best friends had difficulties thinking of poem ideas. However, she began looking through her unorganized drawers and found quite a few poem ideas. Her mom's old holiday cards, an envelope, and so on gave her many ideas. When I did it at her house, I also came up with some ideas of my own.

Sometimes pictures in magazines and on the Internet bring in poem ideas. Simply go to a good image search engine like Google, and search for a picture of the object that you want to write about. When you find a picture that you want to write about, then start writing! You don't need to start directly on your poem, like with everything you might just want to write down some things that come to mind.

The cover pictures on books give ideas for poems as well. For example, my friend leant a book to me, and on the cover there was a picture of a girl staring out at the world. This sparked a poem idea for me.

Like I mentioned before, some poem ideas simply come to you, and you get them without realizing that you were thinking of an idea. There are many ways to get inspiration, however. A good bike ride or roller blade along the streets can give many ideas. Don't be confined to the inspiration ideas suggested here. Go out and find your own methods of getting inspiration. Its surprising what you'll find out!