Dust off one of your old prose stories and turn it into a poem. Maybe you have a short story you can adapt into something structured more in verse and metaphor. Perhaps you can take a character and put their life into a poetic nutshell. Here’s a way to get inspired: listen to poet Gwendolyn Brooks talk about the moment she witnessed and the story she tells which inspired her (well-written and highly-accessible, if you ask me) poem, “We Real Cool.” Then, listen as she goes on to read it in its more well-known, poetic format. See if you can do likewise – take a story and twist it into poetry. Give this exercise as much time as it needs; my usual recommendation of fifteen minutes might not cut it. Bonus Self-Satisfaction Points if this is your first stab at poetry.
Write it up and see what happens.
-nm