Take a poem that you don’t know very well. One of Robert Lowell’s sonnets from The Dolphin will do nicely. Type it out with several lines of blank space between each line of poetry. In the blank spaces, write another line to fit into the poem. Don’t worry if the grammar isn’t quite right. When you’re done, remove the lines from the Lowell poem so all you’re left with are your own lines. Then edit them to make sense. Voila, a new poem.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Siân Killingsworth is a freelance writer, teacher, and poet. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, daughter, and two ancient pugs.