Download The Chain Poem

The Word Chain Poem
1. On a new page in your Writer’s Notebook, write the word “clock” in the center.
2. What word comes to mind when you think of the word “clock”? Write that word under “clock.”
Leave some space in-between lines.
3. Look at the word you just wrote. What word comes to mind when you look at it? Write that
word on a new line, leaving some space in-between lines.
4. Repeat the previous step until you have a total of 8-10 words.
5. Now, incorporate each word into a line of poetry; it doesn’t matter where the word is positioned
(beginning, middle, end). Try to make the lines work with one another as much as possible;
on the other hand, push yourself to write the poem quickly.
Here is a sample poem starting with the word “mirror” instead of “clock”:
Our thoughts are mirrors,
reflections of desire and fear—
like a watery mirage to the
thirsty traveler
lost in the desert,
the sun yearning
for another star
that is light-years away.