During this season of giving, many of us are thinking about gifts of one kind or another. Have you ever thought about what gifts mean, why we give them, how giving and receiving gifts makes us feel? This week, let's write about gifts.
Here are some suggestions:
1. What is the most special gift you've ever received? Was the gift something tangible, or was it a spiritual gift? Write a poem about it.
2. What is the most special gift you've ever given? Write a poem about it.
3. Write a "gift" poem addressed to someone special. (Think about gifting your poem to the person who inspired it.)
4. Write a poem about a simple gift with a large meaning.
5. Write a poem about the spiritual gifts of Chanukah or Christmas.
6. Memories can be metaphorical gifts. Read "At Christmas Time," a poem about "Christmases past." Does the poem "speak" to you? If so, try using it as a model for a poem of your own.
7. If you could give a gift to the world, what would it be? Write a poem about this gift. (Alternatively, what gift would you give to someone in your life, someone in need, a special friend?)
8. Read Sara Teasdale's "The Gift." Have you ever given a similar gift that you might write about?