Poetry by numbers is the new poetic writing fad.

You should subscribe to it. Poetry by numbers is fun and inspiring. The best way to begin is to start off simply. Take the numbers one through ten and think of words, phrases, and other creative combinations that stem from those numbers.

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The actual words do not necessarily have to be present within the phrases you come up with, but the sounds of each number must be. You may choose proper names, song lyrics, idioms, cliches, or just words and phrases that you may have heard in passing. For examples, check out my attempt below:

One: one fine day, it's a wonderful life (You see how the word "wonderful" does not have the word "one" specifically in it, but is pronounced with the same sound? This allows for more creativity, and innumerable phrases that can be considered for your poems.)
Two: two turtle doves, to be or not to be (This bears the same idea as the word "wonderful" above.)
Three: three blind mice, knock three times
Four: four seasons, fantastic four
Five: give me five!, Ben Folds Five
Six: sweet sixteen, six flags
Seven: lucky seven, seven wonders of the ancient world
Eight: magic eight ball, figure eight
Nine: nine planets, on cloud nine
Ten: ten little Indians, a perfect ten

Once you have come up with more and more ideas for each number (I encourage you to go as high as you can in terms of numbers as you think up more and more ideas), you will be ready to start with your creative poetic writing.

Poetry by numbers allows you to use numbers with words. If you've ever read The Phantom Tollbooth, you know that King Azaz of Dictionopolis and the Mathemagician of Digitopolis would frown on mixing numbers with words, but, for our purposes, it must be allowed! If you haven't read The Phantom Tollbooth, I highly recommend it to you. It is a children's book, but the ideas and puns that exist within it are compelling and whimsical, and allow for creative thinking that makes you yearn to put pen to paper and write your own story or poem.

Take the "numbered" phrases that you come up with and try out different ways of combining them into poetic verse. You may have to add other words and phrases that are not of the "numbered" sort, but that is what poetry is all about, right? You must find the best ways to express yourself through whatever words are available and fresh in your mind.

Here is my attempt at a poem from the "numbered" poem ideas above:

One fine day for
Fantastic memories.
Three times I knocked down a perfect ten
In bowling
As I celebrated my Sweet Sixteen at the lanes.
My magic eight ball predicted I would be on
Cloud nine,
Which made me feel as though the seven wonders of the world combined.
My dad shouted "Give me five!"
Hitting my hand against his,
Was this to be a satisfying day?
It's hard to say.
But a wonderful life it surely is.

I must say that this poetic activity is definitely time-consuming, but once you have arranged your words and phrases into the format you want, you will find yourself moved by the quality of your writing endeavor.

Try your hand at poetry by numbers. See what you can come up with, and how it motivates you to come up with new verses and stanzas for your poems.

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