1. Take fifteen cards of each color. Shuffle together, flipping and rotating them occasionally. This makes it possible for any one of the words on each card to land upright (these are the words used).
2. Deal out four words (cards).
3. Players each write a poem of four lines, using one of the given words in each line. Words are used in any form (light,lights,lighter,lighting,lit, etc.).
4. After five minutes, poems are read aloud in whatever state they are in. If players desire a competitive game they can vote for the best poem. Otherwise, Deal-A-Poem can be just an enjoyable group activity.
Variations:
Endless: Try two-verse poems (deal more cards); shorter or longer time limits; humorous poems; romantic poems; rhyming poems; or simply use the cards by yourself to stimulate your writing (Deal-A-Poem has been used to produce published poetry).