MBOE: the Most Boring Object Ever

Open Write is a community celebration of poetry in October—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also a meaningful way to participate. This is a generous, low-pressure space. We’re glad you’re here.

Our Host

Matt Forrest Esenwine is a New Hampshire-based author of a dozen children’s books including the Kirkus-starred Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017), included on “Encyclopedia Britannica”’s list of ‘11 Children’s Books That Inspire Imagination;’ the 2026 NCTE Notable Poetry anthology A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025); and I Am Today (POW! Kids Books, 2022), recipient of the 2023 NH State Literary Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature.

Meanwhile, his poetry can be found in numerous anthologies like The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry (National Geographic Kids Books, 2015) and the Donald Hall tribute, Except for Love (Encircle, 2019), as well as ‘Highlights’ magazine. Connect with Matt and order personally-signed books at MattForrest.com.

Inspiration 

For me, inspiration can come from anywhere: nature, my kids, a dream, something I read or something I overheard someone say. It might come from deliberately mixing up words together, simply to see if I can make some sense of them (this is actually how my book “I Am Today” came about). Or it might come from a poetry prompt – just like this!

Process

The MBOE can serve as inspiration for a new poem – or it can simply be an exercise one undertakes to sharpen the wits, to hone the ol’ poetic tools. It’s something I use quite often when presenting poetry workshops in schools, and no matter how many times I’ve done it, students have never let me down!

During these workshops, I show students different forms of poetry (rhyming, free verse, haiku, etc.), I talk about why I enjoy it, and what one can do with it. I then ask the students to offer up something they feel is so utterly boring, so tediously uninteresting, so mind-numbingly mundane that no one would EVER think of even POSSIBLY writing a poem about! 

And then we write a poem about it.

Hence, what I like to call the MBOE: the Most Boring Object Ever. Because if you can write a poem about a dirty rubberband or a dust bunny, you can write about pretty much anything! 

Here’s all you do: pick an object, any object (boring or not!), and begin thinking of ways to describe it. This is brainstorming, so just write down one or two words that come to mind – but write down everything. Once you get past the obvious descriptors, start thinking of other ways to describe it. What does it look like, sound like, smell like? What else could it be used for? What if it was 100 times bigger or 100 times smaller? Ask as many questions as you can and write down your thoughts. Once you have your list, scan through it and see what words/images/feelings you are drawn to. That’s your basis for your poem.

Without worrying about rhyme (this is likely going to be a free verse poem), put together the words, phrases, and anything else you’d want to add in whatever order makes sense. Rearrange, juxtapose, add, subtract – do whatever you feel the poem needs of you until you are satisfied with what you’ve written. And don’t worry about perfection; with my guidance, classes complete this entire challenge in less than 15 minutes. It’s less about writing the perfect poem and more about seeing where a subject can take you. 

(You can read a few good examples here and here)

Matt’s Poem

First, my MBOE:

(a crushed laundry basket, after our cats somehow managed to knock a folding table onto it)

Second, here’s my brainstormed list (about 3 minutes):

White, plastic, netting, holes, vessel, holds things, strong, weak, work, clean, dirty, crushed, carry, transport, hauling, round, deep, silent, no respect, beaten up but still keeps going, bottomless, neverending, infinite, white hole (opp. of black hole), vortex

(You’ll notice that the more I thought about it, the more I started getting away from the obvious – white, plastic, etc. – and began seeing more creative, unusual aspects)

Third, here’s my 12-minute poem:

White vortex swirls
inward, outward, bending, sorting, 
shape distorting,
mass-contorting
ever burning, persevering, 
silent turning
Disappearing 

• Matt Forrest Esenwine

(If you’re wondering what this is about, all I can say is I was intrigued by the idea of a white hole in space, doing whatever a white hole might do. I didn’t set out to write it in rhyme, but I found that many of the words I was drawn to lent themselves to that, so I went with it. Is it an award-winning poem? Not at all. Is it a fun exercise in thinking on-the-spot and stretching your mental muscles? Absolutely!)

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers.