I used to ... But now ...

Poetry warm up. Alternate these lines:

I used to ...
But now ...

Here's some examples of children's poems from the book. Children are free of preconceived notions about what they're "supposed to" write :-)

I used to be a fish
But now I'm a nurse

I used to be a rose
But now I'm a leaf

I used to be a design
But now I'm a tree

I used to have a baby
But now he's a dog

From Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching children to write poetry by Kenneth Koch.