Make a list of all the reasons why you appreciate and love a light switch. For example, you could list how it allows you to provide light to the whole room or that it is always located by the door for you when you get home.
Brainstorm different ways that you could describe the light switch. This list will act as a word bank for you to choose from as you move through your poem. For example, you could describe the light switch as a guardian of electricity or a plastic box proudly protruding its gift out toward you. You will begin to naturally give personification to the light switch at this point, but full personification of the light switch is not necessary until later in the ode.
Give the light switch character and animation though personification. Personifying an object means to give it human-like qualities. Gender, movement and emotions are all examples of ways to personify something. Give the light switch a gender, likely male because of its phallic nature, and give it a character. He can be a loyal friend waiting for your return or an abandoned soul sitting in the dark. Allow some of your own feelings to be portrayed into this light switch.
Write the beginning of your poem. The first thing you should do in an ode is introduce the subject. Identify what it is and describe it with rich imagery. These depictions will come from the list you created in step 2.
Describe in the next lines of your poem the different functions that the light switch has in a way that shows how much you appreciate what it has done. Use the list you created in step 1 to guide you.
Conclude the poem by giving a lesson or revelation about the object that teaches the reader something about life in general. In other words, the ode started in one place and took you through a wonderful journey through the world of the light switch. The conclusion should return the reader back to home base, but with a greater understanding about both the light switch and the world.