Many poets imbue nature with human qualities, which has the effect of making it seem alive, perhaps because it does feel alive to some people. Pick an object in nature, such as a tree, the ocean or a star and describe it as though it were alive and sentient. Use as many of the senses as possible. These qualities in part define humanness, while inanimate objects cannot see, touch, hear, smell or taste.
For writers who are struggling with how to animate something that is inanimate, try picking an object and then selecting a random verb from the dictionary and explaining how the two might relate. For example, consider what the object "stone" might have in common with an arbitrary verb such as "listen." Begin a sentence with "The stone listens" and then add a predicate, like "to the growing grass."
Another way to create personification is to take an ordinary sentence with a weak verb, such as the verb "to be," and replace it with a more exciting and descriptive verb. For example, in the sentence "The CD player made a noise," the verb "made" is uninteresting and does not evoke a startling image, whereas "The CD player whined" conveys to the reader the idea that the CD player's noise sounded annoying. Form a poem around this idea, expanding on the personified image by adding more detail.
A writer can try closing his eyes and imagining he is an inanimate object. He can then write down what he is feeling, thinking and wants to do. After writing an entire poem from the perspective of this object, using "I," the writer can go back and change all the "I's" to "it," "she" or "he." Now the poem will refer to the object in third person. Without actually naming the object, the writer can show the poem to another person and see if she can guess what the object is.