In the previous article, “How to Write Poems That Capture the Heart and Imagination of Your Readers,” we said that poems express ideas, experiences, or emotions in a more concentrated way than ordinary articles, prose, or speeches. They can rhyme or be in a rhythmic composition of words. They are one of the most powerful forms of expression of language. So how can you write a poem that really sets out what you want to say? Here are some key elements to compose and develop the poetic form. Follow these key steps to write a poem that captures your emotions, ideas, and experiences as poignant word images.

Capture image ideas in writing

Poems try to create images in the mind of the reader. Use a variety of image ideas for you to like the following, to help you achieve this.

o Allusion: an indirect form of reference that is usually made in different sentences, lines or sentences

o Simile: used to compare two or more things that are not the same using the word “I like” ((her hair is like a stream of bright coffee in the light of the mountain sun)

o Symbolism or metaphor: used to compare two or more things that are different using “like” or “is” like “the whole world is a stage”, “red like a rose”, “black like midnight in a swamp of cypress trees “, etc.

Establish a logical progression of thought to be used in the poem.

The lines, thoughts, and ideas expressed in your poem should flow smoothly from one to the other. Don’t jump illogically. Let your poem flow rhythmically like a gentle stream running through the smooth stones of a stream that murmurs softly in a grassy meadow.

State the theme of the poem in a verse

Create a “theme verse” that can be used repeatedly in your poem to help unify your stanzas. Your poem will flow and sound much better as it is read using this key aspect. A verse on the theme of a love poem can be one that begins or ends with something like:

or Did I tell you that …

o As always, thoughts about you …

o Any key word or phrase that is used repeatedly to begin or end a verse or stanza

Other very useful aids

To help you write your poem, try using these dynamic aids:

o A rhyming dictionary: invaluable for finding rhymes for low-frequency or difficult-to-rhyme words.

o A thesaurus – an essential tool to help you expand the vocabulary used in your poem (personally, I like Rodale’s a lot more than Roget’s)

o Alliteration: repetition of a consonant sound in two or more words in a sentence or line such as: beautiful bubbly brown sugar or bright sunbeams

o Assonance: similar sounds, like alliteration, but used in the internal syllables of a series of words (birthday weather, father’s brother, additional math, etc. to give you an idea)

o Consonance: repetition of certain stressed syllables in a pair, group or chain of words (taker, baker, creator, shaker, Quaker but not faster)

o Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sounds due to their pronunciation. Words like whistle, tweet, boom, bag, pow, crash, crunch, slam, zoom, snap, crackle, pop, and zing, among many others, fit into this category.

These steps will help you write poetry that awakens your readers’ feelings and emotions and can help your poetry writing stand out. For other tips and techniques on how to compose this more elusive form of language in context, see the companion article, “How to Write Poems That Capture the Heart and Imagination of Your Readers.”