How to write a poem just like me

A poet is a wordsmith. The more words you know, the more variety you can bring to your poem. Some words have lots of words they can rhyme with, some have none, but if you juggle your words around you can avoid these problems. You don't have to use rhyme but I find it often helps the progress of your poem and helpfully suggests new thoughts.
First you must think of a topic. Memories sad or glad can be very conducive to writing a poem. When I come to write my daily poem I often have no idea what to write about. Then I will think back through the day and latch on to something that has happened. See below for a link to my February lens of poems. During that month my daughter got married so that was a natural subject for February 2nd. Sometimes I will imagine an event and describe how that might have been.
Another way to spark off a poem is to look at a photo or art work and imagine what story they might tell. Take a look at the lens below the February one it has lots of suggestions for triggering writing. It's by lensmaster Sammie.

Suppose you start with this for your first line:-

We had a lovely day

Well you might be pleased with that or you might want to make it more exciting. Try some different adjectives. "fantastic" "admirable" or even "super" after all "lovely" is a bit overused. You're on to a winner if you want the next line to rhyme. "Day" is one of those words with lots to rhyme with it. If it was a seaside trip you could have:-

We had a fantastic day
As we walked beside the bay

Then describe the scene

The sun shone down
As we sauntered around

Not quite a rhyme, but good enough.
Now something to rhyme with "day" again, I think

It was great, I must say

That's a bit weak again. We need to replace "great." "Wonderful" perhaps or even "invigorating".

So now we have

We had a fantastic day
As we walked beside the bay
The sun shone down
As we sauntered around
It was invigorating I must say.

Not a masterpiece I must admit, but from acorns grow mighty oaks.

You might want to work some more on the first verse. I tend to write it down with little revision, but then I'm a lazy poet. Probably I should look back through my year of poems and do lots of revision. If the poem we are working on blossoms into something good you can go back and take another look at the first verse if you are not satisfied with it, but it's wise to keep a copy of each metamorphosis so that you don't lose something which you later realise was good. So let's continue with this seaside saga.

The boats were in the harbour

"Were" is weak howabout:-

The boats slept in the harbour

Now the way I say "harbour" it rhymes with "stir".

The boats slept in the harbour.
The sails they did not stir
For the day was calm and peaceful
The wind made no murmur.

You may tell me that my rhymes are not in the same place as they were in the first verse and that had five lines and this has four. Well I'm sorry if that offends you but it works for me. After all I did say I would show you how to write poems like me (and no doubt that should be "mine" or "as I do.")
I must say the rhyme carried me along nicely there.

We had a fantastic day
As we walked beside the bay
The sun shone down
As we sauntered around
It was invigorating I must say.

The boats slept in the harbour.
The sails they did not stir
For the day was calm and peaceful
The wind made no murmur.

Now perhaps we can have a final verse which matches the first, then all you tidy people will be happier with it.

The gulls keened in the heavens,
Sharp-eyed for any food.
The sun glanced off their feathers white.
They were indeed a pleasant sight.
In all the day was exceptionally good.

Would you like to write haiku? This art form originated in Japan. Strictly speaking it has three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. when you have mastered that, because of the differences in Japanese and English you can allow yourself a little leeway in the number of syllbles. This is known as free-form haiku. Actually the framework of syllables helps you to write a good poem.

For examples of mine visit my March lens of poetry, featured below. This will give you the flavour and hopefully get you started. Let's write a haiku poem. Howabout Squidoo for a topic? First write a list of things you associate with Squidoo:-
Lens
Module
Forum
Lensrank
Traffic
Trophy

I think that will do nicely. Now you don't have to worry about rhyme, but if you get one that is a bonus. Here goes

It's great on Squidoo ( 5 syllables )
Writing a lens, or on forum ( 8 syllables, but that doesn't matter ) However I prefer my second line to be
Writing a lens so splendid (7 syllables) Right number of syllables and it leads to my last line.
Lensrank through the roof.
Let's write it out again.

It's great on Squidoo
Writing a lens so splendid,
Lensrank through the roof.

What do you think? It's quite a good idea to try several on the same topic, then you can choose the best. It's strange how it sounds sort of Japanese.

Do remember how important it is to write regularly. We all know that to play a musical instrument well, you need to practise. It is the same with writing. I like to think of creative activity like this. You are beside a deep well full of pure sparkling water, or poems, but you have to dip your bucket in and pull them up. The well is always there, but are you doing your part in pulling up the water. I hope you will make the effort. there is much for you to gain from this activity and perhaps you will delight others also.

Now I know you know what a haiku is, but what is a Lizku? Well I've just invented it. I randomly chose five numbers. 6,1,4,3,5. Well you know how I like to cheat, I found I preferred the order, 6,4,1,3,5. Then I wrote a Lizku poem, the very first, using those numbers for syllables.

He looked up at the tree
In wonderment.
Lost
To the view
Spread out around him.

Then another one.

She danced all the night long
Till feet were sore.
Then,
All alone
Homeward she wandered.

Of course you could choose a different set of syllables and name it after you. Go on, have a try.

Actually you can't do it, you can't write a poem just like me. Instead you can do something better, you can develop your own unique style. That is so much better than copying someone else. You need to have confidence and experiment. You can do it; it just takes practice.
Maybe you should try a prose poem first, if you are worried about rhyming. This way your choice of words is less cramped. Let's try now.

You make a statement and then describe. Like this :-

I have a little dog
His coat is black and shiney.
He is the sweetest pet
With a nature good and kind.
I take him out for walks,
He repays me with his friendshiip.
His loyalty is unsurpassed
People could learn from him.

Here it is not rhyme that is important but rhythm. I'll show you what I mean.

If I had put:-

I have a little dog,
I take him for long walks in the summer.
He jumps in the water.
I tell him off
Then we go home.

That wouldn't work at all. Well now it's your turn to have a go. I would love to see what you came up with, write it in the Plexo below.

One of the things that lifts your poem is the use of different vocabulary. Something a bit strange or unusual will lift your poem out of the mundane. You could do this by finding interesting words, at random in the dictionary and then crafting a poem especially to use these words. This isn't quite what I have done here, but I have constructed a poem with the aim of using more unusual words rather than considering a topic. So here goes:-

Those tantalizing words
Which tumble through my brain,
Cascading down
Like water in a drain.
How can I catch them
When slippery they slide?
As I reach out to grasp them
It's just like stopping the tide.

Adjective and adverb
Trip slyly off the scale
Evasively they insinuate
Move on like a gale.

Words like"ubiquitous"
Hide out of sight.
It really is iniquitous
The way they take their flight.
And I am left with "day" or "night"
While words like "diurnal"
Quickly take their flight.

But I have been quite clever here
And caught just one or two,
And so can you my pupil
If you follow my teaching through.

I really ought to come back and improve this poem. I was particularly pleased at how I was able to use "ubiquitous" which means present everywhere and speak of it as being nowhere to be found. I will hunt through my dictionary and choose some words at random and bring you the results. Happy writing meanwhile.

As promised I have turned to my dictionary and opened the pages at random and put my finger on a word. Here are the 8 words I came up with:-
Lorcha - a European boat from the point of view of the hull, but with chinese rigging.
Dagger
Pursue
Cylinder
Palace
Gimp - a silken fishing line.
Calf
Malice

There is no point in ruining a poem by trying to fit in all the words. I finished up discarding calf and gimp.

Here is the poem.

With malice in my heart
I sailed the seven seas.
My lorcha transported my treasure,
The sails caught the breeze.
I was determined to pursue
My enemy till found.
With dagger drawn to meet him
And bring him to the ground.
My scroll within its cylinder
Would tell my fabled deeds.
I would dwell within a palace
And provide for all my needs.

That was fun. why don't you try it? It is a particularly useful technique if you are suffering from writer's block. Just the thing to get you going again.

I've tried the random dictionary method again. I've rejected one poem but then came up with this.

Sponging
Curb
Coil
Tease
Tavern
Flask
Allow
Proverb

I didn't cheat at all, but it's O.K. to cheat as much as you like, so long as the resultant poem is good.

So here it is.

No proverb can quite tell
The extent of his sponging upon me.
Nothing would curb his desire to spend.
He was even willing my money to lend.
Nightly he visited the tavern
And spent my hard-earned cash.
While I picnicked on sandwiches
And drank from a coffee flask.
Within the coil of my distressed heart
I felt the tease of all he would allow.

Hey hey, I like that last line.

A photo can be a tremendous help to writing a poem. If you want to write a poem and show the picture you have used, on the internet, for instance on a blog, you will need a free image. The lens featured below will show you plenty of sources for these. Of course you may be like me and enjoy taking your own photos. Then, of course, you can produce an endless stream of material. Also below is a link to my lens of poetry written in June last year(2010). Here near the beginning you can see a photo of a fern and a poem called The Secretive Fern. Soon I will choose a recent photo and place it here with a new poem inspired by the photo. So keep your eyes peeled!!

Each eve I look toward the west
And with a glorious sight I'm blessed.
For God then paints the sky so bright,
With colours splendid in fading light.
The sun has set and left behind
Such mellow hues to cheer my mind.
Slowly the colours fade away
And darkness falls
To close the day.

Always carry pen and paper with you wherever you go. Then if you have some waiting to do you can fill in the time writing a poem. It's wonderful how boredom can produce a poem out of nothing. Here is a poem I wrote while waiting in my car for a friend to rejoin me.

'Tis July
And the day is sultry.
A seagull keens overhead.
I sit in the car park at Tesco's
I've just bought a loaf of bread.
My friend's in the town
As I wait here
For her, in the car.
The day around is sleepy
As I wait on the melting tar.

Drowsiness creeps upon me,
Ensnaring me like a drug.
The air is still and warm
Holding me in it's hug.

Go to the page below to find another poem I wrote while waiting, this time for a friend to arrive at the airport.

You can see examples of my sorrowful poems on the link below. To write these poems you must have experienced sorrow yourself. Once you have experienced one kind of sorrow it is not difficult to empathise with different sorrows. I have not lost a child but because I lost a little playmate when I was very young and have lost friends and parents I can also know something of what it is like to lose a child or a partner. There will be aspects of this sorrow that I will not know, but sufficient to write a poem which may empathise with those who have. Sorrow is a very strong emotion and it is experience of emotion which produces the best poetry. I remember when studying Italian I studied the works of Carducci and was not surprised to find what a sorrowful life he had led. Similarly in music Dvorak had a sad life losing his children and wrote very powerful music. If you want a jolly life don't become an artist.
To write a sorrowful poem you need to use long languorous words. Short, bright words give a cheerful feeling so should be avoided. Soft and tender words should be used and not strident or jolly rhythms. Loss is a time for contemplation and the reader should not be jolted out of their reverie. Each person can only find solace in their own way, but it may help to realise others have been down this path before them, although each loss is unique.

Try writing a poem about a best friend or member of your family. The love you feel for them should inspire you and inspiration is what sets off the process of writing.

I have a friend
Who stands by me
Lifts me up
When down I be
And then when things
Are turned around
It's time for me to
Take the ground.
When I am strong
She needs my care
To hold her up
Above despair.
This mutual aid
Forms a tie
Of joy and friendship
In plenteous supply.

Last night I dreamed up a new challenge for myself and I thought you would be interested. Most of my poems don't have a specific structure, so I thought it would do for me to be a bit more disciplined. I am going to make a page of about thirty poems using a definite form for each page. My first page will be on the Sonnet. Look out for it surfacing in the next day or two ( this is September 13th,2011) I will write poems in the form and also explain how to have a go yourself. I am really excited about this challenge and am sure having a structure will not be irksome but actually help me in my writing. I will post a link below here when I am ready to launch my page. By the way you won't get all the poems at once, I will be writing them daily when possible. I am going to use about thiry different forms. I see that works out at 900 poems so that will take at least two and a half years. I am starting with the sonnet but I will go on to other forms and have several pages floating at once. I'm not methodical enough to keep to one form until finished. I hope you enjoy this as much as I'm sure I will.

Find some like-minded people and start a writer's group. I belong to one. There are only six of us but we love to encourage one another. It gives us an incentive, a reason to write. We meet monthly but you could do a weekly meeting if you liked. Even though there is only one other poet there I still find it stimulating. However my biggest incentive is to write here on Squidoo.

And now a nonsense poem. With these you can let your imagination wander, but they are mostly only possible with rhyme. Here goes.

It really is a pain
To sit here and write.
I would like to eat an apple instead,
Take a juicy bite.
But no, I have to write a poem,
When I would rather look at St Paul's doem.
I would go on a bus
To the metropolis
And gaze at that mighty sight.
With no paper or pen
Till half past ten
I would wander around quite free.
I would go to Hyde Park
All in the dark
With a body guard tall and strong.
When I had had enough
Of this tourist stuff
I would return to my home
Never more to roam
With inspiration over flowing my brain.
My verse would be terse,
My rhythm would bound
From that brief escapade
My muse would be made
So strong and ready to come when I bade.

If you want to write, you need to do it on a regular basis. Just as a musician needs to practise daily, so does a poet. Try to write something every day. Make it a part of your routine. Your writing will became more fluent as the days pass. Challenge yourself as I did, to write a poem a day for a year. It was great fun and taught me a lot. I have now challenged myself to write 30 sonnets. I didn't give myself a time limit for this and I am slacking. Next I want to tackle the Kyrielle. Before tackling these I had always written in a freer style. I am enjoying the discipline of a structure now.

When you feel completely not in the mood to write a poem there are one of two things you can do. You can just give up, or you can get that pen scribbling and see what turns up. I just tried the latter option and this is what I came up.

"How can I write a poem
When I'm feeling sad and low?"
"Just use a pen my darling,
And soon you'll find it grow.
You have to chase a poem
And knock it into shape.
Don't let it now elude you
Don't let it now escape.
For poems can be wiley,
Lead you a merry dance.
They can leave you feeling glum
And in a literary trance."

It's not a masterpiece but it means I'm keeping my hand in. Perhaps you will feel encouraged to get your pen scribbling again too.