A Little List For Poets

I'm going to finish the Little List posts for this week with a checklist for those who write poetry. One of our well-known and loved American poets, Robert Frost, wrote a poem about Christmas trees. You can read it here. So many poets have turned their pen to poems about our holidays that we celebrate this month. One of my favorites is I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The poetry world ranges from beginners to the world-renowned. Some write purely for themselves and others aim toward publication and sharing their words with others. Whether you are beginner or pro, use this little list when you have finished your poem. 

Does my poem...

• bring out my inner feelings?
• speak clearly to readers?
• use sensory details?
• use techniques like alliteration, onomatopoeia, similes and metaphors?
• have the proper rhythm, rhyme, and meter as needed?
• bring an emotional reaction to readers?
• make the best use of lovely language without being too flowery?
• make sense to anyone but me?
• drag on?
• end too quickly?
• have a message?
• have a title that will draw readers?

Even if you're not a poet, you might look at a few of the poems you like to read over and over and see how they match up with the list above.