Starting To Write Poetry

Lily of the Valley

Yesterday's post was about April being National Poetry Month and the mixture of people who like poetry and those who shun it. Today, let's explore writing poetry. This is not an in-depth piece on that subject, but rather an introduction to help you try your hand at penning a poem. 

I have written quite a bit of poetry, but I am still in the amateur category. I have never taken a class on how to write a poem, nor have I studied books on my own on the subject. Instead, I dived into the deep end of the poetry pool and tried to keep my head above water. 

When I  wrote a couple of poems, I found it to be quite satisfying, and I wanted to continue. I started reading a few blogs about the subject, paid close attention to the poems the women in my online writing group submitted and subbed a few of my own. 

I learned that the key ingredient in a poem is emotion. It doesn't matter what kind of poem it is, you should be able to feel joy, happiness, sadness, grief, silliness, love, laughter and more emotions. I found that to write poetry, you must write from the heart. The writer needs to feel the emotion in order to convey it to the reader. 

I noticed that poets used literary devices like similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and melodic phrases that appeal to readers. If you're not sure what each of these words means, google and learn a little more. They are all used in prose, as well. There is a fine article on literary devices and more about writing poetry. Read it here.

There are myriad forms of poetry. To name just a few:  free verse, narrative, quatrain, haiku, sonnet, and limerick. The article mentioned above lists and defines many more.

I found that free verse is the easiest form for a beginner. There are no hard and fast rules in writing this form. One thing I did learn is that it is best not to end a line with a word like 'to' or 'by.' Instead, let those little linking words start the next line. Otherwise, start writing and let your mind be free to choose where you end one line and start another. Below is a sample of one of my free verse poems:

Artists All

Painting with oils,
watercolors brushed across paper,
clay molded by loving hands,
marble chiseled to exquisite form.

Artists ply their trade
by the golden light of day,
by the velvet depths of night
with passion and joy.

One more artist joins the ranks.
The writer brushes words over paper,
molds a story bit by glittering bit,
chisels a novel to survive the ages.

Life stories are gathered
from country roads to city streets,
written from the depths of a heart
bursting with intensity and rapture.

Artists all, masters of creation,
be they painters, sculptors or writers,
leaving footprints on canvas, marble, and paper--
heartfelt tributes embraced by mankind.
                                     --Nancy Julien Kopp  (placed in a KS Authors Club Contest)


I wrote it one day as I started considering that there were many forms of art. I divided the poem into verses with space between. I also used punctuation as if I were writing a prose paragraph. I did not capitalize each line as you see in some poems. Again, I wrote it as though I was writing a prose paragraph. That doesn't mean you must do it that way. Free verse is done as you choose.

At one of my writing conferences, a poet did a presentation that included learning how to write haiku, the popular Japanese form that is three lines, with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third. They have no title, and they are usually about something in nature. Sometimes, people have turned to other subjects for their haiku, but a true haiku will concentrate on something in nature. I found that they are fun to write, a challenge to figure out that 5-7-5 syllable part. Here are a couple examples below:

tall grass brushes sky,
prairie flowers, gold and flame
a painting by God


rolling thunder hums
within dark, ominous clouds   (won 1st place in haiku category in KS Authors Club contest)
melody of spring

If I can write poetry, so can you. Maybe the photo of the Lily of the Valley will inspire you. One good hint is to always read the poem aloud, and you'll catch many little snags. Start with free verse. Write what is on your mind, write it from your heart, and have fun. Poets with vast experience all started out as an amateur. If you have a real interest in writing poetry, do check the link above and read/study that article. (for those reading this on a Facebook page, use this link https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/article-poetic-forms )