trying to learn to use poetry

[catkin]

I only wrote the poem yesterday after a chance encounter with my old science/religion lecturer reminded me of writing poems at all. (he is quite keen on encouraging me) So I took my poem with me and he had a look at it and gave me some tips and talked about poetry in general

Comments

[roiben]

Mouse writes.

Prose i.e. her story Dragon's Song more recently, but she is known for writing poetry in her crazier moments. I always find writing helps me, it grounds me in whatever mood I am in and helps ease me back to sanity and calmness. I write whatever comes into my head and work with and around it mostly.

Tips? Do not over stress about rhymes and line breaks and capitalisation versus no capitalisation to start with. Write what feels right and when you look back at it later see if there is a way it can be improved. Poetry does not always have to be within a particular meter, it doesn't have to have flourishes to be great. If you are used to being concise then be concise and see what you come up with. Take for example Emily Dickinson (not the best example I know, but I couldnt find the book of the person I was going to write about) she wrote a favourite of mine, number 1253 which goes:

Had this one Day not been,
Or could it cease to be
How smitten, how superfluous,
Were every other Day!

Lest Love should value less
What Loss would value more
Had it the sticken privalege,
It cherishes before.

and as an example of the ultimate in short poem that is simple, her number 1028:

'Twas my one Glory -
Let it be
Remembered
I was owned of Thee -

You will find a style and theme and perhaps even imagery that is close to you and works for you, Plath had her bees, I often use recurring themes of candles and water. Above all else, do not give up after one, sometimes all I can get down is rubbish, but occasionally they are good and worth keeping. Best of luck and let us all know how you get on with it.

[roiben]

Sorry, I had a typo. It should read:

"Had it the stricken privilege"