Writing Good Poetry in 4 Easy Steps

Writing Poetry is Easy

Put together some verse that rhyme. it might be bland or a bit gushy but you have a poem by every definition of the word; A composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines.Writing bad poetry is easy.

Writing good poetry on the other hand is exceedingly difficult unless you are one of the few rare genius that happens along once every century. Are you ?

Then I have to assume you are not among that splendid crowd,

DO NOT DESPAIR !

The good news is we can improve our craft by honing our skills in the use of the tools of poetry

Poetry should be more than just saying stuff in short rhythmic lines. A poem is the outward expression of an event or circumstance that fell into the inner consciousness of the poet. THOUGHT, FELT, MADE ALIVE !!

Altered and transformed into a spiritual and sensuous experience.

Think of it as thoughts and emotions compressed into a storehouse of raw energy waiting to be released into the consciousness of the reader.


Why do you want to write poetry ?

In order for the poem to succeed,we would want the reader to enter the poem through their senses.To bring forth that experience, albeit on the reader's personal level, the poem must stir the reader's imagination. It has to have both image and sound that resonate within the consciousness of the reader.

I want to be able to write poems that will sent current through the nervous system of my readers. Poems that breathe with life as they feast on the words with their eyes.

Like any other endeavor,in order to succeed we must have a plan.There are various ways that we can try,each with it's own strength and weakness.

A homegrown technique use with much success by some writers involves smoking dope and making love before writing. Also veer away from comfortable living as this tends to corrupt the soul as well as your writing.Try to eradicate the disease of sanity as this is another hindrance to good writing.

The above advice is self explanatory,but for some people there is a need for more expanded and simplified information.Hence the popularity of books with titles containing the "Dummies" word. So allow me to digress further and read on if you are not turn off by my drivel.


Marijuana and poetry are inseparable.

Smoke dope only if it is legal in your State.THC heightens the state of our consciousness. It allows us to communicate with our spirit guide. Hopefully, he or she might give us some pointers on how and what to write.The down side is that you might be so disoriented  from the hallucinatory weed, your poem becomes undecipherable to your readers.

You might get away with it if you have established your reputation. A famous poet once wrote a poem entitled "Period" with the entire piece containing just one dot (.) And the adoring public loved it. One fawning critic describe it as " Only from the pen of a genius could poetry be written with such profound simplicity, yet provide great depth and insight ! "


Make love only if you are under 18.

Love has always inspire poetry. An hour or two spend in appreciating the aesthetic values of your lover will greatly expand cerebral activity and totally eliminate "writer's block". But remember that writing is a very stressful activity and if you have to take Viagra then you are obviously tempting fate. I don't want to be responsible for any fatalities.

Despair and deprivation are great motivators

I am not asking you to live in a garret or in the basement of your parent's house. But if you are eating too much, living well off the fruits of capitalism and crave for the comfortable life,Then forget about writing inspired poetry. It's like sitting comfortably in front of the TV watching Lady Gaga and then having to get off your butt just to answer the doorbell. Too much hassle.

Lucidity in Insanity

We finally come to the last point.There is a thin line between genius and insanity, Although sometimes they are the same.Can you think of any past writers besides Hemingway or artist like Vincent van Gogh ? They happen to be my idols.

To summarize or recap for those whose attention span come in short squirts and  those whose retentive memory must be arrange in sequential single unit character, Just remember : L.I.M.P. ( Love, Insanity, Marijuana, Privation)

I write poetry whose incongruity requires some ingenuity on the part of the reader to appreciate. Also, to be in the proper emotional frame of mind while reading my poems, some sense of humor is required

If you are still reading this, then it should be obvious to you by now that I am writing this article in a heighten plane somewhere in the spirit world, since my girl friend broke up with me and the last meal I had was yesterday's lunch.

(CAUTION ) THIS ARTICLE IS FICTION AND THE AUTHOR SHOULD NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES IF YOU DECIDE TO HEED HIS ADVICE.