Starting and Finishing a Poem by LB Sedlacek
Originally published
in "Write Success"
You may find it easy to begin a poem, but do you ever have trouble getting all the way through to the end?
Getting your poem all the way down on paper (or typed into a computer) is only half the battle. The other half is re-visiting your poem later and editing what you've written as well as checking for spelling errors, or typos and format.
One of the quickest ways to get started with your poem is to decide what kind of form you want it to be: rhyming, free verse, troika, haiku, etc. Of course, if you're using a standardized form, you'll want to be familiar with the structure and how it works.
Some forms are stricter than others are. Free verse leaves the most room for a non-structured poem of various syllables and number of lines. Plus, there is lots of leeway when it comes to spacing and punctuation choices. It also is the form to use if you're experimenting or want to try something new when writing your poems.
If you're more familiar with or prefer to write formal poetry, there are plenty of good resource books available to show you how to do it as well as plenty of free resources on the Internet.
The next step you'll need to take is to pick a subject, or idea for your poem to be about, to describe, or to reflect on, etc. The subject can be the overall theme of the poem or simply the main gist of it. Maybe your poem will only briefly touch on the point you're trying to get across. For example, in my poem "Decay" it is for the most part about an uneaten apple lying on the ground. But when the poem is examined more closely or picked apart, it is really hinting slightly at the decay of the environment.
Decay by LB Sedlacek
I found a decaying apple, half-eaten and brown
on the grass, beside my car
Like the silhouette of an unseen star -
a variety of stories by sight not sound
ready to be examined undisturbed on the ground
like the clues in a detective mystery
each one there for a reason, full of history
and me with only my eyes to record what I'd found.
What kind of person threw it down half-eaten with only a few bites?
What color was it when round,
most likely purchased at William's produce in the center of town?
Slowly disintegrating under the lights
gradually disappearing - mornings, noon's, nights.
(originally published in "Reflections" - 1999)
If you're new to poetry, you might begin with simply describing an object or a feeling. The complexities can come later when you become more comfortable with interweaving words, blank lines or spaces, titles, punctuation and sentences into your poems.
Now that you know what you want your poem to be, find a place where you feel comfortable writing. Maybe it's your kitchen table, at the community library or even while you're sitting and waiting in rush hour traffic. To write poetry, the only tools you need are pens, pencils, paper, or a PDA or computer plus a dictionary and a good thesaurus.
Then pick a word, phrase or even a sentence and type or write it down. If you can only get down a few words at a time, you can put your poem aside for a while and come back to it later. Another thing you can do is to think about your poem for a few hours or even days or months before you even begin to write it down. This may help make writing your poem easier as well as help the flow or gel of the words when you do begin to write.
Once you get the words down, then you can begin the task of shaping your poem. You can use your dictionary or thesaurus to change or add words. You can add or modify punctuation including word spacing and stanza breaks. Don't ignore the blank lines! They also count as part of the poem - and towards your poem's total line count. Plus, the title of your poem should either add or say something about what you've written. After all, the title is usually the first thing that's read in a poem.
If you're still in a crunch as to what your poem should say or be about, try looking around you at everyday objects, places you visit, things that happen to you during the day. Or, try watching someone else wherever you go or even on TV. Good poets are good observers. They are able to take what they see, hear, read, or even experience and turn it into their own expressions. A poem is a great opportunity to present an ideal thought or place, but it is also a chance to present something from the real world - your world - in your own unique voice.
The language of a poem also is important in its structure. Try to use vocabulary you are comfortable with even if you don't think it's what you should be using. You want to use words that you are familiar with so that your poem will have the best flow and rhythm possible. All the spacing or line breaks you may use in your poem won't make disjointed words or conflicting themes look or sound like they belong together.
From Rainer Maria Rilke's poem, Initiation: "And you have made the world (and it shall grow/and ripen as a word, unspoken, still)./When you have grasped its meaning with your will,/then tenderly your eyes will let it go ..."
The best way to get your poem down from start to finish is to make it simple, or the "kiss" theory of "keep it simple, stupid." Your way of life, and your experiences will flavor and shape your poems. It's up to you to use crisp clear language. In other words, write what you know and the rest will follow.
Keep in mind, that you don't have to write a poem in a few minutes, or even write the whole thing at once. Writing poetry is a craft and just like needlepoint or painting, a poem has several parts that with time, care and patience can be sewn together into one unique worthwhile creation.
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