Have you always wanted to know how to write a poem but you can't figure out how to go about it? Have you read dozens of articles but you still cannot figure it out?
I have devised a very simple way of writing a poem which I wish to share with you. Take a few moments to look at it. I promise that by the end of it, you will by happily composing your own poems!
I wrote my first poem when I was in third grade. I still remember how I wrote it. It went something like this:
Bad, bad weather!
It makes me feel very cold.
Bad, bad weather!
It breaks my umbrella apart.
Bad, bad weather!
It makes me stay indoors all day.
Bad, bad weather!
It makes all my clothes very wet.
Bad, bad weather!
Did you like my poem?
Now, before you can write your own poem. There are 4 things you should know about a poem:
1. A poem is written in verse form This means the lines in a poem do not run all they way across a page.When you finish one line, instead of writing the next one immediately after, you write it on the next line. Also, the first word in each line starts with a capital letter. Sometimes, you can break a sentence into two lines. For example, instead of writing a very long line like this one:
I went to town where I saw a clown
you can write it like this:
I went to town
Where I saw a clown
If you write short lines, your poem will look nice and will be easy to write. Sometimes, the lines of a poem are grouped together into 'paragraphs'. In a poem, a paragraph is called a verse.
2. Most Poems Rhyme Poems that rhyme are nice. To rhyme means they sound the same at the end. Do you know why nursery rhymes sound nice? Yes, it is beacuse they rhyme. For example, do you know this one?:
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
The words fall and wall sound the same,don't they? So we say they rhyme.
3. A good poem sounds like a song A good poem can be sang like a song. Do you know a few nursery rhymes? I am sure you sing them to yourself. They are actually poems, written so nicely that they can be sang. So when you write a poem, try to sing it as you write. If a poem can be sang, then we say it has rhythm.
4. Sometimes the lines in a poem repeat In some poems, some lines are repeated. All this is to make the poem sound nice.
Good, now you are ready to write your poem.
Step one: Choose a topic
Remember that a poem usually tells a story, or sends a message to the reader.
So before you write your poem, decide what it will be all about. Will it be about your dog? Your famiy? Your best friend? The weather?
You can make your poem be about anything you want.
As an example, I will write a poem about Snow.
Step Two: Write down what you know about the topic
Have you selected what your poem will be about? Wonderful!
I said mine will be about snow, right?
Now what you have to do is think about snow and write down all that you know about it.
What do I know about snow? Let me see....
Snow is whitesnow is flakySnow is cold
Snow is white like wool
snow falls from the sky
You can make balls with snow
You can make a snowman with snow.
Step Three: Choose what you will write about your topic Have you written down all you know about your topic? Nice...
Now select from your list what you will include in your poem. Here is what I will include in my poem:
Snow is white
snow is flaky
snow is cold
snow falls from the sky.
Step Four: Write your poem Now write your poem. Remember you are telling a story about something which happened, happens or will happen.
As you write, try to sing the lines out. They should sound like a song. If your line is too short or too long to fit your 'singing', make some changes.
Here is my poem:
The snow was falling
When we went out to play
Up and down the hill side.
The snow was flaky
When we shouted and fought
Up and down the hill side.
The snow was cold
When we slid on our skateboards
Up and down the hill side.
The snow was white
When we went out to play
Up and down the hillside.
Step Five: Rewrite your Poem
It is always important to rewrite your poem so that you can make corrections. You can also look for words that rhyme.
To choose a word that rhymes, look at the word at the end of one line, and then look at the one at the end of the next line. If they do not sound the same, choose another one that sounds the same with the first word.
For example, I could say:
The Snow was flaky,
And we were all shivering and shaky,
Up and down the hillside.
Sometimes it is hard to choose words that rhyme, but as long as it sounds nice, it's okay!
And if you find it hard to make your poem rhyme, try repeating some lines like I did. It works.
I am now sure that you are ready to write your own poem using these very simple guidelines I have put here. Start now. Write a poem today!
