National Poetry Month - How to Write Poetry!

The first week of National Poetry Month has flown by! If you were like me, you may have gotten behind on reading, writing, and posting poetry of the course of the weekend.

I have had a couple of people ask me what process I use to write my poetry and if there is truly a way to learn how to write poetry.

I have an answer for both of those questions!

When I write a poem, I usually have a random title pop up in my head. For instance, I recently wrote a poem for the popular website For Harriet and the title, "Soul Cord", was a thought in my mind. The poem is about my newborn daughter and the strong bond I am forging with her. To me, my bond is like the umbilical cord we once shared, but instead of sharing my body with her, I now share my soul with her.

After that, I just let my feelings flow. I typically don't write poems that rhyme because I don't think in rhymes in my head. I guess I wouldn't have much of a career as a rapper! I just write from the heart, even if I feel like I am the only person who would understand my words.

And that leads me to the second question. NO, there is no way to learn how to write poetry because there is no correct way to do it. That is the beauty of poetry! You can capitalize the words you want to capitalize and write whatever you are feeling inside. You don't have to rhyme, you don't have to use complicated language, and your poem can be as long or short as you want it to be. 

Life has a lot of rules, but poetry is not bound to any rules. Be free to write what you want!!

-T. Amour