How to Make a Poem: A Step-by-Step Guide with Examples

Poetry is a form of art that lets a person express their feelings in a beautiful manner. It is a form of expression that shouldn’t be limited just to poets or artists. Everyone like you and me should be able to utilize this medium if we feel like it.

To make that possible, we have prepared this brief article to guide beginners in writing poems. How can you make your own poem? This is the question that we are addressing today.

After going through this write-up, you will, atleast, have a basic idea of how to write a poem. This will allow you to understand how to practice for poems.

What is a Poem?

A poem is a form of writing that combines words and emotions to create something meaningful. Unlike regular writing, a poem often uses imagery, rhythm, and creative expressions to convey ideas in a unique way.

It doesn’t always have to follow strict rules. Some poems rhyme, while others are written in free verse without any set structure. What matters most is that a poem reflects the writer’s thoughts and feelings, allowing them to connect with readers on a deeper level. But how do you begin creating one?

Let’s dive into the steps to making a poem and see how you can start crafting your own masterpiece.

Steps to Write a Poem

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to write a poem of your own.

1. Find Your Inspiration

First, you need to choose an idea or a genre about which you are going to write about. There are several things from which you can choose. For example, nature, emotions, personal experiences, philosophy, and much more.

If we narrow it down even further and focus on personal experiences, we can draw inspiration from our memories, challenges, or moments of happiness.

2. Decide on a Theme and Tone

The theme of your poem is the type of feeling that you want to invoke in the audience when they read your poem. Some examples could be hope, loss, self-discovery, and relationships. These need to be thought out before you write the poem so that you can write accordingly.

The tone, on the other hand, is how your poem will flow. This means whether you want your poem to be melancholic, playful, monotone, etc.

3. Choose a Form or Structure

There are various forms or types of poems. You must choose one of these types and work on it. Some major types are as follows:

• Free Verse
• Haiku
• Sonnet
• Couplet
• Narrative

You will have to look these up in order to understand how different types of poems are structured. Then, you can choose one that resonates most with you and your topic.

4. Start with a Rough Draft

After you have chosen a form, you have to start writing the poem. Your first goal should be to get your ideas converted into written form. In other words, when writing the first draft, don’t worry too much about the structure, words, and phrases of your poem. These things can be done when polishing the poem later.

Simply put, write down your ideas in a rough form and make sure that the message you want to convey is put into words.

5. Make use of Imagery

After completing the first draft, try to incorporate imagery into it. In other words, use words and phrases that make users think of something and make a picture of it while reading your poem. For this, you can use metaphors, similes, and personification.

You might think that this will be very challenging for a beginner. We are not denying that this part is, to some extent, difficult. However, if you are passionate about a subject, ideas will come to your mind automatically.

This is why we emphasized choosing just the right topic for your poem. Ensure you are writing from your heart and not just going through the motions.

Some examples of metaphors, similes, and personification are given here to get you started:

• Simile: As brave as a lion.
• Metaphor: She has got a heart of gold.
• Personification: The moon smiled down on Earth.

6. Adjust Rhythm

Based on the type of your poem, incorporate rhyming words into it. You can even make use of alliteration to make your poem sound better. However, if you are writing something like a free verse that doesn’t require any melancholic touch, you can skip this part.

7. Format and Revise the Poem

This is one of the most crucial parts of writing a poem. This is the part where you make the final touches to your poem and give it a proper structure. In this part, you may have to rewrite some sections, remove words, and even remove whole stanzas so that the poem flows smoothly and makes the most sense.

We suggest that you do this after taking a break from writing so you can resume work with a fresh mind.

8. Take Advice from Others

Lastly, you can also show your finalized poem to a friend or family member to get another person’s perspective. This will show you errors that you yourself might not have noticed. The best-case scenario is that they will approve of your poem. In this case, you are good to go.

However, if they do point out something, consider making modifications accordingly.

Examples of Poems

Now, to give you some further context, we will show you a few examples of poems. You can refer back to these when writing one of your own.

Here is a poem about nature:

As you can see, the poem talks about the beauty of stars in the night. At the same time, it uses symbolism to hint at hope and optimism.

Here is another example of a poem about a loved one:

In this poem, the writer is reminiscing about someone very dear to them. The poem is free verse, so there is no rhyming aspect to it, but the message is still strong enough to evoke feelings in the reader.

This final example is of a poem with a lesson.

The poem employs a motivational and inspirational tone to convey the message of perseverance and not waiting.

Write a Poem Using an AI Poem Generator

If the above-explained method gets too overwhelming for you, you can get assistance from an AI poem maker. We don’t recommend relying on it completely, but you can definitely use it as a source of inspiration.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to write a poem using an AI Poem generator:

1. Head to the Poem-generator.net
2. Write the theme or topic of your poem.
3. Specify the type, tone, length, and language of your poem.
4. Click on ‘Generate Poem.’

You will get a beautiful rhyming poem in a few seconds. You can use this poem to get some ideas on how you can phrase certain parts of your poem. This generator will certainly not create a poem exactly according to what you want, but it will be very close. So, you can use this when you run out of ideas.

Conclusion

Writing a poem is a journey of self-expression and artistry. By following the steps we have explained in the article, you can create poetry that resonates with both you and your readers.

Just remember this: Poetry is as much about the process as it is about the finished product. Whether you’re talking about the beauty of a morning or delving into complex emotions, each poem you write is a step toward understanding yourself and the world around you.