Most people believe that poems are pure literature, a form of writing. They are somewhat right, but there is much more to poems than meets the eyes! I see poems as the sculptures of literature, or a form of art than mere words.
You see, poems are meant for the benefit of an audience. You are writing much more than words, doing much more than rhyming or flowing. Your reason for writing poetry should be based on your emotional needs, and your poems should be full of emotions and sensations!
The real secret to writing poems like a pro is to write what feels right, write your deepest thoughts, filled with deep, penetrating emotions. Breathe deeply as you write. Feel sensations that you normally wouldn’t, like imagining yourself feeling as though you are floating by thinking of the Earth as a huge space station hovering around the sun. You can imagine what cosmic consciousness is truly like, or what true oneness is like.
The main thing here is to write what you feel. Poems are about showing off, letting loose, and poems are definitely about the nature of humanity and our place in the world! You have to put yourself into your poems, imagine living as though you were a sculpture and think hard on what it would take to sculp the real you.
In a literal sense, poems are words, but they aren’t just writing. Poems are also a form of art, poetry is the art of words. Poems should be written to express yourself.
Poems aren’t just rhythm and rhyme, because not all poems have to rhyme. But all poems should follow a certain pattern, much like songs written and recorded. Even if a poem doesn’t rhyme, it should be repeating the same structure throughout the piece. An example would be this pattern: A-A-B-B-A.
A poem should do more than simply rhyme. If your poem does rhyme, make sure the rhymes make sense(unless your poem is meant to be nonsense, which is an actual genre). Poems shouldn’t have a random scheme, they should come full-circle, and they shouldn’t break their pattern or style from one line to the other.
But if you’re not aiming to be a pro, or you just want to write poems for enjoyment, there is nothing wrong with being an amateur poet. You should ultimately take this article as advice or as a guide, rather than as rules for writing. Write how you want to write!