To be a poet (#6 in a possibly infinite series)

in poetry •  8 years ago 

Is it really a poem or is it prose with line breaks?

Contrary to popular belief, poetry does not have to be unreadable, with random words thrown together in no apparent order. At the same time, if it sounds like something you would say in ordinary conversation, it may not be very poetic.

In a poem, the words are connected by rhythm and by ideas (metaphor), not just by grammar. You can't make prose into a poem by removing prepositions or by splitting the lines at the commas. It takes more thought than that.

Think how your poem reads. Take out the line breaks and read it as if it were not a poem. If nothing changes, if it becomes simply a bunch of sentences, it may not be a poem at all. Try again.

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