Would you like to write a poem? Don't worry, that's easy.

How to write verses?

1. Choose a theme. A verse can be about anything, from loneliness to keeping hamsters. For example, write down a dream on paper.

Think up a short sentence within the theme you are interested in.

2. Do your best to find an exact rhyme for the last word in your sentence.

3.You probably have a general idea of writing poems. Classic verses consist of rhymed lines.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, (A)

How I wonder what you are. (A)

Up above the world so high, (B)

Like a diamond in the sky. (B)

(“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” by Jane Taylor)

A single set of the AABB rhyme scheme is called a couplet.

And here is a quatrain - ABAB:

In thee, I fondly hop’d to clasp (A)

A friend, whom death alone could sever; (B)

Till envy, with malignant grasp, (A)

Detach’d thee from my breast for ever. (B)

(“To D” by George Gordon Byron)

Use one of those simple rhyme schemes. There's no point in using difficult forms such as sonnet or triolet until you have gained more experience.

If rhymes are troublesome for you, write either a free verse or a prose poem.

Read these two poems to understand what prose poems and free verse mean.

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

(“Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman)

If lilies are lily white if they exhaust noise and distance and even dust, if they dusty will dirt a surface that has no extreme grace, if they do this and it is not necessary it is not at all necessary if they do this they need a catalogue.

(“A Red Stamp” by Gertrude Stein)

4. Recite your poem aloud to review its structure. Having listened to the rhythm, shorten the lines which are too long.

5. Make sure that grammar and spelling are correct.

Tips for beginners

Let us give you some adviсe:

  • look through your photo albums or re-read your old diaries to draw inspiration;

  • avoid abstract imagery, choose specific descriptions, paint with words (“I love her” is bad, "You make me want to be a better man” is good);

  • don't be afraid of demonstrating your emotions;

  • apply human qualities to inanimate objects (rain can cry, trees can whisper);

  • compare things (“Life is like a lottery…”);

  • use questions and exclamations;

  • steer clear of clichés a la “as white as snow”.

Your first masterpiece will be of little interest to demanding critics, but you don't need to get upset on that account. Share it with your best friend!