Painting Poetry

Writing poetry is a lot like painting a picture.
The main difference is the paint you use.
Poetry is a picture painted in words.

1- The idea is to see the picture you
want to paint, in your mind. Don't rush
it. The picture may just jump out at
you, but sometimes it takes thought to
bring out the beauty of it.

2- When it is a whole thought(a complete
picture), it helps to sketch it down.
The words don't have to match, just so
you can see the outline. Sometimes, with
thought, the picture will change to a
more defined effort.

3- The first two lines set the tone for
the finished poem. Start by describing
your thoughts in the words you felt,
when you first looked at it. Don't
worry about matching words yet.

4- The secret of a good poem, is the
balance. A song is a balanced poem,
set to music. Balance is done by
matching meanings and syllables.Each
single sound is a syllable, in music
each sound is a note.
(Remember---has three syllables)

5- After you have decided on your first
two lines, count the syllables in each
line. It's not a concrete rule, but if
line one and line three are the same
count and line two and line four are
the same, you'll see progress. Now you
can find the matching words. When you
have a balanced start, the other lines
just seem to follow.

6- If you see your pen as a brush, and
your lines as a brush stroke, it's
working. Don't force the words to match,
just let them flow into the next thought.
The right word balance will come- -
it takes time.

The beauty of your poem is limited only
by your imagination.