Is Writing Poems Easy?
Work and Study Hard.
Writing a poem looks easy. Is it easy, being a poet?
Like all writers, if they want to write well, they study and work very hard at their craft. If a poem is written well, that can make it look like it was easy.
There are times when a poet has to choose every word. Imagery, for instance, is very important to a poem. It creates vivid pictures in a reader’s mind and writing good imagery isn’t easy to do. There are several poets over on Quora that are master imagery writers and I hold them in the highest regard.
Another instance when poets have to choose their words wisely is when a poem ‘tells you’ it wants to rhyme. Rhyming is not easy to do. You want the poem to naturally rhyme, never sound forced. Grabbing a word to use just because it rhymes won’t do it. Nothing says ‘newbie’ faster than forcing the rhyme in a poem.
Rhythm is also an area where poets have to choose words carefully. Rhythm is most often used in a rhyming poem, but I love to write non-rhyming poetry with a gentle rhythm in each line. It allows the poem to flow from one line into the next, just like a song. I think when there’s a gentle rhythm in the lines, a poem can be easier to read.
There are also rare, very rare times when a poet doesn’t have to choose the words at all. A poem comes easily. It’s as though the words are being purposely sent from somewhere unknown, or the whole poem is floating in the air around us at a frequency we’ve in some way tapped into. Whatever it is, it seems like magic at the time.
I love when that happens …
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Someone once told me that poems aren't to be "understood" but "felt." And every person who reads a poem has their own interpretation. Sounds like a tall order. I like imagery, too, but only use it in prose. There is a poet on Quora, Nathalie Spaan, out of Amsterdam, who definitely writes poetry that cannot be Understood rationally (that I can tell) and yet, I find myself reading her stuff in fascination for the thoughts she juxtaposes that I would never think of--or dare to attempt.