How to Write a Simple Yet Powerful Poem

Nature is a common subject for poetry.

People often think of poetry as containing complicated and convoluted language. Some of the most powerful poems, however, focus on a single, simple image or employ minimal but meaningful words. Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro" beautifully exemplifies the power of contrasting two simple ideas in a few scant words:



The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.



Instead of trying to create a many-layered masterpiece, craft a simple yet powerful poem by focusing on one or two ideas.

Instructions

1. Identify the subject for your poem. A subject does not have to be an issue, as in an essay. Rather, a subject can consist of an object, a thought or an image that strikes you. An image could be something as simple as a square of sunlight on a hardwood floor or the still, smooth surface of a lake. You could also write about a particular feeling you would like to capture, such as sadness or elation.

2. Compare your image, feeling or thought to another idea it shares some commonality with. For example, you might compare a patch of sunlight on a floor to a swatch of paint or the surface of a lake to a mirror. This striking comparison is called a metaphor.

3. Write your comparison in a full sentence, for example, "A patch of sunlight on a hardwood floor is like a swatch of paint." Add detail to enhance your image and make it more lifelike. Explain it a little more to draw out the comparison:

   A bright patch of yellow sunlight is like a sunny swatch of paint, as if someone painted the floor with sunlight.

4. Cross off any little, unnecessary words, rearrange words and divide ideas into different lines to create a powerful, minimalist image.

   square of yellow sunlight

   as if someone painted the floor

   with a sunny swatch of paint

References

• Bartleby: In a Station of the Metro
• Harvard University: Literary Terms and Definitions

Resources

• Poetry Magic: Writing Poetry: Approaches