Have you ever wanted to capture a feeling, tell a story, play with words, or see the world in a new way?
Poetry is a wonderful way to do all of these things.
The best part? There is no single right way to write a poem. You don’t need to be an expert. You don’t need fancy words. You just need curiosity, imagination, and a willingness to give it a go.
This year’s poetry competition optional theme is Fruit. While that may sound simple at first, fruit can inspire poems about family, culture, seasons, nature, memories, celebrations, emotions, or even imagined worlds. There are countless ways to explore the theme and make it your own.
One of the best ways to become a poet is to read poems written by other people.
Read a variety of poems. Listen to poets performing their work. Notice what you enjoy and what surprises you. Some poems are serious, others are funny. Some tell stories, while others focus on a single moment, memory, or feeling.
If you’re not sure where to begin, explore websites such as The Children’s Poetry Archive or your local library. The more poetry you experience, the more ideas you’ll discover for your own writing.
Long before books, television, and the internet, people shared stories, ideas, and memories through poetry. Poems were often spoken or sung and helped people remember important information.
Today, poetry still helps us make sense of the world. It allows us to express emotions, share experiences, ask questions, and see familiar things differently.
There are many different kinds of poems.
You might like to explore:
- Haiku: short poems inspired by observation and nature
- Acrostic poems: where the first letters spell a word
- Sonnets: structured poems with a long history
- Free verse: poems without strict rules about rhythm or rhyme
For beginners, free verse is often a great place to start. It gives you the freedom to experiment with your own ideas and style.
Remember, poems do not have to rhyme. In fact, many wonderful poems don’t!
Great poems often begin with something personally meaningful.
For this year’s competition, fruit is the optional theme, offering endless possibilities for observation, imagination, memory, and creativity. A piece of fruit might remind you of a family tradition, represent a feeling, inspire a story, or simply become the starting point for noticing the world in a new way.
Alternatively, you could also write about:
- a place you love
- a memory
- a pet
- friendship
- sport
- nature
- a challenge you’ve faced
- something that makes you laugh
- something that makes you wonder
- a favourite fruit, a fruit market, an orchard, a recipe, or the surprising stories and images fruit can inspire.
Poetry can help us explore our thoughts and feelings. It can also help us notice things that others might overlook.
Poets are collectors.
They collect words, images, sounds, memories, questions, and observations.
Carry a notebook or use a notes app to capture ideas whenever they appear. Perhaps you overhear an interesting conversation, notice unusual clouds, or think of a phrase you don’t want to forget.
Many poems begin as a few words scribbled down at the right moment.
Step outside.
Sit quietly and pay attention.
What can you see?
What can you hear?
What can you smell, feel, or notice?
Write down everything that catches your attention.
Don’t worry about making it perfect. Simply collect details.
Then start arranging your words into lines. Try removing unnecessary words. Experiment with where you place line breaks. Read your poem aloud and listen to how it sounds.
You may be surprised by what emerges.
Professional poets rarely write a perfect poem on their first attempt. Writing is a process.
Your first draft helps you discover what you want to say. The next drafts help you say it more effectively.
Leave your poem for a day or two, then come back to it with fresh eyes. You might notice places where a stronger word, clearer image, or different line break could improve it.
Editing is not fixing mistakes. It’s part of creating the poem.
Here are a few tools poets often use:
Similes
A simile compares two things using words such as like or as.
For example:
The moon hung like a lantern in the sky.
Alliteration
Alliteration repeats the same sound at the beginning of nearby words.
For example:
The silver snake slid silently through the grass.
Imagery
Imagery helps readers picture, hear, smell, taste, or feel what you are describing. Instead of saying:
The garden was beautiful.
You might write:
Lavender drifted through the warm afternoon air while bees hummed among purple blooms.
Concrete Poetry
Some poems are arranged on the page to create a shape connected to their subject. For example, a poem about a tree might be written in the shape of a tree.
Build Your Word Bank
A dictionary helps you understand words.
A thesaurus helps you discover new ones.
Using a range of interesting and precise words can make your poems more vivid and memorable. Experiment with different choices and see how they change the mood and meaning of your writing.
Think Like a Sculptor
Poet Ken Nesbitt compares writing poetry to sculpting.
A sculptor first creates a rough shape, then slowly adds detail and polish.
Poets do the same. Start with your ideas. Shape them into a draft. Then return to add detail, strengthen your images, and refine your word choices.
Don’t worry about perfection too early. Give yourself time to create.
Every poem teaches you something.
The more poems you write, the more confident and skilful you will become. Some poems will work better than others, and that’s perfectly okay.
Poetry is about exploring, experimenting, and discovering your own voice.
So, grab a notebook, open your imagination, and start writing.
Your next poem is waiting.