Not a Poet? No Matter

By Annette Rey

You know writers need to experiment and get out of their comfort zones sometimes, right? Well, what better than to dabble in poetry?

I have done this and it opens another part of my brain. The words just sort of flow. Don’t try to be great at it. Just enjoy.

Pick a subject – like a raven – HaHa – I’m not joking. You’re not trying to beat Poe at his game, you’re just visualizing a black bird in your mind and transferring the words that cross your thought paths onto your page.

And the words DO NOT have to rhyme like this one I quickly snapped down.

Raven, black

Shining as coal

How beautiful I see you

Wish I could see your soul.

 

Eyes, beady

Alert to all

The sky is your ceiling

Sharp is your call.

See – just an experiment. I can enlarge upon that and add it to my very small collection of poems.

I’m not shooting for perfection or to be a sought-after poet. This is just one technique to beat that blank page. And playing with words is something writers should do.

Start a notebook of your efforts. Keep building it. One day it will serve you well when you are fresh out of ideas. Your brain will have stored these thoughts and will give you more to say.

Give this a try. Smile. Relax. Enjoy.