This is how we write a poem:

This is how we write a poem:

Sit down at the table,
Turn on the computer,
Watch out for the cable,
Start your thought-diluter.

Close your eyes a minute,
Chase your thoughts around,
Throw one down and pin it,
Hold it on the ground.

Think about it some,
A pretty metaphor,
Make comparisons,
Expressions help for sure.

Wrestle with it now,
Squeeze out one last ounce,
Tell it this is how,
You make a rhythm bounce.

Check in a thesaurus,
It’s up there on the shelf,
Compose a clever chorus,
This poem won’t write itself.

Now that you are done,
Check it for mistakes,
Leaving some for fun,
Poetic license makes.

And if it is too dense,
Or so abstract it hurts,
Just kill it to make sense,
Language must come first.

Your thought may now be dead,
Or at least full of dents,
Because it’s left your head,
To become mere reference.