How to Write Poetry?

There is no such thing as a good or bad poem, but perhaps some poems are better at transforming the reader than others, which is directly correlated to the purity of heart and mind of the writer. The purer the writer, the more elegant, more heart-centred and more authentic the poetry becomes. Writing poetry is a combination of three elements:

• Soul/Heart (Spiritual) – Infinite flow of love, inspiration and wisdom
• Mind (Mental) – Makes everything understandable in practical, human terms
  
• Body (Physical) – Hands write the poetry and physical plane helps in making intangible concepts tangible
  

All three elements of soul, mind and body should be co-ordinated to create a great poem, although one element shall always dominate in a poem. Where the soul dominates, a poem becomes heart-centred and all those who read that poem shall feel its effects deep within their being. Soul-centred poetry can transform an individual. The most profound example I have been fortunate enough to come across is the Sikh Holy Scripture, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, which is a perfect combination of words and sounds from the soul that speak to all parts of the human psyche to create a total transformation in being.

Where the mind dominates, a poem becomes very practical and down-to-earth in its advice, again depending upon the degree of clarity of mind of the writer. Where a poet's mind is very jumbled and restless, the poetry shall be jumbled and restless. Where a poet's mind is very emotional and commotional, the poetry shall also be full of emotions and feelings. The reader of this poetry shall also become emotional and commotional. However, where a poet has a clear and controlled mind, the poetry will become very cutting, direct and practical with very little wastage of words to bring a point across. Again, this type of poetry can be seen within passages of the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Finally, the body or physical plane is used to write the poetry i.e. the hands, but also the physical plane may be used within poems to represent intangible elements within a tangible context, for example using metaphors such as 'my love shined as bright as the sun', or similes such as 'my anger became red hot like a volcano' or anthropomorphism such as 'the words from her mouth began to dance in my heart'.

It is my personal belief that everyone, including you, should write poetry and experiment with stringing words together about experiences you have in your day-to-day life. The privilege of knowing how to write should be enough reason to write some poetry, not everyone has that privilege and those of us who have should use it to share our deepest emotions,thoughts and ideas that may inspire others in their lives.

Sat Naam.