Some Tips On Writing Poems

Many Nepali students, especially those pursuing higher secondary education, are found weaker in creative writing, mainly because parents often fail to tell them folk tales during their formative years. These days, students are not required to write letters to their parents and family members due to the advancement of information technology and the arrival of modern cellphones.

Also, extracurricular activities such as delivering speeches, participating in debates, poem recitation and essay competitions, among others, are not frequently held at many schools. Similarly, most students are found extremely weak in understanding vernacular words. 

A plus-two student once asked me the meaning of the Nepali word, 'Gramin?' I was enormously surprised to hear her question. She was from an English medium school. It is no surprise that if she does not know the meaning of the term 'Gramin', which stands for rural in Nepali, then she cannot express her views as clearly so that the people from rural areas and communities can understand them. 

Students need to enhance their understanding power, expression skills, alternative ways of looking at things as well critical thinking on every topic, without which no one will be able to write creative writing, a form of expression in which a writer expresses his\her opinion in imaginary ways. 

This form of writing does not describe the event as we see them like a piece of hard news does. It demonstrates the event like a work of fiction. This is why journalistic writings, especially news stories, are not regarded as creative writings. 

There is a famous saying in journalism–'no views in news'. It means that a journalist\ reporter is not allowed to express his\her opinion while he\she produces his/her news stories. But a person, who is writing a poem, story, play, essay or other literary piece, is free to put his\her thoughts and various perspectives on the topic he/she is dealing with. A poem, story, play, essay or other literary piece is thus a form of creative writing. 

Here, I would like to share my experiences, ideas and methods for writing poems, which would benefit the students in penning their creative pieces. 

Since poetry writing is an artistic work, it is not based on pedagogies of teaching or learning. However, we can learn some fundamentals of writing poems. Here, we must remember that there are huge differences between teaching and learning about poetry writing. As such, no person can say that he/she can teach the art of writing poetry. 

As a poem is not merely a collection of words. We should not write poems merely by using words. We have to compose them like an artist who sketches a picture. Through poetry, we have to portray scenes of nature and decorate our rooms like interior designers. We have to use a metaphor, gesture, signal, or symbol to express poetic expressions. 

If we express our feelings straightaway using words then the take the shape of either a story or an essay. But when we present our feelings and emotions through metaphors or gestures, it will be a poem. We must try to understand things, people and places differently to write our poems differently.

 If a common person sees a piece of wood, he\she does not care about it. But when a carpenter sees it, he takes the wood as a beautiful piece of furniture. 

A carpenter is thus a creator, poet or architect. Again, expressing feelings differently helps us create a powerful poem that may grab the attention of readers. Many may understand that the garland worn by a leader is a symbol of success, prestige or prominence to him. But I feel that pretty flowers hanging on the neck of a leader is a symbol or metaphor for martyrdom after he was hung up on a Bakainako Rukh by the autocratic Rana ruler. 

Here, I have presented my short poem:

Flowers have been hanging

On the shoulder of the leader

Like the face of a martyr 

His shoulder looked like a tree

Where martyr was hanged 

Here, garland, flower and shoulder have been combined to give another meaning than what common people usually see them. In a good poem, examples, gestures, metaphors, and symbols are used to have a greater impact. A poet must express his/her emotions through metaphors.   

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A person must read, read and read before he/she engages in creative writings. A future poet needs to study dozens of relative references before writing poetry. 

Generally, there are three properties of poetry\literary writing i.e., brilliance, derivation and practice. For example, the great poet of Nepal, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, was full of brilliance whereas some of his contemporary writers wrote with the skill of derivation; the new generation of Nepalese poets have been writing their poems based on exercise. 

The  'Third Eye'

Lord Shiva, according to mythology, has three eyes. We too need to use the third eye while we pen our poetry. Most poets have understood that a 'thorn' is the symbol of the devil or harmful objects. But we can also regard a thorn, by opening our third eyes, as a committed guard engaged in the safety of the flower. The third eye does not see things as our two eyes see. It sets sights on special things. 

When a common person sees a black cloud in the sky, he does not pay attention to it, but a poet can see the silver lining on the edge of such a cloud. I have already said a carpenter sees wood as beautiful furniture and not merely a piece of wood.  There is another example - we offer flowers to God while worshipping God, but while worshipping we are also 'murdering' flowers. Understanding subjects with our minds as well as with our hearts helps a student in creative writing. 

Use Metaphors

If we are describing the good-looking moon in our poetry, we should not use just the term moon only, we have to symbolise it as the enhancing\pretty Tika wearing by a woman on her forehead. Similarly, we have to compare the sky as a peaceful home, symbolise the water as the blood of the earth, and realise the cloud as the quilt of poor people. We have to give gestures, posture, signals and comparisons while we are penning a poem. 

A creative writer should always use simple and sweet words. He/she should decorate language as an architect. Creative writers should present subjects as if they were portraying a scene or a picture through words. Because a poem must draw or compose events\scenes. 

Last but not least, a poet should describe his\her feelings, experiences, sorrow and happiness in such a way that every reader should empathise with these feelings. It is known as proximity. A poet should always try to tug a reader's heart. One should be clear about for whom he/she is writing his subjects.

(Wagle is a journalist)