How to Write a Poem

I had been composing poems, but was afraid to show

My writing to the world, I thought I did not know

Enough about poetry to have the audacity to claim

That my rhymes were “poems”, surely poetry of literary acclaim

Is not supposed to rhyme in the way my verses do

Regarding the literary elements of a poem, I have no clue

All I know is that when I try to express my thoughts

I do it in rhyming verses more often than not

*

I came across a book of poetry where in the preface

The poet had confessed that she had felt out of place

Writing poems because they were composed

In free verse, she thought they resembled prose

That words needed to rhyme in a poem was what she was taught

Therefore for the longest time with doubt her writing was fraught..

*

I let out a chuckle when I read her confession

Both of us seemed to have the impression

That our writing did not to accepted standards conform

But eventually we found the courage to write in the form

That came to us naturally, instead of trying to write

In a manner that did not to us feel right

*

Life is too short for us to stifle our creativity

Because it does not conform to certain standards arbitrary

There is a place for every style of creative expression

Therefore in rhyming verses I distill down my worldly impressions