Poems are not usually written in bursts of perfect inspiration. A poem often needs to undergo many drafts to refine its vision and hone its voice.
According to myth, poets compose their poetry in a state of exalted inspiration. A figurative lightning bolt zaps them, enabling them to write beautiful and eternal verse. The truth is usually very different. Although some poems are written in a burst of inspiration and require no editing, most poems are only first drafts when they are initially composed. They need to be edited, sometimes over a period of weeks, months or years to attain their full power.
The first draft
When you take time out, hopefully on a regular basis, to write a poem, you should let the sounds, ideas and images flow. The more often you write, the more readily you become a channel for your art. This doesn't necessarily mean that the process of composition will be easier, but that you will be less likely to write a piece that you will later cast away. You will be able to trust your voice and your process more if you write regularly.
Try not to listen to the judging or critiquing part of your brain at first, the part that tells you that what you write is worthless or clumsy, awkward or pointless. Release yourself into language. You can revise more critically after you have the initial draft written.
The second draft
Always read your poetry aloud. Poetry, after all, is an oral art. Your words need to be heard to be best appreciated, and critiqued. Spend time with each word, asking yourself if that's the word that most effectively, and sonorously, conveys what you want to impart. Especially pay attention to verbs as they carry the movement and action of the poem, propelling the sense of energy. Cut out unnecessary adjectives or adverbs as they usually clutter your imagery.
Focus on weeding out cliches, worn-out uses of language that are no longer fresh and won't convey anything of meaning to your reader. Poets must make perceptions new. They should invigorate language so that it transcends the banalities of daily speech, newspaper jargon and television sound-bites.
The third draft
Once you've spent time strengthening your use of language, making your diction as aurally resonant and full of texture as possible, you can attend to your line breaks. One of the aspects that differentiates poems from prose is in the way each line is treated as a breath unit. In traditional poetry, metre and rhyme help the poet decide how to break a line. In contemporary verse, one must turn to syllabics or the organic pauses that breath inserts to know where a line break is most effective.
Try to shift between end-stops and enjambments, long lines and shorter ones. Aim not to end a line on a preposition or article. Punctuation, especially commas and semi-colons, are often odd at the ends of lines and work better at their start. The more you write, the more you will develop an ear for where the line-breaks should be. Play around with your poem. Don't be afraid to write multiple versions. You then have many choices and can better decide which option works well.
Further drafts
After you've spent a period of time revising your poem, take it to others. Some poems require weeks, months or even years of reworking before they're ready to be shared. At a certain point though, poets need to bring their work to others that they trust. Pick another literary artist rather than a family member or friend to share your poem with. Join a writer's society. Let different types of people hear your piece aloud and read it silently on the page.
You will be surprised at how much other writers will find in your poem to revise. Although one can feel vulnerable and sensitive to critique, listening to what people you admire have to say about your poem will only make the poem stronger. Of course, you don't have to incorporate all their suggestions, but considering them will enable you to learn a lot about your writing process and what matters to you as a poet. Once your poem is thoroughly revised, you can begin to consider submitting it for publication!
