Writing poetry can be an intimidating prospect when you've never done it before, but it doesn't have to be.  Like our Poetry Anthology theme this year - Choices - you can choose to give it a go and see how it turns out.  Many people think of things like sonnets, ballads, iambic pentameter, and rhyming when it comes to poetry.  Meter, form, and structure, oh my!  Some of these forms intimidate even seasoned poets.  But we don't need to be Shakespeare to express ourselves.  Start simple.  

Haiku is a great starting point for beginner poets.  It's an introduction to form without being overwhelming.  Haiku are typically centered around nature, but they don't have to be.  They are composed of three unrhyming lines of five, seven, and five syllables respectively.  This is an example I wrote for National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) in 2017:

Happy Place

Multi-hued valley

Visible breath, pounding hearts

Two legs astride four

This poem was based off the following prompt:  “Field Guides” Let your poem tell of a small, resonating memory of a moment’s observation of the natural world. The suggested form was a Haiku.

You can also choose to explore and play with this form.  During the same week for NaPoWriMo 2017 I wrote a "reverse" Haiku - following 7-5-7 syllables instead of the typical 5-7-5.

Ruins

Stone towers lie recumbent

No longer reaching

For blue, but consumed by green.

So, try out some haiku and see how it goes.  Maybe you'll end up with enough to feature in the anthology.  Stay tuned to future blogs for more poetry suggestions!