Poetry
Teens
LearnX Reading
Introduction to Poetry
Poetry is a type of writing that evokes a reader's imagination or emotions through the careful selection and arrangement of language for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. From simple nursery rhymes to profound reflections on life, poems take many forms, but they all share the power to move us through their artful use of words.
Curious about what counts as a poem? Watch the video below to learn more:
What exactly makes a poem … a poem?
Poets themselves have struggled with this question, often using metaphors to approximate a definition. Is a poem a little machine? A firework? An echo? A dream? Melissa Kovacs shares three recognisable characteristics of most poetry.
Source: What makes a poem … a poem? - Melissa Kovacs – Youtube (2017, Mar 20). TED-Ed. Retrieved 2025, Oct 19.
Structure: Lines and Stanzas
Poems are built from lines (individual rows of text) and stanzas (groups of lines that work together like paragraphs). How you break up your lines changes how the poem feels when you read it out loud.
Rhythm
Some parts of words get more emphasis than others. For example, in "golden and glimmering," you naturally stress "gol" and "glim" more than the other sounds. This creates rhythm that makes poems flow.
Sound Patterns
Poets use different techniques to make poems musical:
- Rhyme matches end sounds like "wall" and "fall".
- Alliteration repeats starting sounds like "dark and dangerous day".
- Onomatopoeia uses words that sound like what they describe — "zoom," "whisper," "clatter" are examples.
Imagery
This means creating vivid pictures with words that appeal to your senses. You can use:
- Metaphors to compare unfamiliar things with familiar ones like "her voice was music to his ears".
- Similes use 'like' or 'as' to compare two different things, such as "as busy as a bee”.
How to Start Writing Poetry
Pay attention to moments that feel interesting or meaningful to you. Don't worry about making your first poems "perfect"—just experiment with rhythm, rhyme, and imagery. Reading other people's poetry helps you learn different techniques too.
For more tips and tricks, check out the poetry resources listed below:
How to Write a Poem
If you're not sure where to start with poetry, watch this video where they’ve broken the writing process down into eight simple steps!
Source: How to Write a Poem – Youtube (2020, Jul 9). Reedsy. Retrieved 2025, Oct 19.
How to Read (and Even Enjoy) Poetry
Poetry has an undeserved reputation for being difficult and confusing. But the truth is that you don't have to figure poetry out--you just have to read it. In this video, we’ll read a poem together with the goal of enjoying it rather than deciphering it.
Source: How to Read (and Even Enjoy) Poetry – Youtube (2022, Apr 11). Writing with Andrew. Retrieved 2025, Oct 19.
Book Recommendations
Looking for inspiration? Discover more poetry books in the public libraries via the NLB catalogue!
The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country
Author: Amanda Gorman
Publisher: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2021
Call No.: Y 811.6 GOR
On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Her poem captivated the nation and brought hope to viewers around the globe with its powerful call for unity and healing.
Adapted from www.penguinrandomhouse.com
Wild Dreamers
Author: Margarita Engle
Publisher: Atheneum, 2024.
Call No.: Y ENG
A novel-in-verse book where love and conservation intertwine as two teens start a rewilding club at their school, working with scientists to build wildlife crossings that can help mountain lions find one another.
Adapted from https://www.simonandschuster.com/
Inheritance: A Visual Poem
Author: Elizabeth Acevedo
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2022.
Call No.: Y 811.6 ACE
In her most famous spoken-word poem, Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the complexities of Black hair and being Afro-Latinidad—the history, pain, pride, and powerful love of that inheritance.
Adapted from https://www.harpercollins.com
The book covers are the copyright of their respective publishing companies.
References
Glossary of poetic terms. Poetry Foundation. (n.d.).
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary
Poetry. Britannica Kids. (n.d.). https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/poetry/353645