Visit the United States Copyright Office website and register your poem. You can either do this online or manually mail the form and payment in. If you register online, the price is $30 cheaper. Keep in mind that copyrighting is optional. According to copyright law, your poem is automatically copyrighted as soon as you compose it. Registering through the copyright office provides extra legal protection should you need to prove your authorship in court.
Research venues for publishing your poems. Use books such as Poet's Market or Writer's Market to locate publications that are a good fit for your poetry. Check online publications as well. Often their publishing guidelines are more lenient.
Submit your poem to magazines by following their guidelines. Start with smaller publications and work your way up to the more prominent ones.
Check to see if your local newspaper has a section in which your poem would fit. Contact the editor and request inclusion of your poem. Consider offering it free of charge in exchange for recognition.
Publish the poem yourself online on your website or blog. This gives you a place to develop fans of your work.