Decide on the kind of poem you want to write. Terry Clitheroe's List of Poetry Forms is an excellent source for different poem types. Your selection can be as complicated or as simple as you like; you can try your hand at writing a sonnet with perfect iambic stress and pentameter meter, or you can just write an acrostic using your daughter's name. Two things to think about when deciding on what kind of poem to write are what you as a poet are comfortable writing and what your daughter is most likely to enjoy.
Choose some key themes on which to write. Because you will be writing with a specific audience in mind, consider writing about what your daughter likes best, her best character traits, or what she most reminds you of (feelings, ideas, situations, or experiences could all work for this).
Make a list of these key themes.
Consider the kind of poem that you have chosen to write and think about how long you want to make it. This will help you to narrow down your list of themes and traits that you made in the previous step. If you are writing something such as an acrostic poem, select one thing for each letter of her name. Otherwise, the number of things to choose to write about will depend on how much detail you want to include in your poem; one thing could be covered in as little as one line or as much as four lines (but any more might make your poem too long).
Write a rough draft of your poem. This does not have to be in any way perfect. If you have chosen to write a kind of poem that has a strict meter or rhyming pattern, do not worry if what you write in this draft bends the rules a little bit and does not perfectly match those patterns.
Take a daylong break from your poem. This will help you to approach your draft with fresh eyes when you go to rewrite it. If you do not have a day to take this break, an hourlong break will also work; go for a walk, work in the yard, do something that will get you up and on your feet (and away from your draft) for an hour.
Revise your draft so that it better fits the kind of poem you have chosen. Once you are satisfied with the way your draft fits your chosen kind of poem, read your draft aloud to yourself three times. This will help to give you a sense of how the words you have written down sound together. Make a note of any necessary changes.
Make the necessary changes to your poem that you noted after reading it aloud to yourself.
Repeat Steps 5 through to 7 until you are satisfied with the way your poem sounds and looks on the page.
Type or write your poem on a nice piece of stationary or card stock. This will help to give an air of uniqueness to your poem.
Present your poem to your daughter.