Choose a topic. You can write a poem about a person, event or object, or you can choose an intangible, such as a feeling or mood.
Brainstorm your chosen topic. Make a list of words and phrases related to the topic. If you want to write a poem that rhymes, expand your list by adding related rhyming words.
Add similes and metaphors to your brainstorming list. Similes make a comparison between two things that are fundamentally unalike, using the words "like," "as" or "than." Metaphors make the comparison as a statement without the use of comparing words.
Substitute words with symbols in your brainstorming list. Symbols take an item and replace it with something else. For example, you can use a rose as a symbol for love.
Incorporate hyperboles and understatements. Hyperboles are overstatements that are not taken literally. They emphasize the truth by using extremes. Understatements are the opposite of hyperboles. They make statements using underemphasis to highlight irony.
Add personification to your list. Personification takes inhuman objects or ideas and gives them human traits or actions. For example, the phrase "the tree wept" personifies a tree.
Integrate allegories or parables. Allegories talk about one topic in place of another. Parables use an entire poem to deliver a moral lesson.
String together the words and phrases of your brainstorming list. Your poem does not have to rhyme or follow a specific form. Poems do have an internal rhythm using the syllables of words. Stressed syllables are read with accentuation, and unstressed syllables are read with less emphasis.
Read your poem aloud to see if it flows. Adjust the poem until you are satisfied.