Choose a theme or story to tell in the poem. Before launching into the poem, decide on a place, person or idea to convey in the poem.
Write a number of sample similes that you could use in your poem. For example, if you are writing about dancing, you might write that your feet felt as light as feathers or that your partner's hand on your waist felt like an extension of you.
Describe a person, place or thing. Pause after each line. Ask yourself what you could compare that feeling or thing to so that it comes alive to your reader. For instance: "I crawled into the house, like a baby, learning to walk." Or, "When I brought the shell to my ear, I didn't hear the waves: It sounded like the/
silence which must/exist at the bottom of/the sea."
Try the first lines. Just start naturally. You do not have to use a simile in every line, but try to use one at least every other line, as this is the "topic" for this poem (in a real poem, you are not required to use as many similes).
Give yourself time to come up with meaningful, non-cliched similes. Quiet as a church mouse, thin as a pole, cold as an ice cube and sticky like honey are all "tried and true" cliches. Branch out. You probably think of more similes throughout your day than you are aware.
Write with the senses. Compose a poem that brings your sensual experience of the world to life. No one else can write a poem, or any other piece of writing, like you can if you keep your perspectives as fresh and original as you do when you are living your daily life.