One way to leave a lasting impression on the reader is to play with opposites and subvert expectations. This will take many different forms, but the basic suggestion would be to twist tried and tested tropes. Turning them on their head and making them mean the opposite of their original meaning, or something new entirely. Surprises, when pulled off well, have added impact due to the shock value…

Poetry is just words on a page.

Anything beyond that definition risks falling into a philosophical or literary debate that would amount to such an abstraction of the beauty of the artform as to render it pointless. There are no rules. No restrictions. No limits to what you can and can’t, or to what you should and shouldn’t do.

A lot of this book will help you to hone that expression, giving you tips, tools, and tricks to make it more evocative. But that is all just make up and window dressing. Expression is the key. Some people gravitate towards rhymes and structure, others to free-flowing verse, others still, to long form paragraphs or books, crafting each line with meticulous care. It is all just writing. It is all just words on a page. It is all just poetry…