Tips for writing better poetry?

There is too much rubbish masquerading as poetry these days. Poetry has some sort of structure to it. It must crystallise an idea or image and present it to the reader in a striking, breath-taking way. The best poems do just this. Their apparent ease disguises the sharpest of communication, and communication is about sharing. Do not be afraid of verse structure or rhythm, which was one of the traditional aspects of poetry. If you wish to write better poetry you must read the best by the best poets. Sometimes that is difficult. Try Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of the true greats. Try his 'Pied Beauty' before tackling others, and finally the towering "Wreck of the Deutschland". Don't try to write the way he does, but learn how images can creep up on you in verse and suddenly jump out at you and make a great brilliant gash in the fabric of existence. He is a difficult poet, who uses stress (on the pattern of Old English which had two stresses per line and no terminal rhyme structure).

Look up the words you don't know. then say the poems over to yourself when you are alone. It may take time to get the way the rhythm works, Some people never get it. Whatever good poems you find get them in your head. Have them there when you have a moment to think to yourself. Shakespeare's sonnets are good. They have a heartbeat. Find the rhythm and you'll see what I mean. Go for it. Then write.

Poetry isn't strictly something that can be judged if a decent attempt has been made, it's subjective and interpretive. What I might enjoy, another might not.

Obviously "bad" poetry is pretty easy to see, for any familiar.

Better, might depend on an example of what you've written.

My opinions:

A poet understands a "hook" That is what has been baited, drawing a reader in, hopefully encouraging them along the way, to read a poem through.

A poets "job" is or should be to engage, involve a reader, even if they can relate to the poem as personal to them.

A poet dooesn't give away the premise immediately, but shouldn't leave a reader questioning either, though cliff hangers happen perhaps intriguing enough to entice a reader to know more of an authors work, or even wonder of a sequel.

Punctuation matters.

Grammar matters.

Of the dozens of forms, a passionate poet, should at least understand the structures (rules) even if they don't prefer a form.

If / When a poem becomes "work" even as passionate about poetry as I am, I let it rest.

Rhyme...So often can be forced, and poetry does not have to rhyme, but should have meter, cadence, rhythm, flow, and reading as much as you can, becomingfamiliar will help a person grow.

Finally, a quote by Jean Cocteau: "A poet is a liar, who speaks the truth."

An added note. Be mindful of EWD, ( Extra Word Disorder) "filler words that add nothing"

The best thing you can do to help your own writing is read lots of good poetry. Read the great poets of the past, and read a wide variety of the poetry being published today. Don't read just one kind of poetry. Stretch your imagination by reading both formal verse (poetry that uses rhyme and meter) and free verse. You'll be amazed how much your own writing improves as you expose yourself to the work of more experienced poets.

A couple of things you'll notice about good poetry:

Concrete images are better than abstractions. Instead of making statements about "love," "life," "truth," "justice," and so on, write about things that readers can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.

Specific details are better than vague generalizations. Don't just tell your readers that a person is smart, brave, kind, etc.; show those traits in action. Don't just say that a scene is beautiful or peaceful or scary or whatever; give details that let the readers experience for themselves what it's like.

Tips? No tips you are good or bad its plain simple

clear mind set. silence. and a corkscrew. for the wine.

clear mind set. silence. and a corkscrew. for the wine

rhythm better