The best way to learn about poetry is to read lots of poems. "Poems are the best teachers" Mary Oliver.
I try to read at least one poem a day. This is achievable because they are often short, so even when I have little time I can read a poem and learn something new each time. Learning to write poetry is a continuous journey. When you read poems, read them first for pleasure. Read them again, and again, and again. The poem will reveal itself to you this way, if it's any good, it may not give up its gifts straight away.
Think about:
The shape of the poem. Why the line breaks where it does and what effect that creates.
The sounds of the poem and how they come about: assonance, consonance, alliteration are examples of how poets wield sound into poems.
Meaning may work its way into the mind like magic (you may not be able to explain its meaning, but you feel it). Ask yourself what the poem made you think, feel, see, hear and taste. What did you learn from the poem? Did it change your life?
My life was once changed when I heard Martin Luther King speak his poem/speech:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today."
What was his intention? Freedom! "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
Not all poems have such brave intention, they come to us quietly, they come carrying metaphor and sit on our shoulders awhile to guide us through life. They whisper, bother us, disturb us, excite us - and we can't always pinpoint why.
"Metaphor drives the engine of poetry. Figurative language—figures of speech and thought—guides the interaction between poet and reader." Edward Hirsch.
Good luck with the beautiful experience of reading poems.
You can find many great poems online:
The Poetry Archive:
Wendy Cope
Roger McGough
William Carlos Williams
The Poetry Foundation:
Pablo Neruda
Margaret Walker
Carolyn Forché
The Poetry Library
For magazines and publications.
https://www.nationalpoetrylibrary.org.uk
Poetry can now be found in the form of films. Take a look at these.
Poetry Film: http://poetryfilmlive.com/
Animated Poetry - Billy Collins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuTNdHadwbk
We looked at many poems and discussed the devices and forms they used:
Form
The Poetic Line (See 'The Red Wheelbarrow' by William Carlos Williams)
Metaphor
Simile
Ambiguity
Syllable
Rhyme
Rhythm
There are many more. You can learn much on the Poetry Foundation website: LEARN
Keeping reading a wide range of poems and you'll find the way forward to suit your style and voice.
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