POETRY, A NEW GENERATION: Frances Haight of Kane is a regular contributor to RTS. Her poetry is a treat for our readers. Today, we are sharing a poem by Kya Haight, her great-granddaughter. We love seeing that the love for poetry is carried on by 10-year-old Kya.

Some Dogs

By Kya Haight

Some dogs are white,

Some have colors that are bright,

Some are dull,

Others play with a ball,

Some chase frogs,

But they are all just dogs.

———

Writing a poem: For anyone interested in writing a poem, the following 10 tips may make the difference.

First, know your goal. Before putting pen to paper, ask yourself what you want the poem to say or do.

Next, Skip the Clichés. We’ve read them, we’ve heard them. Leave them out of your poem, and it will be fresh and new to any reader.

Third, use images. Your goal with a poem is to stimulate taste, touch, smell and sight through the words on the paper.

Another tip is to use concrete words, like colors, or warm or cold descriptors, as people can feel these words more easily.

Remember that all poems have a theme. Make sure that theme is made clear within your poem in some way.

Give the reader a new way to see an everyday item or occurrence. For example, instead of the tree had green leaves, say the green scales of the tree roll softly in the tendrils of the wind. Turn things upside down for the reader.

Finally, don’t be afraid to go back and revise. In fact, plan on revision. Revise more than once to get to the write final product.

Happy writing!