This column by Tom Radzienda, an instructor in poetry and culture at Srinakharinwirot University, aims to encourage your interest and develop your skill in creating poetry. Poetry is a combination of visualisation, observation, imagination and creative use of language. Discover your poetic side, too!

Poetry thesaurus Writing good poetry requires a wide vocabulary. Flexible and creative word choice makes poetry more effective. In addition to basic meaning, words in poetry are chosen for their sound, stress pattern and uniqueness. Words are also chosen for shape, colour and their effect on the senses. How to say Go! A normal thesaurus is used to find words with similar meanings. There are many things to consider when selecting the most suitable words for a poem. Each word choice has a slightly different effect on the feeling of the poem. Look at the following examples to see many different ways to express the idea of “go.” How do meaning and sound change for each word choice? Word choice Effect on meaning and sound Go general meaning; simple sound of word has gone perfect tense, softer sound depart more specific; stress on second syllable has been wandering   travel specific; stress on first syllable heading for   seek very specific; final /k/ sound is sharp leave   exit technical meaning; final /t/ is sharp will be going   proceed formal meaning; gentle sound of word Thesaurus for colour and shape A poetry thesaurus is used to be aware of language in new ways. This exercise develops the skill of searching for words according to sound, shape, speed, colour, location, etc. This helps you create images more thoroughly, and increases the flexibility of your “mental search engine”. Fill in the chart as quickly as you can. Round things Red things Cold things the moon flowers strawberry ice cream roses polar bear a clock Writing and revising your poetry At first, write your thoughts and observations freely, without concern for finding the perfect word. After writing your first draft, a poetry thesaurus is important for revising your poetry. The following example shows many variations that are possible while rewriting a poem that compares a flower to a woman. Here is the first draft of the poem: Flowers are always the same, mass produced for sale While you yourself change between crazy and sweet Second draft The rose is always the same, mass-produced for market While you yourself waver between crazy and sweet “Rose” is selected from the thesaurus because it’s more specific than “flowers.” “Market” is a better choice because it’s more visual than “sale.” “Waver” is more sensory and concrete than simply saying “change.” Third draft The rose is made for market, like a million others While you yourself waver between crazy and cute The choice of the words “made,” “market” and “million” was influenced by the matching /m/ sounds. “Sweet” has been revised to “cute” to create alliteration with the /k/ sound in “crazy.” Fourth draft The rose is made for market like a million others of its hue While you uniquely waver between crazy and cute “Of its hue” has been added to the first line so the line ends more strongly on a stressed syllable. “Uniquely” is more interesting than “yourself” and also it echoes the sounds in “you.” Final version The rose is made for market Like a million others of its hue While you, uniquely wavering between crazy And cute, are you The poem has been changed into four shorter lines to create balance. The line break creates suspense by separating the phrase “crazy and cute” into two lines. “Wavering” is used in the continuous tense to make the line lighter. “Are you” adds unity to the sound of the whole poem by rhyming with “uniquely” and “hue.” Finishing your poem There are hundreds of possible ways to write, and re-write, a line of poetry. Experiment with different words, phrases, colours, sizes, shapes and sounds that work best for you. It is helpful to have friends or family respond to your poems. They can give objective suggestions to help you see your own writing in a new perspective. You can send your poems to the address below along with your name, age and address. Watch this column for feedback on poems submitted by readers. You can send your poem by email. Mark the subject line: Poet Tree and send to this address: learningpost@bangkokpost.co.th Visit Tom's poetry column at http://www.bangkokpost.com/poetry

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Last modified: October 20, 2003