Economy of words is good for us. Teaches us precision, forces us to make careful choices and really respect each word and lovingly insert it in just the right place. When you write poetry, save all your drafts. Don't throw them out or erase them from your computer. Often the final draft is a synthesis of several drafts. I also think some of us were turned off by poetry when we were younger because we were stuck on all the terms. I've read that there are more than 1,000 terms to discuss poetry. Too many for our purposes, so let's talk more about basics.

The line
The building block that you have to master is the line. The line is where it all starts, and everything from its length and punctuation communicates something to the reader. For instance, if you put a full stop at the end of line, your reader will actually pause twice. So you have to give everything careful consideration. There are no real rules for lines breaks, but keep in mind the power of the white space around the line. Short lines stand out more. Some experts say short lines are fast, some claim they actually slow a poem down. No matter what you think, it's clear that a short line has lots of emphasis. A short line anywhere in our writing has a clout. It should really stand for something, make a statement. Usually the word at the end of the line break is the one you want to emphasise, it has more weight.

I'm emphasising the line because it's your building block, it's what you work with in poetry. It's where we use our words as tools to create tension and relaxation. We speed it up, slow it down. The shape of a line communicates a lot. Sometimes it's a complete thought, but often it is not. However, the ending, and to a lesser degree the first words, are where we often put our emphasis. The ending, with or without punctuation, is like a line break, a pause in music.

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The basics of writing poetry