Two summers ago I tried to impress a friend by writing a “quick” poem for her birthday. I grabbed a pen, doodled hearts in the margins…and froze. Every line felt like a forced Hallmark card.

Three drafts, seven crumpled pages, and one self-pity nap later, I finally produced something readable—mostly because I stumbled into a method that turned my fuzzy feelings into focused imagery.

Since then I’ve written poems for open-mic nights, weddings, and even a tech conference (yes, the CTO applauded).

Below is the process I now follow every single time. I’ll tell it through that birthday-poem fiasco, so you can see the missteps, fixes, and final flourishes in real time.

Along the way I’ll show exactly where Merlin AI jump-started ideas, tightened rhythm, and saved me from cliché overload.

Understanding Poetry (and Why It’s Not Just Rhyme)

Before we dive into my sweaty palms and ink smudges, let’s ground ourselves:

• Poetry ≠ automatic rhymes. It’s about compressed emotion—packing story, sound, and image into the fewest, most resonant words.
• Form follows feeling. A rigid sonnet can carry teenage heartbreak; a loose free-verse line can hold boardroom rebellion.
• Voice matters. Good poems sound like people, not textbooks. If you speak in emojis IRL, polished terseness may feel fake on the page.

Keep those three truths handy; we’ll lean on them in every step.

Step 1 The Spark: Find a Moment Worth Unwrapping

My misstep: I opened a blank doc and typed random adjectives (“beautiful… radiant… amazing…”). Fix & lesson: Start with a moment, not a summary.

I replayed the birthday morning: my friend laughing as cupcake crumbs dusted her phone. That image felt alive.

Quick Merlin Move I dropped: “Describe a messy birthday cupcake moment in five vivid phrases—include colors and sounds.” Merlin suggested:

• “crimson raspberry smear”
• “laughter pop like bubble wrap”
• “vanilla fog of frosting”

One phrase—“laughter pop like bubble wrap”—instantly lifted the stanza.

Action for you: Free-write five sensory snapshots of your scene. Don’t worry about order or rhyme.

Step 2 Collect Sights, Sounds, and Surprises

With the cupcake flash frozen in my head, I listed:

• the fizz of homemade lemonade
• candle wax softening like butter
• a Spotify playlist that kept skipping at the chorus

These details would become the backbone of images later. Think of them as Lego bricks—you’ll rearrange during drafting.

Tip: Weird beats perfect. Readers remember candle wax butter more than bright candles.

Step 3 : Choose a Form That Fits the Emotion

I had three options:

Your turn: pick a structure that amplifies feeling, not one that merely looks “poetic.”

Quick Merlin Move Prompt: “Suggest three poetic forms for a playful birthday poem, list pros/cons.” The side-by-side layout crystalized my choice in seconds.

Step 4 : Draft the Messy First Lines (Permission to Stumble)

I scribbled:

Crumbs drift like confetti / raspberry bristle on your grin / syrup sun slices the window

Not gold, but lines existed!

The mission here: Quantity, not quality.

Tricks to keep momentum:

• Ignore line breaks at first. Write in sentence lumps; break later.
• Minimize backspace. Strikethrough or note “(better verb?)” instead of deleting.
• Set a timer (10–15 min). Speed kills self-censoring.

Step 5 : Shape the Music: Rhythm, Rhyme, and Resonance

Rhythm

Crumbs drift LIKE confet-ti> Count syllables? Sometimes. Mostly trust your ear: long-short-long patterns feel like breath.

Rhyme (Optional)

I opted for near-rhyme echoed every third line: confetti / selfie / hefty — just enough to tickle the ear.

Quick Merlin Move Prompt: “Give me five near-rhymes for ‘confetti’ that aren’t childish.” Merlin offered:

• spaghetti
• machete
• valet-y
• jetty
• ready

I grabbed “jetty” to contrast sugary images with a seawall memory.

Line Break Logic

Break where:

• a surprise lands—creates pause for gasp
• an image completes—like turning a photo
• the next line twists meaning—enjambment fun

I revised:

Crumbs drift like confetti  
      cling to your grin  
Spotify skips at the chorus  
      I laugh—a scratched record

Step 6 Edit for Imagery and Precision

Replace General with Specific

• “Drink” → “lemon fizz”
• “Music” → “skip-stuttered playlist”

Trim Fat

Cut “very,” “really,” “just”.

Short lines = stronger punch.

Check Consistency

If candles flicker in stanza one, don’t call them LED later—unless it serves irony.

Merlin Polish Pass Prompt: “Shorten this stanza by 15%, keep sense of playful mess.”

Output kept “crumb confetti” and cut a flabby “that seemed to”.

Step 7 – Read Aloud, Listen, Share, Repeat

Poetry lives in the ear.

• I recorded a voice memo—cringed at rushed phrasing—added pauses.

• Then I sent a draft to a friend who loves slam poetry. Her feedback:

  • “More texture—what did frosting taste like?”
  • “The ending fizzles—circle back to confetti.”

Final Lines After Tweaks:

When frosting melts to memory> and crumbs hitchhike on your phone> the night clicks save> on its sugar-coded jetty—> confetti waits / for next year’s tide. My friend smiled; mission accomplished.

How Merlin AI Helped Me Save Almost an Hour

Merlin’s biggest gift? Momentum. It handed me word options fast, so I stayed in flow rather than hunting rhymes and synonyms.

Putting It All Together: A Mini-Checklist

✅ Start with a vivid moment, not an abstract theme ✅ Gather sensory scraps—smells, colors, sounds ✅ Choose a form that matches the emotion ✅ Draft messy lines quickly (ignore perfection) ✅ Play with rhythm & rhyme only after words exist ✅ Replace vague words with specifics; cut filler ✅ Read aloud, revise, and let Merlin catch clichés

Closing Thoughts: Your Poem Awaits

The best poems feel inevitable after they’re written—even though the path is squiggly.

You’ll stumble on stale metaphors, delete whole stanzas, maybe curse iambic pentameter. Do it anyway.

Poetry rewards persistence: every revision squeezes words tighter until they zing.

Next time you face a blank page:

• Picture a single scene.
• Dump sensory details.
• Ask Merlin for sparks.

Then trust that your voice—typos, cracked rhythm, awkward honesty and all—can make ordinary moments glow. Poetry isn’t about perfect couplets; it’s about capturing life’s confetti before it blows away.

Happy writing—and may your crumbs always find the right metaphor.