On Writing Poetry

The process of writing this stuff is a bit of a black art. Sometimes it just comes into your head, from deep in the subconscious. Usually you recognise the topic as one you have thought about for years. Suddenly it takes poetic form.
At other times, it is a more conscious effort, or a combination of the two.
Usually, the bulk of one of my poems just appears, in a few minutes. Then it is tweaked, to correct rhythm, etc. This process usually takes an hour or so. Sometimes, it is longer. 'Uphill Drive to Copt Oak' was fiddled with for nearly a fortnight. Looking back, it is an ambitious poem, so this is not that surprising. The final version is longer than the original, and has a different title. I think it is vastly improved. The process of actually working at a poem was new to me.
I have recently been reading online about the technique of poetry. It has been quite illuminating. I hope to improve as a result. I have also been reading the work of established poets. I am impressed by Robert Frost.
The sound of poetry is very important, and I have learned to read them aloud. I do not think poems can be translated from one language to another.
There is a tension between meaning on the one hand, and sound or form on the other, in poetry. This is absolutely central. This is especially true when a tightly defined form is chosen, such as the Shakespearean sonnet. It is not surprising that few read these today, and I doubt anyone composes them. A tight formal structure leaves little room for manoeuvre to express heartfelt ideas and feelings. The modern way is to adopt a free style, which uses the elements of poetic form rather liberally, without compromising the expression of meaning too much. This is a real improvement in my opinion. Nonetheless, I experience this tension in almost everything I write.
It is rare when meaning and rhythm and rhyme and alliteration all fall beautifully together. When it happens, it is a Eureka moment.
Sometimes poems come to me in bed in the morning. These seem to be different in nature to those written at other times, more from the subconscious, less an artefact. I call them 'morning rhymes'. Ingerland is one, and Getting High another. Most of them do not appear on here. I am reluctant to tamper with them too much at later times, for fear of spoiling their spontaneity.