What does meter mean when used to describe poetry?

Question:I am supposed to find the meter of this poem, but I'm not really sure what meter is. Can someone help me please =)?

DEATH is like the insect
Menacing the tree,
Competent to kill it,
But decoyed may be.

Bait it with the balsam, 5
Seek it with the knife,
Baffle, if it cost you
Everything in life.

Then, if it have burrowed
Out of reach of skill, 10
Ring the tree and leave it,—
’T is the vermin’s will.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I am supposed to find the meter of this poem, but I'm not really sure what meter is. Can someone help me please =)?

DEATH is like the insect
Menacing the tree,
Competent to kill it,
But decoyed may be.

Bait it with the balsam, 5
Seek it with the knife,
Baffle, if it cost you
Everything in life.

Then, if it have burrowed
Out of reach of skill, 10
Ring the tree and leave it,—
’T is the vermin’s will.

The number of syllables in each line.
For each stanza in this poem it is: Line 1=6 syllables, Line 2=5 syllables, Line 3=6 syllables, and line 4=5 syllables.

the repition of syllaballs in a phrase

The measured arrangement of words in poetry, as by accentual rhythm, syllabic quantity, or the number of syllables in a line.
A particular arrangement of words in poetry, such as iambic pentameter, determined by the kind and number of metrical units in a line.
The rhythmic pattern of a stanza, determined by the kind and number of lines.
Good luck:)