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Question: Writing poems when you have a little vocabulary!?
I used to hate reading when I was little!. I barely liked TV, I disliked anything that I had to sit down to do!. I always wanted to run!. So I avoided reading as much as possible!. Now I enjoy reading, but my vocabulary still seems super tiny!.

One day my friend asked me if I write!.!. I said sometimes I would write in a journal, and I used to try to write short stories when I was little, but not as much anymore!. But anyways he said he wrote poetry!.!. then I remembered how much I liked doing poetry in the 6th and 7th grade, so I tried to write a few poems!.
And I really liked it, and some people read it and said it was good, but I know my vocabulary is not so big so I'm really self concious about it!. Is there something I can do!? Should I just read a lot lot now to improve my vocabulary!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
A large vocabulary is not essential for writing great poetry!. Some of the most powerful and moving poems of recent times have used normal, everyday words that convey their meaning just as well as a whole dictionary of obscure lexicography (posh words that only egg-heads know!)!.

The important thing is to do what you enjoy, read as much as you can and have fun!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Please consider Carl Sandburg!.

"The fog comes
on little cat feet!.
It sits looking
over the harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on!."

Fog 1916!. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, J!. Kaplan, Gen!. Editor
Little, Brown and Company!. Boston Toronto London!. Personal copy!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

1!. Keep Writing
2!. Read everything you get a hold of
3!. Develop favorite poets!. (i!.e!. mine are Ezra Pound, and Edwin Rolfe)
4!. Get a Thesaurus!. (Don't just use this as a cureall though, because there's nothing worse than a wrongly used work picked out of a Thesaurus) Www@QuestionHome@Com

you gotta work your style to yourself!. don't emulate a poet with a big vocab if you don't have one!. that's not what it's about anyways and it defeats the purposeWww@QuestionHome@Com

I agree with Foggisan!. A simple poem can be quite powerful!. Of course, you should still try to expand your vocabulary!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

If you read poets like Robert Frost, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn how simple his language is, and yet his poetry speaks volumes!.
If you are intent on extending your vocabulary, perhaps you could read more and when you come upon a word that is new to you, note it down and look it up in a dictionary and then introduce it into something you are writing!.
I am a pensioner (senior citizen or whatever expression you use) but, I still love to learn new words!.!.!.!.then I do the word to deathI!.!.!.!.I've only recently learned the word 'eclectic' - it is a perfect word to describe my taste in poetry and music so I use it quite a lot!.
Best wishes Www@QuestionHome@Com