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Poetry is, of course, often image-heavy. You may have a lot of image-based observations that you've written while spending time in nature, but how do you turn those into actual lines of poetry? One of the easiest ways to start is with your imagination and your initial observations. Read through the list of observations you compiled. Try to visualize different images that come to mind when you reflect on each observation. Your images don't have to be directly tied to what you've seen/heard in nature. It can be any association your mind makes. Write down a description of those images/associations. Before you begin to actually compose a poem, you'll want to think about what your poem will actually be about. Obviously it will involve nature, but in what way? Why are you in nature, and what are you taking away from it? Perhaps your trip into nature allowed you to reflect on things going on in your life, or maybe you remembered going for long walks with a deceased relative when you were younger. Whatever you think your nature experience is "about," write it down and try to elaborate on it as much as possible. Theme can be thought of as a combination of an idea and an opinion on that idea. Revisit your observations, and read through the images/associations you expanded on. What about your experience stands out to you the most? What does all of it mean to you? Does being in nature make you think about life? Death? Lost loved ones? Current events, either in your own life or in politics/society/culture? Ultimately, the theme you decide on will influence not only what you write about, but how you write it as well. Once you have your theme in mind, it may be helpful to build off of it so you have some related ideas to expand on in your poem. If nothing else, building off of your chosen theme may at least give you a bank of words/phrases to draw from that can help enrich your final piece of writing. Try making a list with three columns: sense, object, and thought. Think about what you observed in nature through the lens of your chosen theme. How do your other observations/thoughts/descriptions relate to your theme? Choose the most descriptive, the most image-filled, or the most emotionally powerful words/phrases/lines you come up with, and set them aside as possible material.
Use your imagination. Find a theme. Build off of your chosen theme.