POETRY CAN ALSO BE FICTION

     The noted English Romantic poet, William Wordsworth once defined poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings..."  This quite naturally may lead one to surmise that poetry comes directly from the heart and soul, and that it is a personal and genuine emotion based on fact and reality. 

And while this  may be true for the most part, the truth for the other part is that poetry can also be fiction.

     A poem in general should contain within it a number of the  elements of fiction. They should have a character(s), a plot, setting, mood, theme, POV, and so on down the line as the poet deems necessary. 

 A poem should also contain some type of beginning, middle, and end of the story that it is telling.

So keep this in mind as you create poetry. The story and situations taking place in your poem(s) can be real or they can be totally a figment of your imagination!