1. A tree can never just be a tree. A tree probably stands for a failed relationship or childhood trauma or your insecurity or the end of the world or the science of a shoelace. Anything but a tree.
2. No one wants to read about that happy memory on the beach. Poets that share the juicy tea tend to have a higher success rate. Tell me about the time you almost drowned in sand, which probably stands for missed opportunity or your fear of dying. Sunshine is an overrated phenomenon; unless, that is, it stands for a failed dream or knowledge or some sort of philosophical first-world problem. Stop crying over spilled milk and spill the tea. Poetry.
3. Every comma probably stands for a character flaw of the poet. Every period is a failed opportunity. Semicolons? You've got a lot of baggage.
4. Stop rhyming. Slant rhyming has better timing and styling. Rhyming is for kindergarten. Slants are sophisticated art.
5. If you're in writer's block, you are just not insane enough to be a true poet yet. All that said:
6. Be an existentialist and you're all set.
