Observation:  

What do you want your readers to think about on their first reading of your poem? 

Structure and Form: 

What element of structure are you going to work into your poem? 

Historical Context:

 Are you choosing to ground your poem by writing about a person, situation, or time that your audience would be able to recognize? If so , what would that be. 

Enjoying Language: 

Start on the surface: Consider the language that you are using. Is it negative in tone or positive? If it is neither, you should reconsider and use more powerful wording. 

Dive deep: Are you planning on writing a poem with specific theme or universal theme? Specific theme would have to be recognizable and powerful to your audience (it can’t be about something that they wouldn’t fully relate to.) If you are choosing universal theme, how will you allow your audience to experience it? Poetry tells a story to relate a theme, it doesn’t just shove the theme down your throat. What angle or insight can you take to help your audience understand your meaning more deeply?