How To Cook A Poem

Words

Words are the basic units of poetry(some might argue that syllables are the basic units but syllables often don't mean much without words). The choice of words plays a vital role in the overall taste of a poem. Every word that is used in a poem should be justified. What purpose does it serve? What effect does it have on the reader? How does it sound? Is it enhancing the beauty of the poem or diminishing it? These questions should always be kept in mind while choosing a word.

Should you use tough or simple words? By tough words, I mean words which are rarely used in normal speech and hence difficult for a layman to understand. I am a proponent of using simple language(Most people will disagree). If a tough word can be replaced by another word that is simple and that sounds more beautiful, then why not?

Songs have a universal appeal because they use simpler words and hence a large number of people can relate to it. Deep thoughts are always better than complex words. 

There is no pain, you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying  
(Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd)

My personal belief is that a good poem can be written with a limited vocabulary. Srimanta Sankardev wrote this poem before he was taught the vowels except, of course, the first one, and is often cited as an example of the early flowering of his poetic genius. 

[karatala kamala kamaladala nayana
bhavadava dahana gahana vana sayana
napara napara para satarata gamaya
sabhaya mabhaya bhaya mamahara satataya

Written in Assamese]

English translation:    

Thy palm is like the lotus. Thine eyes are like the lotus petals.
Thou art the consumer of worldly afflictions. Thou art the sleeper in deep forest.
Thou art omnipresent and inner soul of all.
Thou constantly removest my fear and vouchsafest my safety.

A person having a large vocabulary may not write the most beautiful lines. You can have a lot of items in the kitchen but if you don't know which ones to use and how to use them, you will be preparing a tasteless dish. For the guests, every tough word is a foreign object in the gravy. If it increases the taste after chewing it(painfully looking it up in a dictionary and understanding the meaning), then it's all right. Tough words which add no taste or beauty are like small stones that break teeth and should be eliminated during the preparation process. 

Poetry is not a way of letting the world know about your vocabulary prowess. Its aim is to fill the reader's mind with delight. Use the thesaurus but instead of replacing every simple word with a complex one, try to choose a word that propels your poem towards its full potential.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils; 

(Daffodils by William Wordsworth)

Let me luxuriate in the plebiscite of your sanctified attendence. In simple words, give me a vote!