Your Journal Might Already Hold a Poem
Our journal holds our deepest secrets, happiest moments, emotions we want to stay hidden or want to remember forever. We write without worrying about structure, rhymes, or sheltering what we truly want to say. Our journals are the deepest paths of who we truly are.
Have you ever reread an entry and found that a specific line or emotion stood out to you? Between the unfinished sentences, scattered thoughts, overpowering emotions and memories, there lies a piece that speaks to you more. It could have been a specific line, a sentence you felt could have been developed more, or an emotion you felt didn’t get fleshed out enough. Turning a journal entry into a poem helps us to discover new feelings or expand on existing ones.
Why Journal Entries Make Great Starting Points for Poetry
Like poetry, journaling helps to express emotions we no longer want to keep locked inside. Journaling helps to preserve the authenticity and rawness of our emotions and memories in the state we first released them before editing or censorship.
Poetry can transform a memory or feeling into an experience that communicates with others through imagery, rhythm or your chosen words and flow. Poetry takes an entry that once told a story to a place that now expands on the chosen emotion you want to explore and have others experience.
A memory or experience does not have to be overly emotional or filled with adventure to become meaningful poetry. A quiet morning, a walk in the park, a difficult conversation or a moment of reflection can become a poem. Don’t dismiss the small and calm experiences.
Seven Steps to Turn a Journal Entry Into a Poem
- Choose an entry. Reread your previous entries, feel free to skip entries that are too emotional or contain things you would prefer to not relive. The chosen entry does not need to be from two years ago. It just needs to be one that contains a vivid memory, evokes an emotion, or symbolizes something unsolved.
- Find the emotion. Once you’ve chosen an entry, ask yourself these questions “what was I trying to vocalize? What emotion am I feeling now as I read this?” Was it loneliness, anger, happiness or guilt? Find that emotion rather than focusing on the overall entry.
- Find what stands out. Find sentences or details that stand out to you. You can highlight as you read through or copy them to a blank sheet. These sentences or details do not need to sound poetic, they just need to mean something to you.
- Find what’s hidden beneath the words. Do your words form an image in your mind? If you read “I am lonely,” does an image of you standing alone comes to mind as you watch the happiness of others flow through you without melting the ice inside your chest? Make note of what comes to mind as you focus on the emotion you feel, the phrases and details you chose. You can experiment with metaphors or imagery, however, being forward, clear and simple with your words can be just as impactful.
- Line breaks and structure. Experiment with how you want the poem to flow. Where would you like to incorporate a break? Do you want the ending of each line to rhyme? Is there a certain structure you want for the poem? Play around with these questions, research other poems, make note on what you like and incorporate them if needed.
- Remove what’s not needed. A poem does not need to be the entire entry but a meaningful piece of it. Remove any background information that does not support your main emotion or central message. Remove repetitive explanations or sentences that derail the emotional focus. However, you can repeat sentences or explanations if they are needed, helps to build the imagery or emotion you need.
- Revise. Read what you currently have aloud. This helps to catch small grammatical errors or word changes you might miss while reading in your mind. Adjust your language, line breaks, imagery, then take a break and come back to it with fresh eyes.
It’s okay for the poem to evolve past the journal entry, to divert to something else because what you originally had is preserved.
From Journal Entry to Poem: A Before-and-After Example
The Original Journal Entry
July 7, 2026
"I'm lost. I'm not afraid to admit that. However, what I am afraid of is not being found. Staying lost forever. I feel empty, that's the word I know that matches what I think I feel. I feel empty and numb. Numb and empty. Someone find me. Please find me. I don't want to be lost forever"
The Poem Created From It
How much longer will this go on?
I'm tired of walking this path alone,
it feels as if I am going in circles,
not knowing where I started or where to go.
Shadows walk amongst me,
making this road dark and scary,
uncanny is the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
I have lost sight of who I was and who I want to be.
It's terrifying but
I don't recognize this person living in me.
The dryness in my throat lets me know I am screaming
yet I know they reach nowhere
because I can't hear them
Someone please find me.
My hands are cold and waiting.
I don't want to be like this forever.
Your piece does not have to be long. It can can be short. I just tend to write longer pieces but if I were to summarize it into something shorter, it would be like this:
How much longer will this go on?
It feels as if I am walking around in circles,
not knowing where I started or where to go.
I have lost sight of who I was and who I want to be.
It's terrifying but
I don't recognize this person living in me.
My hands are cold and waiting,
I'm screaming but no one can hear it.
I don't want to be like this forever,
someone please find me.
This revision is a perfect example of step 5: Line breaks and structure due to removing and reorganizing lines to get the flow I need; step 6: Remove what’s not needed by removing stanzas to make the poem more concise; and step 7: Revise which was achieved by revising the longer poem, editing and coming to a piece I was okay with.
What changed during the process of turning the journal entry into a poem
The journal entry laid the emotional foundation for the poem I needed to write. Rereading the poem brought forth the feeling of isolation, isolation from myself and the world around me which is what I wanted to keep the poem centered around. The sentences and phrases that stood out to me where: feeling numb and empty and not wanting to remain lost. By writing the poem, I was able to convey these using imagery, intentional phrasing and shorter sentences to convey the experience. the entire except of the journal entry was not used, only what stood out to me and mattered enough to be conveyed.
You can start with a Free Verse poem, as it dos not follow any strict rules of rhythm but the natural flow of speech. I believe the Free Verse and Prose structure is the best place to start. Prose is poetry written in blocks or paragraphs but include elements such as figures of speech, metaphors and imagery that are commonly used in poetry. I wanted to Be a Mountain is an example of a Prose poem.
Five Mistakes to Avoid
- Trying to include everything. Every emotion or memory does not need to be included in your poem. Each memory and emotion can be separated into different poems. It does not matter if it is about the same memory, as a memory can include multiple emotions.
- Forcing rhymes. Not every poem needs to rhyme, hardly any of mine does. Poetry is not about rhyming but about expressing your authentic self.
- Forcing the language. You don’t need big words to make your poem sound impact. Small words are fine as long as you are being authentic with what you write and what you wish to express.
- Early editing. Before you begin editing, give yourself time to experiment with what you have already written. If you don’t like the flow of a sentence, experiment with line breaks and punctuation.
- Undervaluing your work. The value of your work lies within the word and emotions you used and the value you place in your craft. It does not need to be published or shared to have value. Your eyes could be the only one to see it, your ears could be the only ones to hear it and it would still have value. Don’t let the opinions, thoughts or criticism of others devalue the work you have done.
Try It Yourself: Journal to Poem Exercise
Now it’s your turn. Your task is to use one of your journal entries to create a poem.
- Choose a journal entry that resonates with you.
- Reread the entry and make note of the emotion that stands out to you. The emotion could also be something small that you want to expand on.
- Highlight at least three sentences or phrases that you want to branch off of.
- Just write. Start off with a 6-12 line free verse poem, don’t worry about rhyme or structure.
- Revise what you have written and make edits as necessary.
The direction in which the poem goes is yours. Don’t only base it on the journal entry. Here are 50 poetry prompts to act as a starting point if you are unsure where to begin.
Relevant Questions
Are All Journal Entries Considered Poetry?
Not every journal entry needs to be a poem. Some entries can just stay on the border of prose. That being said, journal entries can be just that – journal entries. A place to just release hat you have to say and move on.
Does a Poem Have to Rhyme?
Not every poem has to rhyme. It is okay to have a line or two rhyme but it is not a requirement. Free Verse poetry does not focus on ensuring your lines end in rhyme. If you wish to have your poem rhyme, there are rhyme schemes you can look more into.
Do I Have to Share Poems Based on My Personal Experiences?
Most of my poems stem from personal experience or emotions but that does not mean your poems need to. I’ve written about issues I’ve never experienced and emotions I’ve never endured. You have control over what is written, what is included and how it’s shared.
Let Your Words Become Something New
A poem can be created from anything. The leaves falling, an I love you, a compliment, or a journal entry. While journaling gives us the opportunity to express ourselves without restrictions, poetry provides another avenue to express certain things differently. Journal entries do not need to remain just that and there is no pressure to make it something else.
There is no rush or pressure to try different method of writing either. You can prefer journaling over poetry or storytelling as a way to express yourselves and that is okay. Choose whichever way helps to silence the noise in your head.
What you write does not have to be polished, perfect, or shared. You have the control over what you use, how you experiment and what you share.
Keep Exploring
Read about why It’s Okay to Rewrite What You’ve Already Written.
If you are interested in rhyming schemes, check out this What Is Rhyme Scheme by Tutors on YouTube.
With love and a little ink,
Primrose
Citations
“What Is Free Verse || Definition and Examples | College of Liberal Arts.” College of Liberal Arts, 11 Dec. 2024, https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-free-verse-definition-and-examples
Zamora, Felicia. “Prose Poem.” The Poetry Foundation, 2026, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/prose-poem
Last Updated on 10/22/2026 by Primrose
