Writing Poetry: Form? What Form?

Major revision is one of my least favorite things to do in the writing process. I like the way things are usually, and even if I don’t, I try not to change too much, only the parts that jump out at me as being messed up. Putting rhyme in or taking it out is fine, as is rewriting the language style from older to modern… But meter is a different thing entirely! Putting a poem in meter after writing it or even writing it that way to begin with is very difficult. It’s the hardest thing I’ve done during the entirety of this course… And I don’t really see how it helps my poetry, since I have to limit myself a lot when writing in meter. I know it gives rhythm and structure, but my subject matter doesn’t lend itself to flowing words and calm rhyme. It is jagged, harsh, and chaotic and I try to convey that with my style of writing. Of course, it doesn’t always come out that way, like I wanted it to, but at least that’s what I was going for. And even just revision of the entire poem without meter is hard. I feel attached to my writing, so I don’t want to change it very much. But to go on and get better, you first need to go back and fix your mistakes!