Faithful writing Pt 2

So my friend at work is giving me a copy of her poem, on one condition - she gets a copy of mine. Arrgghh! Something that I need to work on in poetry is the use of figurative language. It seems that a lot of modern poetry involves taking your idea and then burying, just a little (or sometimes a lot), in allusions and associations. Mine is too plain. But one of the most encouraging things I got out of the day is the way that Mark stressed repeatedly that good writing is hard work. That you have to practice, discipline yourself, work hard at techniques, study form. Only then can you occasionally do guided free-fall. It is inspiring to know that even the great writers slogged away at it. Good literature didn't just fall from the sky.