How long do you guys usually spend on a poem?

Overall, I'd spend probably five to eight hours on a poem (much of that sitting and thinking).

The process (if you are interested): I would get out a sort of rough draft in a day. However, it wouldn't really be finished. I'd have a general idea of what ideas or images I wanted to touch on in the unfinished part of the poem, and then go back to it the next day to complete. Then, over the three months, I'd revisit the poem and condense and reword.

I’m going to be honest; I’m not the sort of writer who can finish a short story or a poem in the matter of an hour. Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of short fiction, and I usually spend about a month on each draft, (and I usually write about three to four drafts before I’m fully satisfied). This means that it takes me about four months to finish a piece, if I’m lucky. Most of my time is spent chipping away at a particular image or a particular scene, trying to word and reword until I find something that really resonates with me. I guess I’m the sort of writer who likes to spend time tinkering with a piece.

It does get a little exhausting working on the same piece for months, but I think you’re right that some good can come out of it. Spending a lot of time on one piece can really help you to refine your work, so if you take a long time finishing a piece, then more power to you! There are many different ways to approach the writing process, and each writer works at their own pace.

I’ve found that one way to make the time go a little more quickly when writing is to work on multiple pieces at once (meaning that if I’m working for a longer period of time, like a week or a month, then I try to alternate between two or more projects). Once I get tired of looking at one short story or poem, I can always switch over to the other one that I’m working on, and then return to the original one later with a fresh pair of eyes.