Poetry, anyone?

I have zero experience with poetry.  Actually, strike that.  I have some experience from elementary school, exercises that I suspect were designed to teach us rhyming.

I occasionally make up "poems" here at the house.

Yummy yumm yummy

you've got squash in your tummy

Beautiful, eh?

How 'bout this one?  

Something's happening here

What it is, is exactly clear

There's a Dom with a poo over there

Mom and Dad have got to beware

It's time to stop, baby, what's that smell?

Everybody knows what's going down.

On second thought, this isn't even poetry.  I'm just changing the words to songs in an effort to make the baby eat or stop turning a diaper change in to a wrestling match.

I decided this is basically pathetic.  I consider myself to be fairly well-read.  I read War and Peace for crying out loud!  I can't be this ignorant about an entier genre!  

Luckily the complete poetry of Emily Dickinson is available for free Kindle download.  

So I'm digging in.  And guess what?  Apparently it doesn't always rhyme!  I'm reading a handful (5ish) each night before bed.  I'll admit I sometimes have to really go through it a few times before I get what she's talking about.  I'm hoping that the more experience I gain the less I'll have to do this.  

So I'm asking you for advice.  What words of wisdom would you offer to a hesitant reader just beginning to dip her toe into the water?  Bonus points if you write me a poem in the comments!