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If you're going to use rhyme and meter, be precise about it. I prefer to get away from them, as I find them old-fashioned and restrictive but more importantly, dull. However, that's just taste, and not a criticism in itself. But I also think they can be a handicap to people who are new to writing, or even simply not great at it (which you're not, honestly, although you're clearly not a moron and I have every confidence that you could improve tremendously). I think it's good to learn to use words in themselves, to turn a phrase and evoke a sense of whatever it is you're picked as your subject matter, before restricting yourself to so many stresses / syllables per line.
Here are some exercises I've found useful. Don't just write in one form. Spread yourself around - write poetry, prose (both stories and non-fiction - essays, thoughts, rants etc.), plays - whatever. You realise how different the requirement are for each, and it makes you more aware of how you use language.
In every piece you write, there should be a unifying theme which springs from having something you really want to say. The above struck me as a collection of cliched images with no real point. The only way to write with passion is to give a shit about the thrust of your work - there's nothing wrong with writing just to write, and if nothing else it's good practice, but you'll rarely find you have something awesome at the end of it.
Most generally, read as much as you can. People who don't like reading poetry are usually shit at writing it. Breaking the rules is fine, but you have to know them first.
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All pleasure is relief from tension. - William S. Burroughs
Witches have no wit, said the magician who was weak.
Hula, hula, said the witches. - Norman Mailer
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