Personally I'd just find a way to cheat since there's no value to be gained from memorizing poetry. [cabbage], I don't even have my own poetry memorized.

Last year, a friend of mine record himself reciting the poem on his iTouch, then put his hood up when he went to recite it for the class, and just listened and repeated from the iTouch. The teacher thought it was supposed to be some sort of act to go along with the poem, even though he would take time between each line to hear the next.

I associate words, definitions, essays and facts to be phrased with funny/sexual/gory things in my mind's eye, does wonders for remembering, its much more fun than repitition :P.