Most people
have heard about and even written an “acrostic” poem. It’s a rather simple
pattern and can be quite fun to do. You can choose any word to be your base – a
word or name that you write down the left-hand side of your paper, one letter
under another. See farther down below to also get the “skinny” on ABC poems.
And PLEASE
keep reading to the end if you have never heard my poetry story about Fiona and
the Snake Poem from when I was teaching English in China ~ super cute. Just
sayin’
SO, it only takes a few steps to get
started with an ACROSTIC POEM ~
1. Choose
a name or the object of your poem.
2. Write
that name or that word down the left-hand side of
your paper vertically, generally using all capital letters.
3. Start
each sentence of your poem with the capital letter on that line.
4. No
need to worry about rhyming or counting syllables or anything.
5. Each
line can be whatever length you choose, from one word to a longer sentence.
Example:
One word/line
acrostic for the name “Susan” (Yes, I know this is a lame example, but
it’s just an example. I know you can do better):
Super
Unique
Sweet
Understanding
Nice
Or, use the first letter as the
beginning of a sentence instead of a single word.
ABC
Poems are basically
the same thing EXCEPT it is a TWENTY-SIX line poem where every line starts with
the next letter of the alphabet, in order. Every example I have seen, the word
(or a tense of the word) EXCEPT has been used for the letter “X” (up to you,
but it’s a common choice for the line that “starts with the letter X”
In 2016 I
went to China to teach English at an “English Camp” during their winter break.
I have shared this before but I really
can’t let this poetry form pass without sharing this delightful experience once
again. I had a 14-year-old student named “Fiona.” I explained how to write an
acrostic poem and suggested to the students that they choose a favorite animal
for their poem. I gave additional details and then they got busy.
Soon they
were showing me their poems. They did a wonderful job. Then Fiona turned in her
poem:
Snow is falling down.
No one wants to stay
outside.
A little girl stands at my
front door.
Knocks it with a little
cry.
Early afternoon, she falls
asleep in my room.
I read it and
told it that it was a lovely poem but it had nothing to do with a snake. She
replied, “But I wrote ‘snake’ down the left-hand side.”
So I
explained that the poem also needed to be ABOUT a snake if that was the word
she chose. She said, “Okay,” took the paper back, added a few words and turned
it back in…
Here is what
she added to that last line of “Early afternoon, she falls asleep in my room … and then she
turned into a snake.”
I loved it!!
Love her!! I laughed so hard. It is a cherished memory. And now, you can enjoy
it too. Cheers!!
Whatcha’ got?
PLEASE
REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property
and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example
in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are
shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this
challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These
poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission.
It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post
them. Thanks so much!
Also,
if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE
don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on
your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for
others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time
researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for
respecting my work.
Photo credit
- Pixabay
