Poetic Forms: The Acrostic

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to week two of poetic forms, where every week I introduce a different type of poem and invite you to give it a go! As an added incentive to take part, the best poem every week is featured on the Writing Gooder blog on Sunday afternoon, alongside a brief analysis by myself.

To enter a poem, make sure it’s written in this week’s style and then either post a link to it in a comment below, or post the full text of the poem.

The Acrostic

I started with a difficult form last week so today we’re going to pull back and go for something easier, but equally as fun! The great thing about the Acrostic is how versatile it is: you can write an Acrostic on any theme at all and all you need is a starting word. I’m going to use one of my own poems as the example this week:

Mannequin

Heather Warren (1990-present)

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My faded denim blues are mute

And muted like orange suits

Nibbled by hungry prisoners;

Niebla. Lo siento madre.

Everyone looks the same,

Queues of shop window mannequins but

Under the skin

I am different. The judges arbitrate like lunch time ladies,

No comprende. There are no understandings.

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How to do it

The Acrostic has only one rule: the first letter of every line must make a word when read vertically. This word can be read top to bottom or bottom to top and how it relates to your poem is entirely up to you!

When writing an Acrostic, it’s important not to choose a word that is too short and if you want to write a long poem, you could even use a phrase instead, such as ‘I love you’ or ‘Do Not Enter’.

Good Luck Everyone!

** Image owned by Enokson at Flickr.