Haiku is a poetic style that originated from the Japanese culture. The purpose of Haiku is to create a depiction of Nature using descriptive words in its concise form. Typically, Haikus are comprised of three (3) lines; the first/third line contains five (5) syllables each, while the second line has seven (7) syllables. In addition, the poem contains a keyword (kijo), which indicates the season of the year. For example, a Haiku written by me is:

Nature's confetti -
Bright, wind-blown leaves of color
wanting a parade.

Here the keyword "confetti" implies the season of Autumn. Although the maximum number of syllables is seventeen (17), it is acceptable to employ less - provided that the maximum count of syllables by line is not exceeded.

Exerpt #1 from: Hook, Line & Haiku   Exerpt #2 from: Hook, Line & Haiku

Exerpt #3 from: Hook, Line & Haiku   Exerpt #4 from: Hook, Line & Haiku

The syntax of Senryu is identical to that of Haiku; the difference is that Haiku are strictly about the topic of Nature and its seasons, while Senryu is about any other subject matter.

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Quatrain is a stanza or poem of four lines.

Clerihew is comprised of the following properties:

* It is biographical and usually whimsical, showing the subject from an unusual point of view; but it is hardly ever satirical, abusive or obscene.

* It has four lines of irregular length (for comic effect); the third and fourth lines are usually longer than the first two.

* The rhyme structure is AABB; the subject matter and wording are often humorously contrived in order to achieve a rhyme.

* The first line consists solely (or almost solely) of the subject's name.

* Clerihews are not satirical or abusive, but they target famous individuals and reposition them in an absurd or commonplace setting, often with an over-simplified and slightly garbled description. The form was invented by and is named after Edmund Clerihew Bentley; it was officially coined in 1928.

Constanza consists of five or more 3-line stanzas. Each line has a set meter of eight syllables. The first lines of all the stanzas can be read successively as an independent poem, with the rest of the poem weaved in to express a deeper meaning. The first lines convey a theme written in monorhyme, while the second and third lines of each stanza rhyme together. Its Rhyming scheme is: abb, acc, add, aee, aff

English Sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet; its rhyming pattern is: abab cdcd efef gg.

Etheree consists of ten lines of unmetered and unrhymed verse, the first line having one syllable, each succeeding line adding a syllable, with the total syllable count being fifty-five. Rhyme and meter are not permissible in this format. This concise form is meant to focus on one idea or subject.

Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet has fourteen lines, broken into an octave (or octet), which usually rhymes abbaabba, but which may sometimes be abbacddc or even (rarely) abababab; and a sestet, which may rhyme xyzxyz or xyxyxy, or any of the multiple variations possible using only two or three rhyme-sounds.

Sestina is a verse form first used by the Provençal troubadours, consisting of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy. The end words of the first stanza are repeated in varied order as end words in the other stanzas and also recur in the envoy.

Traditional Cinquain is based on a syllable count.
line 1 - 2 syllables
line 2 - 4 syllables
line 3 - 6 syllables
line 4 - 8 syllables
line 5 - 2 syllables

Modern Cinquain is based on a word count of words of a certain type.
line 1 - one word (noun) a title or name of the subject
line 2 - two words (adjectives) describing the title
line 3 - three words (verbs) describing an action related to the title
line 4 - four words describing a feeling about the titlem, a complete sentence
line 5 - one word referring back to the title of the poem

Acrostic is formed by writing a word or phrase vertically down the page; One letter per line; All capital letters; Each line of poetry must begin with the letter on that line and must pertain to the word; Does not have to rhyme; Use adjectives and phrases that describe the word

Double Acrostic is where the very last letter of each line is the same as the first.

Limerick is a rhymed humorous or nonsense poem of five lines which originated in Limerick, Ireland. The Limerick has a set rhyme scheme of : a-a-b-b-a with a syllable structure of: 9-9-6-6-9.

Pantoum consists of a series of quatrains rhyming ABAB in which the second and fourth lines of a quatrain recur as the first and third lines in the succeeding quatrain; each quatrain introduces a new second rhyme as BCBC, CDCD. The first line of the series recurs as the last line of the closing quatrain, and third line of the poem recurs as the second line of the closing quatrain, rhyming ZAZA.

The design is simple:
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4

Line 5 (repeat of line 2)
Line 6
Line 7 (repeat of line 4)
Line 8

Continue with as many stanzas as you wish, but the ending stanza then repeats the second and fourth lines of the previous stanza (as its first and third lines), and also repeats the third line of the first stanza, as its second line, and the first line of the first stanza as its fourth. So the first line of the poem is also the last.

While the last stanza is:
Line 2 of previous stanza
Line 3 of first stanza
Line 4 of previous stanza
Line 1 of first stanza

Villanelle is a 19-line poem of fixed form consisting of five tercets and a final quatrain on two rhymes, with the first and third lines of the first tercet repeated alternately as a refrain closing the succeeding stanzas and joined as the final couplet of the quatrain.

Tanka is a classic form of Japanese poetry and a variation of the haiku with five unrhymed lines of five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables. (5, 7, 5, 7, 7)

Tetractys is a poetic form invented by Ray Stebbing; it consists of at least 5 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 syllables (for a total of 20). Tetractys can be written with more than one verse, but must follow suit with an inverted syllable count. Tetractys can also bereversed and written 10, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Double Tetractys: 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1

Triple Tetractys: 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 10

"Euclid, the mathematician of classical times, considered the number series 1, 2, 3, 4 to have mystical significance because its sum is 10, so he dignified it with a name of its own - Tetractys. The tetractys could be Britain's answer to the haiku. Its challenge is to express a complete thought, profound or comic, witty or wise, within the narrow compass of twenty syllables." - Ray Stebbing

Triolet is a poetic form consisting of only 8 lines. Within a Triolet, the 1st, 4th, and 7th lines repeat, and the 2nd and 8th lines do as well. The rhyme scheme is simple: ABaAabAB, where capital letters represent the repeated lines.

Free Verse has no set or predefined structure.

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September 11, 2001   The Locker Room   Today's Great Undead Poets   

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When Will You Come?   Show of Hands   Drawn To You

Captivated By The Light   Why Would You Love Me?

Cleanse Me Lord   Grace and Love   And Yet His Hand...   For Just One Day

Prayer Scented Incense   Spoken Word   Lord, You Are...   Unfinished

Game Theory   Standard of Cooperation   Work In Progress   White Flag

Nakedness of Life   Spiritual Irony   Can You Really Love Me So?   

And He Whispered...   Chronic Indecision   Come Forth!

Original Sins   Chained to Myself   Lot's Wife   Green Meadows

Giving Tithes to God   Petitions to God   No Earthly Good   White for Harvest

Morning Star   Lasting Hope   For Your Review   Higher Ground

Silent Tears   Human Warranty   Exit Strategy   Enoch

Daily Bread   Avoiding Hell?   Experiencing God   Evening Sky

Eternity   Eternal Wellspring   Danger of Zealous Fervor   A Sinner Like Me

My Proverbs 31 Wife   New Age Spirituality