A Family Affair: Three Easy Poetry Forms to Do with Young Ones

Back when I used to do a lot of school visits one school told me about a habit of its principal. He would randomly interrupt a classroom with a funny sign that said, “Poetry Break!” Then he’d read a short poem to the kids. All the kids looked forward to his short visit wondering if their class would be the one to benefit each day. What a great idea! We can do something similar to introduce kids and grandkids to the beauties of poetry. Once a week—choose a day, say Sunday—when it’s someone’s turn to share a poem. An original one, or one that is simply liked. Rotate the responsibility. And if your kids/grandkids are far away have a poetry zoom once a week.

So, I thought I’d share with all of you some easy short poetry forms that are not as well-known as haiku. These are forms you can do with family members—even young ones. They are mostly syllabic (counting syllables), but none of these require rhyme, or meter. To share you could send the form on with a meet-up zoom date to see what family members have come up with. The thing is, you need to be consistent if you really want to ingrain this love of poetry. Make it a family tradition. And summertime is a good time to start.

Rhopalic Verse

Here’s one to try, originally from Greece. Rhopalic verses start with a single one syllable word. The second line should have two syllables, the third line three, the fourth line four, etc. You can keep adding one more syllable with each successive line. Or you can reverse it at a midpoint and start eliminating one syllable from each line as I have done in the poem below. The numbers of syllables in the lines of my poem are: 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1.

PERFORMANCE

Moths—

conjured

from the dark.

Dusky wings arc

in the lonely light.

A dance only

for streetlamps.

Risky.

Mad.

The Wayra

This ancient form comes from Peru and Bolivia. The wayra originated in a Quechua language. From there it made its way into Spanish literature. The form is a simple one. It is five lines long with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second and third lines, 6 in the fourth line and 8 in the final line. It can be about any subject. See mine below.

UNLOVED

Ugh—a centipede!

My stomach drops, disgusted.

I do dislike its scurry.

Those legs! Please hurry off—

dart back into the damp and dark.

The Kasàlà

The kasàlà is a praise form from sub-Saharan Africa. It is meant to lift up the author and others hearing it. There is no specific line length, or rhyme scheme. However, outsized claims of magnificence are often employed, as well as repetition. Think: boasting! See mine below. (This poem was adapted from my picture book Dozens of Cousins published by Clarion at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.)

IN PRAISE OF COUSINS

Oh, we are hungry ogres, my cousins and I.

We are wild and fierce—our dark eyes aglint.

We grow bolder. We gnaw at the world.

Everything is good. Everything is luscious.

We are shapers of clay, masters of wood and stone.

We are drummers of song, magicians of laughter.

The world trembles at our every deed—

at our gifts to the gods of mud and summer.

Now, I’ve given you a few forms you can try with young family members. Encourage them to keep their poems in a journal. Share. Share often. Kids may groan, roll their eyes, or giggle at first. Or they’ll purposefully choose cringe-worthy poems to share. That’s OK. The important thing is that you’re sharing. Accept whatever they read or write. Later, when kids think about their poetry-loving parent or grandparent …it will be endearing. And who knows, possibly life changing.

Resources

• Writer’s Digest: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/list-of-50-poetic-forms-for-poets
• Shadow Poetry: http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/types.html