In a sense it could be seen as the reverse of a monody style poem. In this style you're basically praising someone, something, or possibly even an idea which you've encountered in your life. These are generally a bit longer then an average 6 lined poem, and sometimes even can span several lines (for instance Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats was 80 lines long.) It all depends on the manner which you are writing and what you choose to place inside. For a good estimate, you should strive to make your ode a little longer than 15 lines.

Example Poem

We're all familiar with what a palindrome is, I hope. Generally it's a word or phrase (and in this case, a poem) which when read backwards it either states the same thing or can make complete sense. For instance, the phrase Race car states race caR backwards. Therefore they mean the same thing. You could also look at a palindrome as mirroring something, if that makes it any simpler to understand. This could possibly be one of the hardest forms of poetry to write out there, and is definitely time consuming.

Example Poem

"Reflections"

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Life-
imitates nature,
always moving, traveling continuously.
Falling leaves placed delicately;
foliage touching the echoing waters,
clarity removed -
Reflections distorted through waves rippling;
gracefully dancing
mirrored images
- reflect -
images mirrored.
Dancing gracefully,
rippling waves through distorted reflections -
removed clarity.
Waters echoing the touching foliage;
delicately placed leaves falling -
continuously traveling, moving always,
nature imitates
life.

---

A quatrain is a series of stanzas which alternate their rhyming styles which are used. For instance, stanza one could be abab, stanza two could be aabb, and so on. There are generally no guidelines to this other then you can't use the same pattern of rhyming throughout the whole poem, or else it wouldn't be a quatrain.

Example Poem

The night is cold,
The stalker so bold,
Forever he acts,
Based on poor facts.

Whoever would have known,
That the once shy little boy,
Would have ever shown,
Ways which would later destroy.

Another extremely famous form of writing comes in the style of a sonnet, which is basically just a 14 lined poem which follows the iambic pentameter. There isn't a set rhyming scheme in which you have to follow, so feel free to make up your own. Some good ones to use include: [abba, cddc, effe, gg] [abab, cdcd, efef, gg] and [abba abba cdcd cd] Those are what most are based off of, and which you should usually try to use if you can.

Example Poem

Sonnet LXXIII

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That time of year thou mayst in me behold,
When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day,
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self that seals up all in rest.
In me thou seest the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the deathbed, whereon it must expire,
Consumed by that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.

---

A tanka is similar to the haiku in the way that it's structured and centered around nature subjects. The lines, as well, are unrhymed and not based on any serious structure outside its five line syllable count (5, 7, 5, 7, 7.) While Tankas aren't really seen that often in the poetry writing world, they do stick out to a reader.

Example Poem

Last but not least, we have the villanelle style of poetry. Composed of 7 stanzas, each with three lines except for the final stanza which has 4 lines in it. So in its entirety, it will consist of 19 total lines each. The rhyming style for this is by far hard, and can be picked up in a moments notice. It's just trying to find what to fill in there which might give you some trouble. The following is the scheme: aba aba aba aba aba abaa. Another critical point which should be noted is that the first and third lines of the first stanza appear in the remaining stanzas (in the last line) alternating places. At the end, they appear together as a couplet.

Example Poem

Runaway

---

Why do they runaway?
My soul so beautiful, so bright
But for some reason I keep them at bay

Sometimes I wish they would stay
They give up on me without a fight
Why do they runaway?

Some think I am pretty, I say I'm okay
Though this doesn't feel right
But for some reason I keep them at bay

What can I do, what can I say?
What causes their flight?
Why do they runaway?

Just when I think I've won their heart, they stray
I feel like the farthest planet in the night
But for some reason I keep them at bay

What have I done to chase them away?
My soul beckons to them like a beacon of light
Why do they runaway?
But for some reason I keep them at bay.

---

So now that you have some background on some of the forms of poetry, why don't you try making some of your own. Just take the smallest form of inspiration which you may have, and expand from that. Use it to your advantage and don't be afraid to go all out on what you're writing, for it's showing your expressionism and emotions. Also, another thing, don't feel the need to consistently tear down your work that you do. Chances are that it is completely amazing, and you're just being a bit hard on yourself. We are, after all, our own worst critiques.

Feel free if you have any questions to again message me or any moderator of the Short Stories & Poetry forum. If you have a unique style of poetry which you would like to share, don't be afraid to message me and ask if I can add it. Chances are that it will be, as long as it isn't something completely bogus and made up.